About This Lesson
Use Preparing meals for a busy week to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
La semaine prochaine s'annonce chargée, alors préparer quelques repas à l'avance aiderait.
luh suh-MEN proh-SHEN sah-NONSS shar-ZHAY, ah-LOR pray-pah-RAY kelk ruh-PAH ah lah-VONSS ay-duh-RAY. Next week looks busy, so preparing some meals in advance would help.
B
La préparation des repas aidera, mais évite de manger la même chose tous les jours.
luh pray-pah-rah-SYON day ruh-PAH ay-duh-RAH, meh ay-VEET duh mahn-ZHAY lah MEM SHOHZ too lay ZHOOR. Meal prep will help, but avoid eating the same thing every day.
A
Je pensais préparer une grande quantité de curry de légumes.
zhuh pahn-SAY pray-pah-RAY oon grahnd kahn-tee-TAY duh kuh-REE duh lay-GOOM. I was thinking of making a big batch of vegetable curry.
B
Ça marche si tu le répartis en portions et que tu le conserves correctement.
sah MARSH see too luh ray-par-TEE ahn por-SYON ay kuh too luh kohn-SAIRV kor-rekt-MAHN. That works if you portion it properly and store it safely.
A
Est-ce que je devrais en congeler une partie et garder le reste au réfrigérateur ?
ess kuh zhuh duh-VRAY ahn kohn-zhuh-LAY oon par-TEE ay gar-DAY luh REST oh ray-free-zhay-rah-TUHR? Should I freeze some and keep the rest in the fridge?
B
Congèle quelques portions.
kohn-ZHEL kelk por-SYON. Freeze a few portions.
B
Étiquette chaque récipient pour choisir facilement.
ay-tee-KET SHAK ray-see-pee-AHN poor shwah-ZEER fay-see-luh-MAHN. Label each container so it is easy to choose.
A
J'ai aussi besoin de quelque chose d'équilibré pour le déjeuner, pas seulement de riz.
zhay oh-SEE buh-ZWAN duh kelk SHOHZ day-kee-lee-BRAY poor luh day-zhuh-NAY, pah sayl-MAHN duh REEZ. I also need something balanced for lunch, not just rice.
B
Ajoute des œufs, des haricots ou du poulet, selon ce que tu as envie de manger.
ah-ZHOOT day uhf, day ah-ree-KOH oh doo poo-LAY, suh-LON suh kuh too ahn-VEE duh mahn-ZHAY. Add eggs, beans, or chicken, depending on what you feel like eating.
A
Si les restes me semblent ennuyeux, je peux changer l'accompagnement.
see lay REST muh SAHMBL ahn-NWEE-YUH, zhuh puh SHON-ZHAY lah-kohn-pahn-YUH-MAHN. If the leftovers feel boring, I can change the side dish.
B
De petits changements rendent les repas préparés plus agréables.
duh puh-TEE shonzh-MAHN RAHND lay ruh-PAH pray-pah-RAY plooz ah-GRAY-AHBL. Small changes make prepared meals more enjoyable.Word by Word
La
In La semaine prochaine and La préparation des repas, La means “the” before the noun. It is the feminine singular form used with semaine and préparation.
semaine
In La semaine prochaine, semaine means “week.” The phrase refers specifically to the week that comes after the current one; a reusable pattern is semaine + time expression.
prochaine
In La semaine prochaine, prochaine means “next” and describes semaine. It is placed after the noun in this expression.
s'annonce
In La semaine prochaine s'annonce chargée, s'annonce means “looks to be” or “is shaping up to be.” It presents how the coming week appears based on the current expectation.
chargée
In s'annonce chargée, chargée means “busy” and describes the week. It is the form used with the feminine noun semaine.
alors
In alors préparer quelques repas..., alors means “so,” linking the busy week to the helpful suggestion that follows. It can introduce a result or practical response to what was just said.
préparer
In préparer quelques repas à l'avance, préparer means “to prepare.” It is used as an infinitive for the suggested activity; a reusable pattern is préparer + a meal or other object.
quelques
In quelques repas, quelques means “a few” or “some,” referring to an unspecified small number of meals. It comes directly before the plural noun it describes.
repas
In quelques repas and La préparation des repas, repas means “meals.” The word can refer to meals being prepared or to meals as a general activity.
