Breakdown of Laisse le four fermé jusqu'à ce qu'il refroidisse.
il
he
fermer
to close
le four
the oven
laisser
to leave (something or someone)
refroidir
to cool down
jusqu'à ce que
until
Questions & Answers about Laisse le four fermé jusqu'à ce qu'il refroidisse.
Why is refroidisse in the subjunctive mood?
The verb follows the phrase jusqu'à ce que (until), which always requires the subjunctive. French uses the subjunctive here because the action of the kiln cooling down is an anticipated future event, not an established fact yet.
How do we form the subjunctive for a verb like refroidir?
Refroidir is a regular -ir verb. To form the subjunctive, you take the present tense ils form (ils refroidissent), drop the -ent to get the stem (refroidiss-), and add the subjunctive ending. For il, the ending is -e, which gives us qu'il refroidisse.
Since this is a command to a single person, shouldn't laisse end in an 's'?
Normally, the tu form of -er verbs ends in an 's' (as in tu laisses). However, in the imperative mood (when giving commands), regular -er verbs drop that final 's'. This is a common exception that learners often trip over!
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