Question 1

Why is there no 's' at the end of laisse if it's conjugated for tu?

Accepted Answer

For -er verbs, the tu form of the imperative drops the final s. Since the infinitive is laisser, tu laisses becomes just laisse in the command form. You only add the s back if it's immediately followed by the pronouns y or en (for example, laisses-en).

Question 2

How does the phrase laisse-le dorer work grammatically?

Accepted Answer

This uses the construction laisser + infinitive, which means 'to let [someone/something] do [something]'. In an affirmative command, the object pronoun (le, meaning 'it') is attached to the conjugated verb with a hyphen, coming right before the infinitive (dorer).

Question 3

Could I rewrite this sentence using the lesson's phrase, en attendant que?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You could rephrase it as: Laisse-le dorer en attendant qu'il soit croustillant (Let it brown while waiting for it to be crispy). Notice that en attendant que triggers the subjunctive mood (soit), whereas the original sentence uses si (if) which is followed by the standard present indicative (est).

Question 4

Why is 'longer' translated as plus longtemps instead of just plus long?

Accepted Answer

In French, long (and plus long) refers strictly to physical length, like a longer piece of string. When you are talking about a longer amount of time, you must use plus longtemps (literally 'more long time').

S'il n'est pas croustillant, laisse-le dorer plus longtemps.

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