Borrowing and caring for a non-stick pan | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta poêle antiadhésive pour préparer quelque chose ?

   Can I borrow your non-stick pan for something I am cooking?

   Est-ce que je peux

   Can I…?

   emprunter

   to borrow

   poêle

   pan

   antiadhésive

   non-stick

   préparer

   to prepare

   quelque chose

   something

   More detail

   Est-ce que je peux introduces a yes/no question. Here, peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“can/to be able to”), used to ask for permission: “Can I…?” The pattern Est-ce que je peux + infinitive ? is reusable. For example: Est-ce que je peux entrer ? — “Can I come in?” emprunter means to borrow: to take and use something temporarily with the expectation of returning it. It is an infinitive after peux. Do not confuse it with prêter, “to lend,” where the owner gives something for another person to use. Example: Je peux emprunter ton livre ? — “Can I borrow your book?” ta means “your” when speaking informally to one person and modifying a feminine singular noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the owner. Here it accompanies poêle. poêle is the feminine noun “pan.” The phrase ta poêle means “your pan.” Example: La poêle est chaude. — “The pan is hot.” antiadhésive describes the pan as non-stick. It is the feminine singular form of antiadhésif, agreeing with feminine singular poêle; the adjective itself carries this ending. The related base adjective is adhésif (“adhesive”), while the prefix anti- gives the opposite meaning here. Example: une surface antiadhésive — “a non-stick surface.” pour préparer expresses purpose: “in order to prepare.” Préparer is an infinitive, and after pour it explains what the speaker intends to do with the pan. Example: J’utilise ce couteau pour préparer le repas. — “I use this knife to prepare the meal.” quelque chose is the indefinite pronoun “something.” It refers to an unspecified thing; it does not identify what will be prepared. In this sentence, préparer quelque chose means “prepare something.” Example: Je veux préparer quelque chose de simple. — “I want to prepare something simple.” Together, Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta poêle antiadhésive ? asks permission to borrow the listener’s non-stick pan. pour préparer quelque chose adds the purpose: the speaker wants to use it to prepare something. The complete meaning is: “Can I borrow your non-stick pan for something I am cooking?”

2. Oui, mais n'utilise pas d'ustensiles en métal avec cette poêle, s'il te plaît.

   You can, but please do not use metal utensils on it.

   Oui

   yes

   mais

   but

   n'utilise pas

   do not use

   d'ustensiles

   utensils

   métal

   metal

   cette

   this

   poêle

   pan

   s'il te plaît

   please

   More detail

   Oui answers the preceding permission question affirmatively: here it means that using or borrowing the pan is allowed. It is not the verb “can” itself; French commonly uses oui as a standalone positive answer. Example: Oui, tu peux entrer. — “Yes, you can come in.” mais means “but” and introduces the restriction that follows. The pattern oui, mais ... is useful for granting one point while adding a condition. Example: Oui, mais attends une minute. — “Yes, but wait a minute.” n'utilise pas is the negative imperative of utiliser, “to use.” The apostrophe represents the omitted vowel in ne before utilise; in a negative command, ne ... pas surrounds the verb. utilise addresses one person with informal tu, as also shown by te in s'il te plaît. Example: N'utilise pas ce couteau. — “Do not use this knife.” d'ustensiles means “utensils” in this sentence. ustensiles is a plural noun, and d' is the form of de before a vowel. After the negative structure ne ... pas, French uses de or d' instead of the usual indefinite article in this type of phrase: Je n'utilise pas d'ustensiles en métal. — “I do not use metal utensils.” The d' does not by itself state a particular number. métal is the noun “metal.” In en métal, it identifies the material of the utensils: en + material means “made of/in metal” in this context. Example: une table en métal — “a metal table.” cette means “this” and is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner. It agrees with poêle, which is feminine singular; the form itself marks that grammatical agreement, while the fixed context identifies the referent as the non-stick pan being discussed. Compare ce couteau — “this knife” and cette poêle — “this pan.” poêle means “pan” here. It is a feminine noun in this sense, so the phrase uses cette poêle. The noun can refer to the cooking vessel, distinct from other meanings that a similar form may have in other contexts. Example: La poêle est chaude. — “The pan is hot.” s'il te plaît is the familiar singular expression “please.” Literally, it contains si (“if”), il (“it/he”), and te plaît (“pleases you”), but as a whole it is the standard polite addition to a request or command addressed informally to one person. A more formal or plural form is s'il vous plaît. Together, Oui, mais grants the requested permission while adding a restriction. The negative command tells the listener not to use d'ustensiles en métal with cette poêle; avec links the utensils to the pan, and s'il te plaît softens the command as “please.” The complete meaning is: “You can, but please do not use metal utensils on it.”

