Learn French: Tu dois ajouter la levure à la pâte. - You must add the baking powder to the dough.

Tu dois ajouter la levure à la pâte.

You must add the baking powder to the dough.

Breakdown of Tu dois ajouter la levure à la pâte.

you (informal singular)

at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)

Questions & Answers about Tu dois ajouter la levure à la pâte.

The translation says "baking powder", but I thought levure meant "yeast"?

Levure by itself traditionally means yeast (often specified as levure de boulanger). Baking powder is technically levure chimique (chemical yeast). However, in everyday baking, French speakers frequently shorten it to levure when the recipe makes it obvious which one is needed.

Can pâte mean both "dough" and "batter"?

Yes! French uses pâte for almost any uncooked mixture of flour and liquid. It can mean dough (like for bread or pizza), batter (like for cakes or crêpes), pastry, or even paste. When pluralized as les pâtes, it means pasta.

Why do we use à la pâte instead of dans la pâte (in the dough)?

The verb ajouter (to add) pairs naturally with the preposition à to express what you are adding something to. While you are physically putting the powder inside the mixture, French grammar dictates adding an ingredient to the mixture: ajouter [quelque chose] à [autre chose].

Where is the subjunctive? I thought we were learning about avant que.