Breakdown of Faisons la vaisselle en attendant que le four soit chaud.
être
to be
chaud
hot
faire
to do, to make
la vaisselle
the dishes / the washing up
Questions & Answers about Faisons la vaisselle en attendant que le four soit chaud.
Why is the verb être conjugated as soit in the subjunctive here?
The conjunction en attendant que always requires the subjunctive. This is because it introduces an anticipated event (the oven getting hot) that hasn't happened yet, so it is viewed as a goal or a subjective possibility rather than a stated fact.
Could we avoid the subjunctive and just say en attendant d'être chaud?
No, because the subjects of the two actions are different. We are doing the dishes, but the oven is the thing getting hot. You only use the infinitive structure (en attendant de + infinitive) when the exact same subject performs both actions. Since the subject changes here, you must use en attendant que followed by a new clause in the subjunctive.
Could I use jusqu'à ce que instead of en attendant que?
Yes, grammatically you could say jusqu'à ce que le four soit chaud, as it also requires the subjunctive and means until. However, en attendant que specifically highlights the waiting period, whereas jusqu'à ce que simply points to the deadline. Here, doing the dishes is a way to pass the waiting time, making en attendant que the most natural choice.
Why is there no subject pronoun before faisons?