Breakdown of La tarte doit refroidir sur la table.
la table
the table
sur
on
devoir
to have to / must
la tarte
the tart
Questions & Answers about La tarte doit refroidir sur la table.
This lesson is about avant que and the subjunctive. Why isn't there a subjunctive verb here?
The subjunctive is triggered by specific expressions like avant que (before) that introduce a new clause with a new subject. This sentence is just a simple, single statement, so we use the normal indicative mood (doit). If we expanded the sentence to say The tart must cool down before we eat it, that's when we would need the subjunctive: La tarte doit refroidir avant que nous la mangions.
Why is refroidir in the infinitive form rather than conjugated?
When you have a conjugated verb like doit (from devoir, meaning "must" or "has to") immediately followed by a second verb, that second verb stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form. It's the same structure as in English: we say "must cool," not "must cools."
Does the verb refroidir come from the word for "cold"?