Cooking as a hobby | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ?

   Is cooking your hobby?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   cuisiner

   cooking; to cook

   ton

   your

   passe-temps

   hobby

   More detail

   Est-ce que is a fixed French question marker placed at the beginning of a yes/no question. It does not itself mean “is” or add a separate action; it signals that the following sentence is being asked as a question. For example, Est-ce que tu travailles ? means “Do you work?” cuisiner is the infinitive “to cook.” Here the infinitive is used as the subject, so cuisiner means “cooking” as an activity. French commonly uses an infinitive this way: Lire est utile. means “Reading is useful.” Do not confuse it with the related noun la cuisine, which can mean “cooking,” “cuisine,” or “kitchen” depending on context. ton is the informal singular “your” form used before a masculine singular noun. In this sentence it agrees with passe-temps, not with the person being addressed. The corresponding forms include ta before a feminine singular noun and tes before a plural noun: ton livre means “your book,” ta voiture means “your car,” and tes livres means “your books.” passe-temps is a masculine singular compound noun meaning “hobby” or “pastime.” Its plural is passe-temps, with the same written form: des passe-temps means “hobbies.” The hyphen is part of this noun’s spelling. Together, cuisiner is the activity being discussed, and ton passe-temps asks whether that activity is the listener’s hobby. With the question marker at the front, Est-ce que cuisiner est ton passe-temps ? means “Is cooking your hobby?”

2. J'aime faire des plats simples à la maison.

   I like making simple food at home.

   J'aime

   I like

   faire

   to make

   plats

   food

   simples

   simple

   maison

   home

   More detail

   J'aime is the first-person singular present form of aimer, “to like/love.” It contains je (“I”) before a vowel: je aime contracts to j'aime. With an infinitive, aimer + infinitive expresses liking an activity. Example: J'aime lire. — “I like reading.” faire is the infinitive “to make” or “to do.” Here it follows aime, so aimer faire means “to like making.” The infinitive does not show who performs the activity; J'aime faire... identifies the subject as je through J'aime. Example: Nous aimons faire du pain. — “We like making bread.” plats is the plural of the noun plat, meaning “dish” or, in this context, a prepared food item. The plural is marked by -s; the pronounced form may sound the same as singular plat. With des, des plats means “dishes” or “food items,” without stating a specific number. Example: Je prépare deux plats. — “I prepare two dishes.” simples is the plural form of the adjective simple, meaning “simple.” It describes plats, so it takes the noun’s plural marking: un plat simple / des plats simples. The adjective remains simple for masculine and feminine singular, and simples for masculine and feminine plural. Example: Elle choisit des recettes simples. — “She chooses simple recipes.” maison is the feminine noun “home” or “house.” In the fixed expression à la maison, it means “at home,” referring to being in one’s home rather than naming a particular house. Example: Nous mangeons à la maison. — “We eat at home.” Together, J'aime faire means “I like making”; des plats simples means “simple dishes/food”; and à la maison means “at home.” The complete utterance is therefore “I like making simple food at home.”

3. Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ?

   What do you like to make?

   Qu'est-ce que

   what ...?

   tu aimes

   you like

   préparer

   to prepare; to make

   More detail

   Qu'est-ce que is a reusable French question pattern meaning “what?” Here it introduces the thing that is the object of préparer: Qu'est-ce que + subject + verb ... ? The form est-ce que helps form a question; it does not change the verb’s person or tense. In this sentence, the question is about what the listener likes to prepare, not about identifying a person. tu aimes means “you like.” aimes is the present-tense second-person singular form of aimer, used with tu; the final -s is part of this verb form and is not a plural marker here. A useful pattern is aimer + infinitive, meaning “to like doing something” or “to like to do something.” For example: Tu aimes cuisiner ? — “Do you like cooking?” préparer is the infinitive “to prepare.” In this context, the fixed translation supports the natural meaning “to make,” especially for food. The infinitive appears after aimes because it names the activity the person likes. Compare the forms préparer (infinitive) and je prépare (present tense with je). Préparer is more specific than the broader verb faire (“to do; to make”): preparing emphasizes getting something ready, while faire can describe making or doing more generally. Together, Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ? asks, “What do you like to make?” The structure is what + you like + to prepare; the following context’s food-related wording is compatible with understanding préparer here as making food, without changing the grammar of the question.

