Cooking dinner with a recipe | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Cette recette a l'air assez simple pour le dîner.

   This recipe looks simple enough for dinner.

   Cette

   this

   recette

   recipe

   a l'air

   looks; seems

   assez

   enough

   simple

   simple

   pour

   for

   dîner

   dinner

   More detail

   Cette means “this” here and is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative adjective. It agrees with the feminine singular noun recette; the form would be ce with a masculine singular noun, as in ce plat (“this dish”). recette means “recipe.” It is a feminine singular noun, so it combines with cette in this sentence. Example: Cette recette est facile. — “This recipe is easy.” a l'air is the reusable French construction avoir l'air (“to look” or “to seem”). In the observed form, a is the third-person singular present form of avoir, used because the subject is Cette recette; l'air contributes the idea of an appearance. Example: Il a l'air fatigué. — “He looks tired.” assez means “enough” or, with an adjective, “sufficiently.” Here it marks a sufficient degree: assez simple means “simple enough.” It does not express a numerical quantity. Example: La pièce est assez grande. — “The room is large enough.” simple is the adjective “simple.” In this sentence it describes the recipe through avoir l'air. The form is singular; French adjectives can change for number and gender, for example simple for singular and simples for plural, while the masculine and feminine singular forms are both simple here. Example: Ces instructions sont simples. — “These instructions are simple.” pour is a preposition meaning “for” in this use. It introduces the purpose or occasion associated with the dinner, rather than describing who receives something. Example: J'achète des légumes pour le repas. — “I am buying vegetables for the meal.” dîner is the noun “dinner.” In the full phrase pour le dîner, the article le is part of the noun phrase and means “the”; the selected quote contains only the noun dîner. Example: Le dîner est prêt. — “Dinner is ready.” Together, Cette recette means “this recipe,” and a l'air assez simple says that it appears sufficiently easy or uncomplicated. pour le dîner specifies dinner as the relevant meal or occasion. The whole utterance therefore means: “This recipe looks simple enough for dinner.”

2. Je peux couper les légumes pendant que tu fais bouillir l'eau.

   I can chop the vegetables while you boil water.

   Je peux

   I can

   couper

   chop; cut

   légumes

   vegetables

   pendant que

   while

   tu fais bouillir

   you boil

   l'eau

   water

   More detail

   Je peux combines the subject pronoun je (“I”) with peux, the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“can; be able to”). Pouvoir + infinitive expresses ability or permission depending on context; here it expresses ability or readiness to do the action. The infinitive that follows is couper. couper means “to cut”; with vegetables in this sentence, the intended practical meaning is “to chop.” It is a regular -er verb: je coupe means “I cut,” while the infinitive after peux remains couper. Example: Je peux couper le pain. — “I can cut the bread.” légumes is the plural noun “vegetables.” Its singular is légume, and the plural is marked by the final -s in writing. The preceding les is the plural definite article, so les légumes means “the vegetables,” referring to a specific set understood in the situation rather than vegetables in general. pendant que is a conjunction meaning “while.” It introduces an action occurring during the same period as the action in the other clause. Example: Je lis pendant que tu cuisines. — “I read while you cook.” tu fais bouillir contains tu, the informal singular “you,” and fais bouillir, the present-tense form of faire bouillir (“to boil something”). French commonly uses faire + infinitive to express causing an action: faire bouillir l'eau means “boil the water” or literally “make the water boil.” The form fais is the second-person singular present form of faire; bouillir stays in the infinitive. Example: Tu fais bouillir le lait. — “You boil the milk.” l'eau means “water.” It is the noun eau with the definite article la; before a vowel sound, la becomes l', so la eau is not used. The noun eau is grammatically feminine, but the elided article l' does not visibly show that gender here. Together, Je peux couper les légumes means “I can chop the vegetables.” Pendant que tu fais bouillir l'eau adds the simultaneous action “while you boil the water.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can chop the vegetables while you boil water.”

3. La soupe doit cuire pendant combien de temps ?

   How long should the soup cook?

   soupe

   soup

   doit

   should

   cuire

   cook

   pendant combien de temps

   for how long

   More detail

   soupe means “soup” here. It is a feminine French noun, so the definite article is la: la soupe means “the soup.” Example: La soupe est chaude. — “The soup is hot.” doit is the present-tense third-person singular form of devoir. The useful chain is devoir → doit; with an infinitive, devoir expresses something that is required, expected, or advisable. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the “should” meaning. Example: La soupe doit refroidir. — “The soup should cool down.” cuire is an infinitive meaning “to cook” or “to be cooked,” depending on the construction. After doit, it remains in the infinitive: doit cuire. Here it describes the soup undergoing cooking, not someone actively cooking it. Example: Les légumes doivent cuire. — “The vegetables should cook.” pendant combien de temps asks about duration: literally, “for how much time,” naturally “for how long.” pendant introduces the duration, and combien de temps asks for its length. Example: Pendant combien de temps dois-je attendre ? — “How long should I wait?” Together, La soupe is the subject, doit cuire says that it should cook, and pendant combien de temps asks for the duration. The complete utterance means: “How long should the soup cook?”

