Cooking as a hobby | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Cooking as a hobby to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ?

ess kuh kwee-zee-NAY ay tawn pahss-TAHN Is cooking your hobby?

J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

zhem fair day plah SAM-pluh ah lah meh-ZOHN I like making simple food at home.

Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ?

kess kuh too em pray-pah-RAY What do you like to make?

Je prépare souvent une soupe simple.

zhuh pray-PAIR soo-VAHN ewn soop SAM-pluh I often make a simple soup.

Est-ce que tu utilises une recette ?

ess kuh too ew-tee-LEEZ ewn ruh-SET Do you use a recipe?

J'en suis une facile.

zhahn swee ewn fah-SEEL I follow an easy one.

Je voudrais la goûter quand elle sera prête.

zhuh voo-DRAY lah goo-TAY kahn-tel suh-RAH pret I would like to try it when it is ready.

Je garderai un peu de soupe pour toi.

zhuh gar-duh-RAY uhn puh duh soop poor TWAH I will save some soup for you.

Word by Word

Est-ce que Est-ce que marks the sentence as a yes-or-no question in “Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ?”. Together, Est-ce sets up the question frame and que connects it to the following clause; use Est-ce que before a statement when asking a direct question.

cuisiner Cuisiner means “to cook” and here names cooking as the activity being discussed in “Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ?”. It is the infinitive form of cuisiner, and a useful pattern is cuisiner + a type of food or dish.

est Est means “is” in “cuisiner est ton passe-temps”. It is a form of être, used here to connect the activity cuisiner with what it is identified as; a reusable pattern is [subject] est [description or noun].

ton Ton means “your” in “ton passe-temps”, referring to the person being addressed. It is placed before the noun it describes; use ton + noun when addressing one person and referring to something belonging to them.

passe-temps Passe-temps means “hobby” or “pastime” in “ton passe-temps”. It names an activity someone does for pleasure, and it commonly follows a possessive such as ton passe-temps.

J'aime J'aime means “I like” in “J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison”. It is a form of aimer, with je shortened to J' before the vowel sound; a useful pattern is J'aime + infinitive for saying that you like doing something.

faire Faire means “to make” in “J'aime faire des plats simples”. Here it introduces the activity that the speaker likes; use J'aime faire + object to say that you like making something.

des Des introduces the plural noun “plats” in “faire des plats simples”, referring to dishes in an indefinite plural way. A reliable pattern is des + plural noun when mentioning more than one unspecified item.

plats Plats means “dishes” or prepared food in “des plats simples”. It refers to food that is prepared and served, and it can be used after faire or préparer when talking about making dishes.

simples Simples describes the dishes as simple in “des plats simples”. Its plural form matches the plural noun plats; a reusable pattern is noun + adjective, as in des plats simples.

à À means “at” or “in” in the expression “à la maison”, which means “at home”. It is used here with a place, and a common pattern is à + place, such as à la maison.

la La is the feminine singular form of “the” before maison in “à la maison”. The whole expression means “at home”, while la marks maison as a definite noun; reuse the fixed place expression à la maison.

maison Maison means “house” or “home” in “à la maison”. In this dialogue, the expression refers to being at home rather than naming a building as an object; à la maison is a common way to say “at home”.

Qu'est-ce que Qu'est-ce que asks “what” in “Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ?”. The whole expression forms a what-question; qu'est-ce sets up the question and que connects it to the following clause. Use Qu'est-ce que + subject + verb to ask what someone does or likes.

tu Tu means “you” for the person being addressed in “tu aimes préparer”. It is the subject of the question, and a useful pattern is tu + verb when speaking directly to one person.

aimes Aimes means “like” in “tu aimes préparer”. It is a form of aimer used with tu; a common pattern is tu aimes + infinitive when asking or saying what someone likes to do.

préparer Préparer means “to prepare” or “to make” in “aimes préparer”. It names the activity the person likes, and a useful pattern is préparer + food or dish.

Je Je means “I” in “Je prépare souvent une soupe simple”. It identifies the speaker as the subject of the action; use Je + verb to describe what you do.

prépare Prépare means “prepare” or “make” in “Je prépare souvent une soupe simple”. It is a form of préparer used with je, and a reusable pattern is Je prépare + food or dish.

souvent Souvent means “often” in “Je prépare souvent une soupe simple”. It shows that the action happens frequently and is placed between the subject-linked verb and its object here; use souvent with an action to describe regular frequency.

une Une introduces “soupe” in “une soupe simple”, referring to one unspecified feminine item. It is the feminine singular form of the indefinite article; use une + feminine singular noun when mentioning one such item.

soupe Soupe means “soup” in “une soupe simple”. It is the food being prepared, and it can follow préparer in a pattern such as préparer une soupe.

simple Simple describes the soup as easy or uncomplicated in “une soupe simple”. It is placed after soupe here, and the same pattern can describe another noun by placing simple after it.

utilises Utilises means “use” in “tu utilises une recette”. It is a form of utiliser used with tu; a useful pattern is utiliser + object, such as utiliser une recette.

recette Recette means “recipe” in “une recette”. It names the instructions used for preparing the food, and a common pattern is utiliser une recette.