à l'avance
In préparer quelques repas à l'avance, à l'avance means “in advance,” so the meals are prepared before they are needed. The expression is made of à and l'avance and is useful after an action to show that it happens early.
aiderait
In préparer quelques repas à l'avance aiderait, aiderait means “would help.” It presents the suggested preparation as a useful result in this situation; a reusable pattern is something + aiderait.
préparation
In La préparation des repas, préparation means “preparation.” Here it names the activity of preparing meals, and it is followed by des repas to specify what is prepared.
des
In La préparation des repas, des means “of the” or simply connects préparation with repas as “meal preparation.” It is used before the plural noun repas in this expression.
aidera
In La préparation des repas aidera, aidera means “will help.” It says that meal preparation is expected to be helpful; a reusable pattern is a plan or action + aidera.
mais
In aidera, mais évite..., mais means “but.” It introduces advice that limits or balances the helpfulness of meal preparation.
évite
In évite de manger la même chose tous les jours, évite means “avoid” and gives direct advice to the familiar addressee. A reliable pattern is éviter de + infinitive, as in éviter de manger.
de
In évite de manger, de links éviter to the following infinitive manger and gives the pattern “avoid eating.” In De petits changements, initial De introduces “small changes” in the final sentence.
manger
In éviter de manger la même chose, manger means “to eat.” It follows de after éviter; a reusable pattern is éviter de manger + food or meal.
même
In la même chose, même means “same” and identifies the thing as identical each time. It is placed before chose in this expression.
chose
In la même chose, chose means “thing.” Together with même, it refers to the same thing being eaten repeatedly; a reusable pattern is la même chose.
tous
In tous les jours, tous contributes to the meaning “every.” The complete time expression tous les jours means “every day” and describes repeated frequency.
jours
In tous les jours, jours means “days.” With tous les, it forms the common expression “every day.”
Je
In Je pensais préparer..., Je means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person considering the meal plan. It appears before the verb in the sentence.
pensais
In Je pensais préparer..., pensais means “was thinking.” The pattern Je pensais + infinitive introduces an idea or plan the speaker had in mind.
une
In une grande quantité, une means “a” or “one” and introduces the quantity being proposed. It comes before the noun quantité.
grande
In une grande quantité, grande means “large” or “big” and describes the amount. It is placed before quantité in this phrase.
quantité
In une grande quantité de curry de légumes, quantité means “quantity” or “amount.” The expression specifies that a large amount of curry is being prepared; a reusable pattern is une quantité de + noun.
curry
In curry de légumes, curry means “curry,” the dish being prepared. It is followed by de légumes to specify the type of curry.
légumes
In curry de légumes, légumes means “vegetables.” The phrase de légumes identifies the curry as vegetable curry.
Ça
In Ça marche, Ça refers to the proposed meal-preparation idea and means “that” or “it.” Together, Ça marche means “that works,” a common way to approve a suggestion.
marche
In Ça marche, marche means “works.” With Ça, it evaluates the suggested plan as acceptable or practical.
si
In si tu le répartis en portions and si les restes me semblent ennuyeux, si means “if.” It introduces a condition that must be considered before the result or advice.
tu
In si tu le répartis..., tu means “you” and identifies the person carrying out the food-preparation actions. It appears before the verb in this clause.
le
In tu le répartis and tu le conserves, le refers to the curry or prepared food already mentioned and means “it.” It is placed before the verb as the object being divided and stored.
répartis
In tu le répartis en portions, répartis means “divide” or “distribute.” The reusable pattern is répartir quelque chose en portions, meaning to divide something into portions.
en
In répartis en portions, en means “into” and shows how the food is divided. In en congeler une partie, it means “some of it,” referring back to the food; its meaning depends on the surrounding construction.
portions
In répartis en portions and quelques portions, portions means “portions.” It refers to separate amounts of food prepared for individual meals or storage.
et
In répartis en portions et que tu le conserves, et means “and” and joins the instructions about dividing and storing the food. It can connect two related actions or clauses.
que
In et que tu le conserves, que introduces the second clause connected to the condition. It also appears in Est-ce que as part of the question marker.
conserves
In que tu le conserves correctement, conserves means “keep” or “store,” referring to the prepared food. A reusable pattern is conserver quelque chose correctement or safely.
correctement
In tu le conserves correctement, correctement means “properly” or “correctly.” It modifies the storage action and indicates that it should be done in the right way.
