Word
Reste jusqu'à ce que la poterie durcisse.
Meaning
Stay until the pottery hardens.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Reste jusqu'à ce que la poterie durcisse.
rester
to stay
jusqu'à ce que
until
la poterie
the pottery
durcir
to harden
Questions & Answers about Reste jusqu'à ce que la poterie durcisse.
Why is the verb durcisse in the subjunctive here?
The phrase jusqu'à ce que (until) always requires the subjunctive mood. This is because it introduces an event that hasn't happened yet and isn't guaranteed, making it a matter of anticipation rather than a statement of fact.
How is the subjunctive form durcisse created from the verb durcir?
Durcir (to harden) is a regular -ir verb like finir. To find its subjunctive stem, you take the present tense ils form (ils durcissent) and drop the -ent. Then you add the subjunctive endings. Since la poterie corresponds to elle, we add an -e, resulting in durcisse.
Why is the word ce included in jusqu'à ce que?
In French, you cannot place the preposition à directly next to the conjunction que. The pronoun ce acts as a necessary bridge. You can think of it literally as meaning 'until that which' or 'up to the point that'.
Why doesn't the verb reste have an s at the end, since it is the tu (you) form?