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Breakdown of Nous commençons à préparer un grand repas, et c’est formidable de cuisiner ensemble.
être
to be
et
and
grand
big
nous
we
ensemble
together
à
to
préparer
to prepare
le repas
the meal
commencer
to start
formidable
wonderful
c’
it
cuisiner
to cook
Questions & Answers about Nous commençons à préparer un grand repas, et c’est formidable de cuisiner ensemble.
Why does the sentence use ‘à préparer’ after ‘commençons’?
The verb commencer is often followed by à when introducing another verb in French. It indicates that you are beginning to do something, hence commencer à préparer means to start preparing.
What does ‘c’est formidable’ mean, and how is it used?
In French, c’est formidable can be translated as it’s wonderful, it’s great, or it’s amazing. The structure c’est + adjective is a common way to express opinions or feelings about something.
How do you pronounce ‘commençons’?
Commençons is pronounced something like koh-muh(n)-SOHN in French. The ‘ç’ sounds like an ‘s’, and the final ‘-ons’ has a nasal vowel sound.
What does ‘ensemble’ specifically refer to in this context?
Ensemble means together. Here, it emphasizes that the cooking is a shared activity. The sentence highlights the enjoyment of cooking with others rather than alone.
Is there any difference between ‘cuisiner’ and ‘faire la cuisine’?
Both can mean to cook. Cuisiner is a direct verb meaning to cook, often used for the act of preparing meals. Faire la cuisine literally means to do the cooking and is a bit more idiomatic. In everyday speech, they are mostly interchangeable.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).
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