# I like to eat in a restaurant



## avago

Can I say either J'aime manger à un restaurant OR J'aime manger dans un restaurant.? Is either preferred?


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## Yendred

You can say both:
_J'aime manger *au *restaurant 
J'aime manger *dans un *restaurant _
But not:
_J'aime manger *à un* restaurant _


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## avago

Would you please explain why I can't say at A restaurant ? Would that always be avoided because of the sound? Could it ever happen? I'm not referring to a specific restaurant in the sentence.


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## Garoubet

At a restaurant translate into "à le restaurant"; "à le" becomes "au". "Le" is used to emphasize the generic aspect of it. "à un" could be translated as "one of the".
"Manger dans un restaurant" indicates location like in "eat in a restaurant" that would mean you ate food while inside the building


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## avago

I appreciate your attempts to clarify Garoubet. In fact I do understand about à le and au. Let's change tack, if I  say I'm going to a station. I would expect to say je vais à une gare ( i.e to one of many stations) whereas to say I'm going to the station (the one I notionally mentioned a moment ago), I'd say Je vais à la gare. Am I wrong?


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## Phil512

Correct !
But you'll seldom hear "je vais à une gare". I am not telling you it's wrong. But "Je me rends à une gare" e.g. would be more common. Or, "Je roule jusqu'à une gare" e.g.. Mais "je vais à la gare" : yes !


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## tartopom

Yes, "Je vais à une gare" sounds funny and "J'aime manger à un restaurant" doesn't sound French.
And yet we can say "Je vais à une fête / à un concert".
I guess you should have a look at the other forum - French & English Grammar. You could find some info.


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## avago

Enlightening. Just when I think I'm making some progress, I get a reminder of all the mental adjustments yet to be made. Taking all this on board and proceeding (with caution). ☺ Sincere thanks to all.


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## Jim in Phila

Here's my understanding of the difference between the use of _à_ and _dans.
_I think _dans_ is more specific than _à_; for example, Ma mère est _dans_ l'église = mom is inside the church.  Whereas, Ma mère est _à_ l'église = mom is on the church grounds, in the area of the church, not necessarily inside the building.


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## Phil512

But avago's second problem (post #3 and #5) seemed to be about the use of "aller" combined not only with "à" or "dans" but also with "un(e") ou "le/la"....Which is not so obvious as it seems. Please, consider : "je vais à la boulangerie chercher du pain". I guess you are going to go inside. And there might not even be "grounds" in front of it.


Garoubet said:


> At *a* restaurant translate into "*à le* restaurant";


Garoubet, this is meant quite friendly, but...are you sure ?


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## Nicomon

I'm not so sure either.  In my mind, _ au restaurant = at the restaurant. 
_
And the thread title _ in a restaurant = dans un restaurant.
_
In any event, would you really say in English :_  I like to eat at *a* restaurant ?   _
I don't know... that sounds just a funny to my non native ears as saying in French _manger à un restaurant_.

This would sound right, though :  _Cet endroit n'a pas trop bonne presse.  Je suggère qu'on aille (manger) à un autre restaurant. _


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## avago

Perhaps more context would have been helpful.  This was in order to say things we like doing when on holidays. And BTW, a careful reading of Garoubet's  comment clarifies that that structure becomes au. All contributions gratefully accepted.  Merci!


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## Nicomon

But once again, what Garoubet wrote isn't exactly right.

_Au restaurant _is a contraction of _à le = at *the* restaurant.    _ Not_  at *a* restaurant. _


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## Soleil_Couchant

I'm a little confused by this one too. Wouldn't you say (in English), "I like to eat at restaurants?"  (based on the context you gave in post #12)


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## Nicomon

_I like to eat at restaurants _(plural) sounds much better to my francophone ears than_ at a restaurant. _But I wouldn't pluralize it in French. 
It wouldn't be right to say (or rather write, because you don't hear the difference orally) :  _J'aime manger aux restaurants. 

_


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## Phil512

Nicomon said:


> _Au restaurant _is a contraction of _à le = at *the* restaurant. _ Not_ at *a* restaurant. _


That's obviously what I suggested in post #10 and that Nico has confirmed twice.
And indeed (see Nico's previous post), Soleil_Couchant, in French, you would say, ;"j'aime manger au restaurant" (singular, as you noticed) which you would use to convey "at restaurants" in general. Might sound weird and confusing, I admit, but so it is.


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## Soleil_Couchant

Phil, thanks. I agree that ""j'aime manger au restaurant" looks/feels correct in French like Nicomon said too. The English is what was odd to me, but I suppose it's irrelevant if the French translation would end up being the same.


