Learn French: Elle fait la lessive ce soir. - She is doing the laundry tonight.

Elle fait la lessive ce soir.

She is doing the laundry tonight.

Breakdown of Elle fait la lessive ce soir.

Questions & Answers about Elle fait la lessive ce soir.

Why does the translation say "is doing" when the French sentence just says fait?

In French, the present tense covers both "she does" and "she is doing." There is no separate "is doing" tense like in English. So elle fait can mean either "she does" (in general) or "she is doing" (right now), depending on the context.

Is faire la lessive a specific expression?

Yes! The verb faire (to do/make) is used in many French expressions for household chores. Faire la lessive translates exactly to "doing the laundry" or "doing the washing."

I thought ce meant "this." Why is ce soir translated as "tonight"?

You are right that ce means "this." Ce soir literally means "this evening." In English, we usually say "tonight" instead of "this evening," so that is the most natural translation.

Do you pronounce the "t" at the end of fait?

No, the "t" at the end of fait is silent. It rhymes with the English word "say." In French, final consonants are usually silent unless they link to a vowel in the next word.