Est-ce que
In Est-ce que je devrais..., Est-ce que marks a question without changing the basic statement order. Est-ce and que work together to turn the following clause into a yes-or-no question.
devrais
In Est-ce que je devrais en congeler..., devrais means “should” and asks for advice about what the speaker ought to do. It is followed by the infinitive congeler.
congeler
In je devrais en congeler une partie, congeler means “to freeze.” It is used after devrais; a reusable pattern is congeler une partie of a prepared food.
partie
In en congeler une partie, partie means “part” and refers to one portion of the total food. The phrase une partie identifies less than the whole amount.
garder
In garder le reste au réfrigérateur, garder means “to keep.” It is coordinated with congeler and describes storing the remaining food rather than freezing it.
reste
In garder le reste, reste means “the remaining part” or “the rest.” It refers to the food left after une partie has been frozen.
au
In au réfrigérateur, au means “in” or “at the” and introduces the refrigerator as the storage place. It is used directly before réfrigérateur in this location expression.
réfrigérateur
In au réfrigérateur, réfrigérateur means “refrigerator” or “fridge.” The phrase identifies where the remaining food should be kept.
Congèle
In Congèle quelques portions, Congèle means “freeze” and gives a direct instruction to the familiar addressee. It is followed by the food amount to be frozen.
Étiquette
In Étiquette chaque récipient, Étiquette means “label” and gives an instruction to put identifying information on each container. A reusable pattern is étiqueter + container or item.
chaque
In chaque récipient, chaque means “each” and refers to the containers one by one. It is placed directly before the singular noun récipient.
récipient
In chaque récipient, récipient means “container.” It refers to each container holding a prepared portion.
pour
In pour choisir facilement, pour introduces the purpose of labeling and means “in order to.” It is followed here by the infinitive choisir; a reusable pattern is pour + infinitive.
choisir
In pour choisir facilement, choisir means “to choose.” The action is made easier because the containers have been labeled.
facilement
In choisir facilement, facilement means “easily.” It describes how the person can choose a container or meal.
J'ai
In J'ai aussi besoin de quelque chose..., J'ai means “I have,” and with besoin de the whole expression means “I need.” A reusable pattern is J'ai besoin de + noun or activity.
aussi
In J'ai aussi besoin..., aussi means “also” and adds another requirement to the meal plan. It is placed after the verb phrase J'ai.
besoin
In J'ai besoin de quelque chose, besoin expresses “need.” The reliable construction is avoir besoin de, followed by the thing that is needed.
quelque chose
In quelque chose d'équilibré, quelque chose means “something.” Quelque contributes an indefinite meaning and chose means “thing”; together they introduce an unspecified item that is then described by d'équilibré.
d'équilibré
In quelque chose d'équilibré, d'équilibré means “balanced.” The de form links the description to quelque chose, so the speaker needs something that is balanced.
déjeuner
In pour le déjeuner, déjeuner means “lunch.” The phrase identifies the meal for which the balanced food is needed.
pas
In pas seulement de riz, pas provides the negation “not.” Together with seulement, it makes the meaning “not only rice.”
seulement
In pas seulement de riz, seulement means “only” or “just.” The phrase pas seulement de riz says that lunch should contain more than rice alone.
riz
In pas seulement de riz, riz means “rice.” It is the food that the speaker says should not be the only part of lunch.
Ajoute
In Ajoute des œufs, des haricots ou du poulet, Ajoute means “add” and gives a direct suggestion or instruction. It is followed by the ingredients to include.
œufs
In des œufs, œufs means “eggs.” It is one of the possible ingredients suggested for making lunch more balanced.
haricots
In des haricots, haricots means “beans.” It is another ingredient that can be added to the prepared meal.
ou
In des œufs, des haricots ou du poulet, ou means “or.” It presents alternatives among the possible ingredients.
du
In du poulet, du means “some” before the food noun poulet. It presents chicken as an amount of food to add rather than as a single countable item.
poulet
In du poulet, poulet means “chicken.” It is one of the food options that can be added to lunch.
selon
In selon ce que tu as envie de manger, selon means “depending on” or “according to.” It introduces the choice criterion, namely what the person feels like eating.