J'en J'en means “I ... one” or “I ... of it” in “J'en suis une facile”. The J' is je shortened before en, while en refers back to the recipe idea without repeating recette; use en when the referenced item is understood from the conversation.

suis Suis means “follow” in “J'en suis une facile”. Here it is a form of suivre, not the form of être, and the sentence says that the speaker follows an easy recipe; a reusable pattern is suivre une recette.

facile Facile means “easy” in “une facile”, describing the recipe that the speaker follows. The noun recette is understood from the previous question, and facile can be placed after a noun or used with an understood noun as here.

voudrais Voudrais means “would like” in “Je voudrais la goûter”. It is a form of vouloir used to express a polite desire; a useful pattern is Je voudrais + infinitive.

goûter Goûter means “to taste” in “la goûter”, referring to tasting the soup. It is the infinitive form of goûter and follows Je voudrais here; use goûter + a food or drink when saying what you want to taste.

quand Quand means “when” in “quand elle sera prête”. It introduces the time at which the soup will be ready, and a reliable pattern is quand + clause to connect an action with its timing.

elle Elle means “she” or “it” in “elle sera prête”, referring here to the feminine noun soupe. It is the subject of the clause, and a useful pattern is elle + verb when referring back to a feminine noun.

sera Sera means “will be” in “elle sera prête”. It is a form of être used to describe the soup’s state at the relevant future time; a reusable pattern is [subject] sera + description.

prête Prête means “ready” in “elle sera prête”, describing the soup when it can be tasted. Its form agrees with the feminine noun referred to by elle; use être prêt or prête to describe readiness, matching the person or thing described.

garderai Garderai means “will save” or “will keep” in “Je garderai un peu de soupe pour toi”. It is a form of garder used by the speaker to promise keeping some soup; a useful pattern is Je garderai + object + pour + person.

un Un is part of the quantity expression “un peu de soupe”, meaning “a little soup”. Here it does not identify the soup by itself; use un peu de + noun to refer to a small amount of something.

peu Peu means “a small amount” in “un peu de soupe”. Together with un and de, it expresses a little of the soup; a reusable pattern is un peu de + noun.

de De links the quantity “un peu” to what is measured in “un peu de soupe”. After a quantity expression, use de + noun to say what the small amount consists of.

pour Pour means “for” in “pour toi”, marking the person who will receive the saved soup. A common pattern is pour + person or noun when showing who something is intended for.

toi Toi means “you” in “pour toi”, referring to the person who will receive the soup. It is the stressed pronoun used after the preposition pour; reuse the expression pour toi when saying that something is for someone.

Grammar Points

voudrais + infinitif

Je voudrais goûter la soupe.

zhuh voo-DRAY goo-TAY lah soop

I would like to taste the soup.

The conditional form voudrais makes a request or wish sound polite, followed by the infinitive.

un peu de + nom

Je voudrais un peu de soupe.

zhuh voo-DRAY uhn puh duh soop

I would like some soup.

After un peu de, use de before a noun to express an unspecified small amount.

French Vocabulary

aimer verb

ay-MAY to like J'aime

J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

cuisiner verb

kwee-zee-NAY to cook

Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ?

faire verb

fair to make

J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

maison noun

meh-ZOHN home

J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

passe-temps noun

pahss-TAHN hobby

Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ?

plat noun

plah dish plats

J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

préparer verb

pray-pah-RAY to prepare

Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ?

recette noun

ruh-SET recipe

Est-ce que tu utilises une recette ?

simple adj

SAM-pluh simple simples

J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

soupe noun

soop soup

Je prépare souvent une soupe simple.

souvent adv

soo-VAHN often

Je prépare souvent une soupe simple.

utiliser verb

ew-tee-lee-ZAY to use utilises

Est-ce que tu utilises une recette ?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

What do you like to make?

Show Answer

Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ?

I often make a simple soup.

Show Answer

Je prépare souvent une soupe simple.

I follow an easy one.

Show Answer

J'en suis une facile.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

dish

Show Answer

plats

to cook

Show Answer

cuisiner

often

Show Answer

souvent

to make

Show Answer

faire