Breakdown of Le four est très chaud avant que la tarte soit prête.
être
to be
très
very
chaud
hot
prêt
ready
le four
the oven
avant que
before (conjunction)
la tarte
the tart
Questions & Answers about Le four est très chaud avant que la tarte soit prête.
Why do we use soit instead of est in this sentence?
The phrase avant que (before) is a conjunction that always requires the subjunctive mood. Because of this rule, we must use soit, which is the subjunctive form of être (to be), rather than the normal present tense est.
Could I use avant de here instead of avant que?
No, because the sentence has two different subjects. The first part is about the oven (le four) and the second part is about the tart (la tarte). You only use avant de plus an infinitive verb when the subject is exactly the same for both actions. Since the subjects are different here, you must use avant que followed by a conjugated subjunctive verb.
I've seen an extra ne used with avant que sometimes. Could it be avant que la tarte ne soit prête?
Yes! That extra ne is called the ne explétif. It doesn't mean "not" and doesn't change the meaning of the sentence at all. It is mostly used in formal or written French. Leaving it out, exactly as it is in this sentence, is perfectly correct and much more natural for everyday spoken French.
Why does prête have an extra "e" at the end, while chaud does not?
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