Soit les vacances soit le travail

Question

I wrote des vacances and du travail which was wrong, but I don’t know why. Can you explain since this error isn’t covered in this lesson explanation. I still have trouble with these articles. Thanks so much.

Answer

In these cases, les vacances means the general term, i.e., vacation in general. Des vacances refers to specific vacations.

Answer

It would be nice to have a more detailed explanation for this answer. Why does “des vacances” refer to a specific vacation here while “J’ai acheté des vêtements” means “I bought clothes”, without referring to any specific clothes? Why is it “C’est soit les vacances soit du travail” but “Je voudrais soit des cerises soit du chocolat”?