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## Bezoard

Not quite sure what is the real concern of avago, but _"à un restaurant"_ can be used in other contexts.
_Je suis allé hier à un restaurant près de chez moi.
J'aime m'attabler à un restaurant tranquille._
Examples in not too good literature:
"allés à un restaurant" - Google Search


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## Nicomon

True.  Or like I wrote in post 11: ..._ à un autre restaurant._

As you notice, « _à un restaurant _» is followed by an adjective (_tranquille, français, indien_) or a phrase like _près de chez moi. _

What sounds awkward is saying :  _J'aime manger à un restaurant. _ (full stop)


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## Bezoard

I quite agree. That's why I said it was possible in other contexts, and as you rightly noticed, especially when the noun "restaurant" is determined by an adjective.


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## avago

Hmm. I contend that it's perfectly useful and correct English to say: When I'm on holidays I like to eat at a restaurant or café.  I accept that this appears not to be good when directly transferred to French and am taking that on board.  I understand, and thanks for confirming, that when an adjective qualifies restaurant, things change and my original attempt at construction works better. There are times though when I express such ideas without adding adjectives.


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## IrishCailín

Hello all,
For French speakers concerned about the English phrasing, could I add that " I like to eat *in *restaurants" is very natural as well. Indeed more so, to my native ears.


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## Soleil_Couchant

I'm an English speaker and it sounded odd to me. "On my break, I like to eat at/in restaurants" sounds right. "I like to eat at a restaurant" is odd...like, why just one? lol? I believe you said you weren't just talking about a specific place, but the fact you like to "eat out" in general. But ...maybe it's an Australian English vs US English thing.


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## IrishCailín

I think it's a question of what is usually said, rather than a question of grammar. What I mean is: " in A restaurant" is grammatically correct, but not used as much, not in British English anyway.

But then again, I can imagine it very naturally in something like the following example: Where would you like to eat later, in a restaurant or a cafe? Ah ha, interesting!

So perhaps there is a rule after all. When you are speaking in general terms you say "in restaurants", maybe?


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## Soleil_Couchant

Yeah, definitely the example you gave above sounds right, "Where would you like to eat, in a restaurant or cafe"...talking about a specific activity for that day. But if you are talking about a general thing that you like to do (such as eating at restaurants), it seems weird to make it singular. As if you only like eating in one restaurant instead of more than one...

(and again, if it was a more specific place, that'd be different. Like, "I like to eat a restaurant down the road" sounds okay...)


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## Phil512

I agree with Soleil_Couchant, but I am no native.
To the original question in English, Yendred, in post #2 has immediately answered correctly about the correct French translation.


IrishCailín said:


> I think it's a question of what is usually said, rather than a question of grammar


I do agree with this in French too. The discussion can be endless. In a humble contribution, I suggest here some examples of what is being said commonly... in French
A. Hier, je suis allé dans un bon restaurant.
B. Hier, je suis allé au restaurant (ou "*à* tel restaurant"): la cuisine y était délicieuse !
B. Ce restaurant ne m'inspire pas, allons manger :
1. ailleurs (easy)
2. dans un autre établissement
3. dans un autre restaurant
4. *à* un autre endroit.
C. J'aime manger au restaurant (which means in/at restaurant*s*). I would call that in French some sort of _collective singula_r.
D. Kindly viewing it otherwise than Bezoard in post #18 (without telling he is wrong - regionalism might play us tricks...) : "j'aime m'attabler dans un restaurant paisible". I wouldn't ever say "à", grammatically correct or not. Actually, I would even prefer "j'aime m'attabler *à* une table tranquille * dans* un restaurant près de chez moi" or "j'aime m'attabler dans un restaurant *à* une table tranquille.
E. J'aime m'attabler *à* *la* terrasse (me tenir au bar) d'un restaurant
F. J'aime m'attabler *à* *la* terrasse de tel restaurant ou d'un restaurant peu fréquenté/proche/que je connais bien, etc...
I hope this helps in anyway, as far as French is concerned.


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## Bezoard

Phil512 said:


> D. Kindly viewing it otherwise than Bezoard in post #18 (without telling he is wrong - regionalism might play us tricks...) : "j'aime m'attabler dans un restaurant paisible". I wouldn't ever say "à", grammatically correct or not. Actually, I would even prefer "j'aime m'attabler *à* une table tranquille * dans* un restaurant près de chez moi" or "j'aime m'attabler dans un restaurant *à* une table tranquille.


Use seems rather flexible on this matter :
"attablés à un restaurant" - Google Search


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## avago

This is proving a fruitful thread. ☺


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## Phil512

Bezoard said:


> Use seems rather flexible on this matter :


Taken good note of it, Sir. Thanks !


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