4. Je prépare souvent une soupe simple.

   I often make a simple soup.

   Je

   I

   prépare

   make; prepare

   souvent

   often

   soupe

   soup

   simple

   simple

   More detail

   Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. Compare tu (“you,” singular informal) in Qu'est-ce que tu aimes préparer ? from the preceding context. prépare means “make” or “prepare” here. It is the present-tense form of préparer with je: je prépare. The same written form also occurs with il, elle, or on, so the subject identifies who is preparing. Example: Je prépare le dîner. — “I prepare dinner.” souvent means “often.” It is an adverb, so it describes how frequently the preparing happens and does not change for the speaker or for the soup. Example: Je cuisine souvent. — “I often cook.” soupe means “soup.” It is a feminine noun in French. Its plural is soupes; with the indefinite plural article, des soupes means “some soups.” Example: La soupe est chaude. — “The soup is hot.” simple means “simple” here. It describes soupe and has the feminine singular agreement required by that noun, but its spelling is the same in the masculine and feminine singular. Its base form is simple; a useful opposite is compliqué for a masculine noun or compliquée for a feminine noun. Example: Une recette simple. — “A simple recipe.” une is the feminine singular indefinite article in une soupe simple. It marks the noun phrase as indefinite; it does not by itself state a numerical count. Together, une soupe simple means “a simple soup”: une marks the noun phrase as feminine singular, and simple describes soupe. The pattern Je + present-tense verb + souvent + noun phrase produces “I often make a simple soup.” Thus the full utterance says that the speaker frequently prepares a soup characterized as simple. It does not specify a particular recipe or a precise number of soups.

5. Est-ce que tu utilises une recette ?

   Do you use a recipe?

   Est-ce que tu

   do you...? (question pattern)

   utilises

   use

   recette

   recipe

   More detail

   Est-ce que tu is a reusable way to form a yes/no question in French: Est-ce que marks the question, and tu is the informal singular subject pronoun “you.” It does not itself mean “use”; the following verb supplies that meaning. Example: Est-ce que tu cuisines ? — “Do you cook?” utilises is the present-tense form of utiliser for tu: tu utilises, “you use.” The ending -es here marks the second-person singular present form of this -er verb. Example: Tu utilises ce livre. — “You use this book.” recette means “recipe.” It is a feminine noun, so the indefinite article used with it is une: une recette. Here, une introduces a recipe without asserting a numerical count; the sentence asks whether the person uses a recipe. Example: Cette recette est simple. — “This recipe is simple.” Together, Est-ce que tu + utilises forms the question “Do you use …?”, and une recette supplies what is used. The complete utterance means: “Do you use a recipe?”

6. J'en suis une facile.

   I follow an easy one.