ce
In ce que tu as envie de manger, ce means “what” as part of the expression ce que. The expression introduces the thing that the person feels like eating.
as envie de
In tu as envie de manger, as envie de is the core of the expression meaning “feel like eating.” As contributes “you have,” envie expresses desire, and de introduces the following infinitive manger; the reusable pattern is avoir envie de + infinitive.
les
In les restes, les means “the” before the plural noun restes. It identifies the leftovers as the food already prepared.
restes
In les restes, restes means “leftovers,” referring to food remaining from an earlier meal or preparation. It is the subject of the clause describing how the food feels to the speaker.
me
In les restes me semblent ennuyeux, me refers to the speaker and means “to me.” It identifies whose impression or judgment is being expressed.
semblent
In les restes me semblent ennuyeux, semblent means “seem.” The pattern sembler + adjective expresses how something appears to the person mentioned.
ennuyeux
In me semblent ennuyeux, ennuyeux means “boring.” It describes the leftovers from the speaker’s point of view.
peux
In je peux changer l'accompagnement, peux means “can” and expresses the speaker’s ability or option to make a change. A reusable pattern is pouvoir + infinitive, as in peux changer.
changer
In je peux changer l'accompagnement, changer means “to change.” It is the infinitive following peux and names the action the speaker can take.
l'accompagnement
In changer l'accompagnement, l'accompagnement means “the side dish” or “accompaniment.” It identifies the part of the meal that can be changed to make the leftovers less repetitive.
petits
In De petits changements, petits means “small” and describes changements. It presents the adjustments as limited rather than major.
changements
In De petits changements, changements means “changes.” These changes are the subject of the final statement and refer to small adjustments in prepared meals.
rendent
In rendent les repas préparés plus agréables, rendent means “make” or “render.” The reusable pattern is rendre something plus + adjective, showing that one thing causes another to have a quality.
préparés
In les repas préparés, préparés means “prepared” and describes the meals that have already been made. It helps identify the meals being discussed.
plus
In plus agréables, plus means “more.” It marks the comparison, showing that the meals become more enjoyable after small changes.
agréables
In rendent les repas préparés plus agréables, agréables means “pleasant” or “enjoyable.” It describes the improved experience of eating the prepared meals.
Grammar Points
Le conditionnel présent : aiderait
Cela aiderait à préparer les repas à l'avance.
suh-LAH ay-duh-RAY ah pray-pah-RAY lay ruh-PAH ah lah-VONSS.That would help prepare the meals in advance.
The conditional ending -ait expresses a possible suggestion or result: aiderait means “would help.”
L'accord de l'adjectif avec le nom : une semaine chargée
Une semaine chargée demande des repas équilibrés.
oon suh-MEN shar-ZHAY duh-MAHND day ruh-PAH ay-kee-lee-BRAY.A busy week requires balanced meals.
Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number: semaine is feminine, so chargé becomes chargée.
French Vocabulary
à l'avance
adv
ah lah-VONSS
in advance
préparer quelques repas à l'avance
aider
verb
ay-DAY
to help
aiderait
préparer quelques repas à l'avance aiderait
chargé
adj
shar-ZHAY
busy
chargée
La semaine prochaine s'annonce chargée.
curry
noun
kuh-REE
curry
une grande quantité de curry de légumes
éviter
verb
ay-vee-TAY
to avoid
évite
évite de manger la même chose tous les jours
grande quantité
phrase
grahnd kahn-tee-TAY
large amount
une grande quantité de curry de légumes
même
adj
MEM
same
la même chose
penser
verb
pahn-SAY
to think
pensais
Je pensais préparer une grande quantité de curry
préparer
verb
pray-pah-RAY
to prepare
préparer quelques repas à l'avance
repas
noun
ruh-PAH
meal
préparer quelques repas à l'avance
semaine
noun
suh-MEN
week
La semaine prochaine s'annonce chargée.
tous les jours
phrase
too lay ZHOOR
every day
la même chose tous les jours
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Freeze a few portions.
Show Answer
Congèle quelques portions.Label each container so it is easy to choose.
Show Answer
Étiquette chaque récipient pour choisir facilement.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
to prepare
Show Answer
préparerbusy
Show Answer
chargéeto help
Show Answer
aideraitweek