4. Laisse-la cuire jusqu'à ce que les légumes soient tendres.

   Let it cook until the vegetables are soft.

   Laisse-la

   Let it

   cuire

   cook

   jusqu'à ce que

   until

   les légumes

   the vegetables

   soient

   are

   tendres

   soft

   More detail

   Laisse-la comes from laisser (“to let” or “to leave”) in the informal singular imperative. la is the feminine singular direct-object pronoun, placed after the imperative and joined with a hyphen. Here, the fixed translation and nearby context support “it” referring to the soup. Compare Laisse-le for a masculine singular object and Laissez-la when addressing one or more people formally/plurally. Example: Laisse-la refroidir. — “Let it cool.” cuire is the infinitive “to cook” and completes the construction laisser quelqu’un/quelque chose + infinitive: “let someone/something do something.” In this sentence, the soup is allowed to cook rather than being told to cook actively. Example: Laissez cuire les pommes de terre. — “Let the potatoes cook.” jusqu’à ce que means “until” and introduces the event or condition that marks the endpoint. In French, this conjunction is followed by the subjunctive. The apostrophe in jusqu’à is part of the written form before the vowel sound of à. les légumes means “the vegetables.” légumes is the plural of légume, and les is the plural definite article. The article marks a specific plural group in this context; it does not itself indicate an exact number. soient is the third-person plural subjunctive form of être (“to be”). It is required here because jusqu’à ce que introduces the endpoint clause, and it agrees with the plural subject les légumes. The indicative counterpart is sont (“are”), but jusqu’à ce que calls for soient in this construction. tendres is the plural form of the adjective tendre, meaning “soft” here. It agrees with les légumes; the plural -s is written but not normally pronounced. The singular form is tendre, as in un légume tendre — “a soft vegetable.” Together, Laisse-la cuire means “Let it cook.” The sequence jusqu’à ce que les légumes soient tendres adds the endpoint: “until the vegetables are soft.” The complete utterance therefore means “Let it cook until the vegetables are soft.”

5. Est-ce qu'on doit la goûter avant d'ajouter plus de sel ?

   Should we taste it before we add more salt?

   Est-ce qu'on

   question pattern for “are we…?”

   doit

   should / must

   la

   it

   goûter

   taste

   avant d'

   before …ing

   ajouter

   add

   plus

   more

   sel

   salt

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on introduces a neutral yes/no question. on is grammatically third-person singular, although it can mean “we” here, so it combines with doit, not a plural verb. Example: Est-ce qu'on commence ? — “Shall we start?” doit is the third-person singular present form of devoir. With an infinitive, devoir expresses obligation or recommendation; here the intended meaning is “should.” The subject is on, while goûter stays in the infinitive. Example: On doit attendre. — “We have to wait.” la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it means “it,” the thing to be tasted. Its form reflects the object’s grammatical gender and number, not the identity of the person tasting it. Example: Je la goûte. — “I taste it.” goûter is the infinitive “to taste.” After devoir, it names the action that is required or recommended: devoir + infinitive. The infinitive does not show who performs the action; on supplies that subject. Example: Nous voulons goûter la soupe. — “We want to taste the soup.” avant d' is the beginning of the pattern avant de + infinitive, meaning “before …ing.” de becomes d' before the vowel at the beginning of ajouter. The following infinitive describes the later action in the comparison. Example: Goûtez avant d'ajouter du poivre. — “Taste before adding pepper.” ajouter is the infinitive “to add.” In this sentence, avant d'ajouter means “before we add”; the subject is understood from on. Example: Je vais ajouter de l'eau. — “I am going to add water.” plus means “more” here. In plus de sel, it indicates a greater amount. This differs from the use of plus meaning “no longer” in a negative construction. Example: Ajoutez plus de sauce. — “Add more sauce.” sel is the noun “salt.” In plus de sel, it names the ingredient whose amount may be increased. Example: Le sel est sur la table. — “The salt is on the table.” Together, Est-ce qu'on doit asks whether the group should perform the following action. la goûter means “taste it,” and avant d'ajouter plus de sel places that tasting before adding more salt. The whole utterance means: “Should we taste it before we add more salt?”

6. Goûte-la d'abord.

   Taste it first.