   suis

   follow

   en

   one of them

   une

   a/an

   facile

   easy

   More detail

   J' is the elided form of je before the vowel sound in en. The sequence J'en means “I … one of them,” with en referring here to the relevant recipes. en is a pronoun meaning “of it” or “of them” here. It refers back to the recipe context and helps avoid repeating the noun. Do not confuse it with y, which generally points to a place or to something introduced with à. suis is the first-person singular present form of suivre (“to follow”): je suis, tu suis, il/elle suit. In this sentence it is the verb suivre, not the separate verb être (“to be”), even though the two verbs share the form suis in the first person singular. Example: Je suis cette méthode. — “I follow this method.” une is the feminine singular form used for “one” or “a/an” here. It stands in for a feminine singular noun such as recette, rather than repeating that noun: J'en suis une means “I follow one [of them].” Its form agrees with the understood noun’s grammatical gender; it does not by itself assert a numerical count beyond selecting one item in this construction. facile describes the understood recipe and means “easy.” It is the base form of the adjective; with a feminine singular noun such as recette, it remains facile. The adjective also has the same spelling in the masculine singular form, while plural forms normally add -s: facile / faciles. Example: Je choisis une méthode facile. — “I choose an easy method.” Together, J'en suis une facile means “I follow an easy one.” In the source order, J'en supplies “I … one of them,” suis says “follow,” and une facile selects one recipe and describes it as easy. A reusable pattern is J'en + verb + un/une + adjective: “I [verb] an [adjective] one of them.”

7. Je voudrais la goûter quand elle sera prête.

   I would like to try it when it is ready.

   Je voudrais

   I would like

   la

   it

   goûter

   to try or taste

   quand

   when

   elle

   it

   sera

   will be

   prête

   ready

   More detail

   Je voudrais contains the first-person singular conditional form of vouloir (“to want”). Here it expresses a wish politely: “I would like.” The useful pattern is je voudrais + infinitive for saying what you would like to do. Example: Je voudrais partir. — “I would like to leave.” la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun. In this sentence, it means “it” and comes before the infinitive goûter; its specific referent is not identified here. Compare the masculine singular form le in a different context. French object pronouns commonly precede the verb or infinitive they belong to: Je veux la voir. — “I want to see it.” goûter is the infinitive meaning “to taste” or, in this context, “to try” food or drink. Its base form is already the infinitive, and after voudrais it names the desired action. Goûter can also mean “to taste” more literally, depending on the object and context. quand introduces a time clause meaning “when.” The reusable pattern is quand + clause: Je partirai quand tu seras prêt. — “I will leave when you are ready.” In French, a future event after quand can be expressed with the future tense; it is not required to use a present form merely because English often does so in similar clauses. elle is a feminine singular subject pronoun, translated here as “it.” Its grammatical feminine form does not by itself identify the particular thing referred to. It is the subject of sera and agrees with the feminine form prête later in the clause. sera is the third-person singular future form of être, “to be.” The useful chain is être → est (present, “is”) → sera (future, “will be”) for this subject form. Here it states a future condition: the referent of elle will be ready. prête is the feminine singular form of the adjective prêt, meaning “ready.” The adjective agrees with the feminine singular subject elle; the masculine singular form is prêt, without the final -e. Example: Elle est prête. — “She is ready.” Together, Je voudrais la goûter means “I would like to try/taste it,” and quand elle sera prête means “when it is ready.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I would like to try it when it is ready.”

8. Je garderai un peu de soupe pour toi.

   I will save some soup for you.

   garderai

   will save / will keep

   un peu de

   some / a little of

   soupe

   soup

   pour toi

   for you

   More detail

   garderai is the future form of garder (“to keep” or “to save”) for je: je garderai = “I will keep/save.” French future forms are built into the verb; compare present je garde (“I keep/am keeping”) with future je garderai (“I will keep”). Here it expresses a future action, not a command. un peu de is a quantity expression meaning “a little/some.” The noun after it is introduced by de, so French says un peu de soupe, not a quantity article directly before soupe. The expression does not specify an exact amount. soupe means “soup.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by forms such as la soupe (“the soup”) and une soupe (“a soup”). In this sentence, however, the quantity expression un peu de precedes it, so no feminine indefinite article appears here. pour toi means “for you,” with pour introducing the intended recipient or beneficiary and toi being the stressed form used after a preposition. Compare pour moi (“for me”) and pour lui (“for him/her”). Together, Je garderai supplies the future action and its subject, un peu de soupe specifies what will be saved and the non-exact quantity, and pour toi identifies the beneficiary. The whole utterance therefore means: “I will save some soup for you.”