Ma tâche la plus difficile est de nettoyer la cuisine après avoir préparé ce plat ensoleillé.

to be

Breakdown of Ma tâche la plus difficile est de nettoyer la cuisine après avoir préparé ce plat ensoleillé.

• avoir: to have
• ma: my
• après: after
• préparer: to prepare
• de: of
• ce: this
• difficile: difficult
• la tâche: the task
• plus: most
• nettoyer: to clean
• la cuisine: the kitchen
• le plat: the dish
• ensoleillé: sunny

Questions & Answers about Ma tâche la plus difficile est de nettoyer la cuisine après avoir préparé ce plat ensoleillé.

What does “Ma tâche la plus difficile” mean, and how is the superlative “la plus difficile” formed?

It means “My most difficult task.” In French, superlatives are formed by placing le/la/les plus before an adjective. Here, because tâche is a feminine noun, the phrase becomes “la plus difficile” (with la matching the gender of tâche), effectively translating to “the most difficult.”

Why is the verb nettoyer in its infinitive form after « est de » in the sentence?

French often uses the structure être de + infinitive to explain what a task or duty entails. In this sentence, nettoyer (to clean) remains in its infinitive form because it directly describes the activity that constitutes the task. This construction links the subject perfectly to the action that defines it.

How is the phrase “après avoir préparé ce plat ensoleillé” constructed, and why is it in the perfect infinitive form?

The phrase translates to “after having prepared this sunny dish.” It uses a perfect infinitive (avoir préparé) to indicate that the action of preparing the dish was completed before the next action—cleaning the kitchen. The construction après avoir + past participle is a common French idiom used to smoothly sequence two events, emphasizing that one is finished before the other begins.

What does the adjective ensoleillé mean in this context, and why is it used to describe the dish?

Ensoleillé literally means “sunny.” Here, it is used to add a vivid, evocative quality to the dish—suggesting that it looks bright, cheerful, or may have a warm, inviting appearance. This descriptive touch helps convey not just the visual aspect but also an overall positive impression of the dish.

Why does the sentence use the infinitive phrase “nettoyer la cuisine” rather than a noun form like “le nettoyage”?

Using the infinitive nettoyer la cuisine directly describes the action the speaker finds challenging. In French, when defining a specific task or activity (especially in a structure like « ma tâche est de… »), the infinitive is idiomatic and more precise. It emphasizes the doing rather than the concept or result of the action.

Could the sentence be rephrased using a finite clause instead of the infinitive in “après avoir préparé ce plat ensoleillé”? What would be the difference?

Yes, one could say “après que j’ai préparé ce plat ensoleillé.” However, the infinitive construction après avoir préparé is more concise and shifts the focus to the action itself without needing to specify a subject. The finite clause explicitly includes the subject (here, j’), which is grammatically correct but can be less fluid in casual or descriptive writing.

How does adjective-noun agreement work in this sentence, particularly with words like ensoleillé in “ce plat ensoleillé”?

In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. In “ce plat ensoleillé,” plat is a masculine noun, so the adjective ensoleillé is also in its masculine form. Similarly, in “ma tâche la plus difficile,” tâche is feminine, which is why the article ma and la plus difficile reflect the feminine form. This agreement is essential for grammatical accuracy in French.