   Goûte

   Taste!

   la

   it

   d'abord

   first

   More detail

   Goûte is the imperative of goûter (“to taste”) for one person addressed with tu. The imperative gives a direct instruction. In the affirmative imperative, an object pronoun normally follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen: Goûte le plat (“Taste the dish”) becomes Goûte-le (“Taste it”). la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it represents the thing to be tasted; the supplied sentences do not identify that thing by a specific noun. Its grammatical form is feminine singular, but this does not by itself tell us what the referent is. Compare Goûte-le for a masculine singular object and Goûte-les for plural objects. d'abord is an adverb meaning “first” or “to begin with.” It places the tasting before the later action. Example: Lis d'abord la recette. — “Read the recipe first.” Together, the imperative Goûte, the following direct-object pronoun la, and the sequencing adverb d'abord form an instruction to taste the feminine-singular object first. In the supplied context, this tasting occurs before adding more salt; seasoning can happen afterward.

7. Ensuite, on peut l'assaisonner avec soin.

   Then we can season it carefully.

   Ensuite

   then

   on peut

   we can

   l'assaisonner

   season it

   avec soin

   carefully

   More detail

   Ensuite means “then” here and places this action after an earlier step. It is a useful sequencing word: d'abord means “first,” while ensuite marks what comes afterward. on peut expresses “we can” in this translation. on is a third-person singular subject form that commonly refers to people generally or, in context, to “we”; here the fixed translation establishes the inclusive “we” reading. peut is the present form of pouvoir for on (the same form as with il or elle). pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: On peut attendre. — “We can wait.” l'assaisonner means “season it.” This is the infinitive assaisonner with the object pronoun l' attached before it; the apostrophe is an elision before the vowel sound of assaisonner. assaisonner means to add seasoning to food. The pronoun represents the thing being seasoned, expressed as “it” in the fixed translation. For example, Je vais l'assaisonner. — “I am going to season it.” avec soin literally means “with care” and functions here as “carefully.” The noun soin means care or attention; avec introduces what something is done with. A similar reusable expression is travailler avec soin — “to work carefully.” Together, on peut + infinitive gives the ability or possibility to do something: on peut l'assaisonner means “we can season it.” Adding avec soin says how the action is carried out, and Ensuite places it after the earlier step. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then we can season it carefully.”

8. La soupe a meilleur goût maintenant.

   The soup tastes better now.

   soupe

   soup

   a

   has

   meilleur

   better

   goût

   taste

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   soupe means “soup” here. The observed noun is feminine, as shown by la in La soupe; the noun itself does not change for this gender marking. Example: une soupe chaude — “a hot soup.” a is the third-person singular present form of avoir (“to have”). Its subject here is La soupe. In the reusable construction avoir meilleur goût, a helps express how something tastes; it is not a separate claim that the soup possesses an object. The form chain is avoir → a for a singular third-person subject. Example: Ce plat a bon goût. — “This dish tastes good.” meilleur means “better” in this sentence. It is the comparative form related to bon: bon (“good”) → meilleur (“better”) → le meilleur (“the best”). It describes goût, the masculine singular noun that follows it, rather than soupe. Here it forms part of avoir meilleur goût, meaning that the taste is better than the relevant earlier or expected standard. goût means “taste” or “flavor.” It is a masculine noun. In avoir bon goût and avoir meilleur goût, French uses goût to describe the quality of a food’s flavor. Example: Le thé a un goût amer. — “The tea has a bitter taste.” maintenant is the adverb “now.” It places the situation at the present time. Example: C’est meilleur maintenant. — “It is better now.” Together, La soupe is the subject, a meilleur goût says that its flavor is better, and maintenant specifies that this is true now. The complete meaning is: “The soup tastes better now.”

9. La prochaine fois, on pourra ajouter plus d'herbes.

   Next time we can add more herbs.

   La prochaine fois

   next time

   on pourra

   we can

   ajouter

   add

   plus

   more

   herbes

   herbs

   More detail

   La prochaine fois sets the time: “next time.” prochaine is the feminine singular form of prochain because it agrees with fois; the phrase is a reusable way to refer to a later occasion. on pourra means “we can” here. pourra is the future form of pouvoir for on: pouvoir → on pourra. French on can refer to “we” when the intended group is clear; in this sentence, the fixed translation identifies that reading. Example: On pourra commencer demain. — “We can start tomorrow.” ajouter is the infinitive “to add.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, French uses the infinitive: on pourra ajouter means “we will be able to add” or, naturally here, “we can add.” Example: Vous pouvez ajouter du sel. — “You can add salt.” plus means “more” here. It indicates a greater amount, and it combines with d'herbes to mean “more herbs.” Before the vowel sound at the start of herbes, de appears in its elided form d'. herbes is the plural noun “herbs.” Its singular form is herbe; the plural is formed with -s, which is normally not pronounced in this position. In d'herbes, the noun is the thing being added. Together, La prochaine fois + on pourra ajouter + plus d'herbes means: “Next time we can add more herbs.”