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Learning several faire related phrases:

   Faire une promenade
   Faire le lavage (la lessive)
   Faire une sieste
   Faire le ménage
   Faire l’épicerie
   Faire de l’exercice

Could anyone let me know why there is an extra "de" in the "faire de l'exercice"?

sleepy
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1 Answers1

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In fact, you could have the sentence without that de also:

faire l'exercice

would mean something like complete a problem in a homework assignment, or do a specific physical exercise. But it would have to be something specific that's known from the context. In English, it would be do/solve the problem or do this (specific) exercise.

In contrast,

faire de l'exercice

is more indefinite, and just means do physical exercise. No specific exercise is concerned, one just exercises.

Frank
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