3. J'utiliserai une cuillère en bois pour ne pas rayer la surface.

   I will use a wooden spoon so I do not scratch the surface.

   J'utiliserai

   I will use

   une cuillère

   a spoon

   en bois

   wooden

   pour ne pas rayer

   so as not to scratch

   la surface

   the surface

   More detail

   J'utiliserai means “I will use” here. It is the first-person singular future form of utiliser: j'utiliserai = “I will use.” The pronoun je is shortened to j' before a vowel sound. Compare the present j'utilise (“I use / I am using”) with the future j'utiliserai (“I will use”). une cuillère means “a spoon.” Cuillère is a feminine noun, so the indefinite article is une; the article presents a spoon without identifying which one. The article itself does not state a numerical count as a teaching point here. For example: J'utilise une cuillère. — “I use a spoon.” en bois specifies the material: “made of wood” or, in the English phrase, “wooden.” The pattern en + material is reusable: une table en bois means “a wooden table.” Here it describes the spoon, not a separate object. pour ne pas rayer expresses purpose with negation: “so as not to scratch.” Rayer is the infinitive “to scratch” in the sense of leaving a scratch or scratches on a surface. In pour ne pas + infinitive, ne pas negates the intended action. For example: Je mets un tapis pour ne pas rayer le sol. — “I put down a mat so as not to scratch the floor.” la surface means “the surface.” Surface is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la. The definite article presents the surface as identifiable in this situation; the sentence does not need to specify its referent again. Together, J'utiliserai une cuillère en bois says “I will use a wooden spoon,” and pour ne pas rayer la surface gives the purpose: “so as not to scratch the surface.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I will use a wooden spoon so I do not scratch the surface.”

4. Régle aussi le feu sur moyen, car une température élevée peut endommager le revêtement.

   Keep the heat at medium too, because high heat can damage the coating.

   Régle

   adjust; set

   aussi

   also; too

   le feu

   the heat

   sur moyen

   at medium

   car

   because

   température

   temperature

   élevée

   high

   peut

   can

   endommager

   damage

   revêtement

   coating

   More detail

   Régle is a command to one person: “set” or “adjust.” It corresponds to the verb régler; the standard spelling of the second-person singular imperative is Règle, but the supplied utterance must be preserved exactly as written. The subject tu is omitted, as is normal for this imperative. Example: Règle la minuterie. — “Set the timer.” aussi means “too” or “also.” It adds this instruction to another relevant instruction; it does not itself identify what the other instruction was. le feu literally refers to “the fire,” but in this cooking context it means the heat or burner setting. The noun feu is masculine, hence le. Example: Le feu est trop fort. — “The heat is too high.” sur moyen expresses the medium setting in this wording. The preposition sur here introduces the selected setting, and moyen means “medium.” In other French phrasing, à feu moyen is also common for cooking at medium heat. The selected phrase does not include a separate noun after moyen; it functions as a compact setting expression. car introduces the reason for the instruction and means “because” or “for.” It connects the command to the explanation that follows. température means “temperature.” It is a feminine noun: une température, la température. In this sentence it is the subject of the clause after car. élevée means “high” here, describing température. The adjective is the feminine singular form of élevé because it agrees with the feminine singular noun température. Compare un niveau élevé — “a high level,” where the masculine form is used. Élevée describes the temperature; it is not an inflection of température. peut means “can” in this sentence. It is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir: je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut. The singular form agrees with the singular subject une température élevée. Example: Une erreur peut coûter cher. — “A mistake can be expensive.” endommager means “to damage.” It is an infinitive after the modal verb peut: peut endommager means “can damage.” The infinitive names the possible action without marking it for a separate subject or tense. Example: La chaleur peut endommager le plastique. — “Heat can damage plastic.” revêtement means “coating” here. It is a masculine noun, as shown by le revêtement. The definite article presents the coating as an identifiable part of the object being discussed, without naming that object again. Together, Régle aussi le feu sur moyen gives the additional instruction “Keep/set the heat at medium.” car une température élevée peut endommager le revêtement gives its reason: “because high heat can damage the coating.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Keep the heat at medium too, because high heat can damage the coating.”

5. Je préfère demander maintenant plutôt que de deviner et de l'abîmer.

   I would rather ask now than guess and ruin it.

   Je préfère

   I prefer / I would rather

   demander

   ask

   maintenant

   now

   plutôt que de

   rather than

   deviner

   guess

   abîmer

   damage / ruin

   More detail

   Je préfère combines the subject pronoun je with the first-person singular present form of préférer (“to prefer”). In this preference pattern, the present tense naturally expresses “I would rather” in English; it is not a conditional form. A reusable pattern is Je préfère X plutôt que de Y (“I prefer X rather than Y”). demander is the infinitive “to ask.” Here it names the action preferred by the speaker. After préférer, an infinitive can describe the preferred action: Je préfère attendre. — “I prefer to wait.” maintenant means “now” and places the asking at the present time. It modifies the action of asking, not the later alternative. plutôt que de introduces the action that is rejected in favor of another one: “rather than.” With an infinitive, French uses plutôt que de + infinitive. For example, Je préfère vérifier plutôt que de supposer. — “I prefer to check rather than assume.” deviner is the infinitive “to guess.” In this sentence, it means trying to work out the answer without asking. Its infinitive form is used because it follows de in plutôt que de deviner. The observed form l'abîmer contains abîmer, the infinitive “to damage” or “to ruin,” plus l', an elided direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. Before a vowel, French writes le or la as l'; the elided form itself does not show which of those grammatical genders is involved. The pronoun is the thing that might be damaged. abîmer is the base form used after de: pour ne pas l'abîmer means “so as not to damage it.” Together, Je préfère demander maintenant says “I prefer to ask now,” and plutôt que de deviner et de l'abîmer contrasts that choice with guessing and consequently damaging the relevant object. The complete meaning is: “I would rather ask now than guess and ruin it.”

6. Ça m'aide. Elle devrait durer plus longtemps si on en prend soin.

   That helps. It should last longer if it is handled carefully.

   m'aide

   helps me

   Elle devrait

   it should

   durer

   last

   plus longtemps

   longer

   en prend soin

   takes care of it

   More detail

   m'aide combines me (written m' before a vowel) with aide, the present-tense form of aider for a third-person singular subject. In Ça m'aide, Ça is the subject and m' means “me”: “That helps me.” The apostrophe is an elision, not a separate word pronounced or written in full here. Elle devrait uses elle for the item referred to as “it” in the translation. In French, elle is grammatically feminine; that does not mean the item is a female person. devrait is the present conditional of devoir, used here for “should” or an expected result, rather than the stronger present form doit (“must” / “has to”). durer is the infinitive “to last.” After the conjugated form devrait, French uses the infinitive: elle devrait durer means “it should last.” Example: Ce câble devrait durer longtemps. — “This cable should last a long time.” plus longtemps means “longer.” longtemps is an adverb meaning “for a long time,” and plus makes the comparison: plus longtemps = “for longer.” The comparison is about duration, not the size of the item. Example: Cette batterie fonctionne plus longtemps. — “This battery works longer.” en prend soin belongs to the reusable expression prendre soin de, “to take care of.” Here prend is the present-tense third-person singular form of prendre, and en replaces the previously understood complement introduced by de: literally, “takes care of it.” The subject on is outside the selected quote and commonly means “we” or an unspecified “one”; here the translation supports the general condition “if it is handled carefully.” Example: On en prend soin. — “We take care of it.” Together, Elle devrait durer plus longtemps says “It should last longer,” and si on en prend soin adds the condition “if it is handled carefully.” The opening Ça m'aide. means “That helps me.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That helps. It should last longer if it is handled carefully.”

7. Est-ce que je dois la laver à la main au lieu de la mettre au lave-vaisselle ?

   Should I wash it by hand instead of putting it in the dishwasher?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   je dois

   I should; I have to

   laver

   wash

   à la main

   by hand

   au lieu de

   instead of

   mettre

   put

   lave-vaisselle

   dishwasher

   More detail

   Est-ce que introduces a direct question. It is a reusable neutral question pattern placed at the beginning of a clause: Est-ce que + statement? For example, Est-ce que tu viens ? means “Are you coming?” je dois uses devoir in the present tense with je: je dois can mean “I must,” “I have to,” or, as in the fixed translation, “I should.” The subject is je; dois is the form carried by the verb devoir, not by a neighboring noun. Other useful present forms include tu dois and il/elle doit. laver is the infinitive “to wash.” After devoir, French uses an infinitive for the action being required or considered: je dois laver means “I have to wash” or “I should wash.” In la laver, la is the object pronoun meaning “it” here, and it is placed before the infinitive. For example, Je dois la nettoyer means “I have to clean it.” à la main means that the action is done manually, “by hand.” The article and noun form the fixed expression à la main; it is not a literal numeric count. For example, Je le fais à la main means “I do it by hand.” au lieu de introduces a contrast between an action and an alternative: au lieu de + infinitive means “instead of doing.” The following infinitive is mettre, so au lieu de la mettre means “instead of putting it.” Here la is again the object pronoun for the same item, and it appears before mettre. In this question, the construction presents the two alternatives; it does not itself assert that either action has already been chosen. mettre is the infinitive “to put” or “to place.” Its meaning here is completed by la and by the destination noun phrase au lave-vaisselle: putting the item in the dishwasher. Mettre is irregular in the present tense; useful forms include je mets, tu mets, and il/elle met. lave-vaisselle is the noun “dishwasher.” It is a compound noun, and the hyphenated form is the observed French word. In au lave-vaisselle, au combines à with the masculine singular definite article le; here the phrase indicates putting the item in the dishwasher. Together, Est-ce que je dois la laver à la main asks whether the speaker should wash the item manually. au lieu de la mettre au lave-vaisselle contrasts that action with putting the same item in the dishwasher. The complete meaning is: “Should I wash it by hand instead of putting it in the dishwasher?”

8. Lave-la doucement à la main et sèche-la avant de la rapporter.

   Wash it gently by hand and dry it before you bring it back.

   Lave-la

   wash it

   doucement

   gently

   à la main

   by hand

   sèche-la

   dry it

   avant de

   before

   rapporter

   bring back

   More detail

   Lave-la means “wash it.” lave is the informal singular imperative of laver (“to wash”): laver → lave for telling one person to do it. In an affirmative French imperative, the direct-object pronoun follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen: Lave-la. la is the feminine singular direct-object form; its grammatical form describes the object, not its real-world sex. Example: Regarde-la. — “Look at it/her.” doucement is an adverb meaning “gently” here. It modifies the washing action, so it tells the addressee how to wash rather than naming another action. The related adjective is doux (masculine) / douce (feminine), while doucement is the adverbial form. Example: Ferme doucement la porte. — “Close the door gently.” à la main expresses the method “by hand.” It is a reusable way to contrast hand work with using a machine or another method. Example: Je lave ce vêtement à la main. — “I wash this garment by hand.” sèche-la means “dry it.” sèche is the informal singular imperative of sécher (“to dry”), and la is again the feminine singular direct-object pronoun placed after the verb in the affirmative imperative. The accent in the observed form belongs to the verb spelling: sécher → sèche. Example: Sèche-la bien. — “Dry it well.” avant de introduces an action that happens earlier than the following infinitive. Here it is followed by rapporter, so the structure is avant de + infinitive: “before bringing it back.” When the understood subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the main action, this construction is standard. Example: Lisez les instructions avant de commencer. — “Read the instructions before starting.” rapporter is the infinitive “to bring back” or “to return.” In this sentence, la comes before the infinitive: de la rapporter, “to bring it back.” The pronoun refers to the same object as the earlier la, as supported by the fixed translation and context. rapporter contains the idea of bringing something back to a relevant place or person; it is not simply the general verb porter (“to carry”). Example: Je vais rapporter le livre demain. — “I am going to bring the book back tomorrow.” Together, the sentence gives a sequence of instructions to one person: Lave-la doucement à la main (“Wash it gently by hand”), then sèche-la (“dry it”), and do these actions avant de la rapporter (“before bringing it back”). The two imperative verbs address the same person, while the object pronouns identify the item being washed, dried, and brought back.

9. Je la rapporterai propre quand j'aurai fini de cuisiner.

   I will return it clean after I finish cooking.

   Je la rapporterai

   I will return it

   propre

   clean

   quand j'aurai fini

   when I have finished

   cuisiner

   cook

   More detail

   Je la rapporterai means “I will return it.” rapporterai is the first-person singular future form of rapporter (“to bring/return something”): je rapporterai = “I will bring/return.” The future ending shows that the returning is planned or expected later. la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun; here it corresponds to the “it” identified by the fixed translation and context. Compare le for a masculine singular object and les for plural objects. Example: Je le rapporterai demain. — “I will return it tomorrow.” propre describes the object as clean when it is returned. It is an adjective used after the direct object and the verb, in a pattern like rapporter quelque chose propre (“return something clean”). In this form, propre has the same written form for masculine and feminine singular; its plural is propres. Example: Elle rend la tasse propre. — “She returns the cup clean.” quand j'aurai fini means “when I have finished.” j'aurai is the first-person singular future form of avoir, and fini is the past participle of finir. Together they form the futur antérieur, used here for an action that will be completed before the later action in the main clause. The subject is je in both parts, although French expresses it again as part of j'aurai. Example: Je sortirai quand j'aurai fini. — “I will go out when I have finished.” cuisiner is the infinitive “to cook.” It follows finir in the construction finir de + infinitive: j'aurai fini de cuisiner = “I will have finished cooking.” The de is included in the full construction even though it is not part of the selected quote. Example: Elle finit de cuisiner. — “She finishes cooking.” Together, Je la rapporterai propre states that I will return the object in a clean condition, and quand j'aurai fini de cuisiner sets the time: this will happen after I have finished cooking. The complete meaning is “I will return it clean after I finish cooking.”

10. Dis-moi comment le plat sera.

    Let me know how the dish turns out.

    Dis-moi

    tell me

    comment

    how

    le plat

    the dish

    sera

    will be

    More detail

    Dis-moi is an informal singular command meaning “tell me” or, in this context, “let me know.” It combines the imperative form dis of dire (“to tell/say”) with the object pronoun moi (“me”). The hyphen is standard in this affirmative imperative pattern. Example: Dis-moi la vérité. — “Tell me the truth.” comment means “how” when it asks about the manner or result of something. It introduces the information being requested here: the state or outcome of the dish. Example: Explique-moi comment ça marche. — “Explain to me how it works.” le plat means “the dish.” Plat is a masculine singular noun, so it takes the masculine singular definite article le here. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the dish as the thing whose outcome is being asked about. Example: Le plat est prêt. — “The dish is ready.” sera is the third-person singular future form of être (“to be”): être → sera. It agrees with the singular subject le plat; the subject is not feminine or plural. In this context, the future presents the dish’s later state or result, which is why the natural translation is “turns out.” Example: Le plat sera délicieux. — “The dish will be delicious.” Together, Dis-moi requests information from the listener, comment introduces the way or result being asked about, and le plat sera states that the dish will have a later state. The whole utterance means: “Let me know how the dish turns out.”