Breakdown of Je balaie la cuisine avec le balai pendant que tu prépares le café.
je
I
tu
you
avec
with
préparer
to prepare
le café
the coffee
la cuisine
the kitchen
pendant que
while
balayer
to sweep
le balai
the broom
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Questions & Answers about Je balaie la cuisine avec le balai pendant que tu prépares le café.
Why is it balaie in Je balaie? Could it be je balaye or je balai?
- The verb is balayer. With -ayer verbs, when the ending is silent (je/tu/il/elle/ils/elles), you can usually write either with i or keep y: je balaie / je balaye, tu balaies / tu balayes, il balaie / il balaye, ils balaient / ils balayent. Both forms are correct.
- With nous/vous, the y stays: nous balayons, vous balayez.
- je balai is not the present; the literary past (passé simple) is je balayai, so je balai is incorrect here.
- Don’t confuse the noun balai (a broom) with the verb forms.
How do I pronounce balaie and balai? Are they the same?
Yes—homophones, both pronounced roughly “ba-lè” [balɛ].
- The whole sentence in IPA: [ʒə ba.lɛ la kɥi.zin avɛk lə ba.lɛ pɑ̃.dɑ̃ kə ty pʁe.paʁ lə ka.fe].
- Notes: final -s in prépares is silent; the -t of pendant is silent; cuisine starts with [kɥi] (like “kwee”).
Do I need to say avec le balai, or is Je balaie la cuisine enough?
Je balaie la cuisine is already fine; balayer implies using a broom. Add avec le/un balai only if you want to stress the tool (e.g., as opposed to a vacuum cleaner). You could also say the more everyday Je passe le balai.
Should it be avec le balai or avec un balai?
- avec le balai = with the specific broom (the household broom you both know).
- avec un balai = with a/any broom (introducing it as new information). In many contexts, un is more natural unless a specific broom is in focus.
Why is it la cuisine and not just cuisine?
French normally requires an article with nouns. Here la cuisine is a direct object (“the kitchen”). Bare nouns (without articles) are rare and mostly found in headlines, labels, or set expressions. So you need la.
What’s the difference between Je balaie la cuisine and Je balaie dans la cuisine?
- Je balaie la cuisine: the kitchen is the direct object—you’re sweeping the kitchen (i.e., its floor), suggesting the whole area.
- Je balaie dans la cuisine: you’re sweeping somewhere in the kitchen (location), but not necessarily the entire kitchen; it focuses on where the action takes place rather than what is being swept.
How do I say English-style “I’m sweeping” more literally?
Use the progressive periphrasis être en train de: Je suis en train de balayer la cuisine. In many cases, simple present (Je balaie…) is already natural in French for an action happening now.
Can I replace pendant que with quand, lorsque, alors que, or tandis que?
- pendant que = while (pure simultaneity in time). Neutral choice here.
- quand/lorsque = when (more point-like or habitual timing, less about ongoing simultaneity).
- alors que / tandis que = while/whereas, often adds a contrastive nuance. You could use them, but they can sound a bit more “whereas” than strictly “while”.
Does pendant que trigger the subjunctive?
No. Pendant que introduces a time clause that takes the indicative. Here: tu prépares (indicative present). Subjunctive is not used.
Can I flip the order of the two clauses?
Yes. Pendant que tu prépares le café, je balaie la cuisine. When the time clause comes first, add a comma. You can also swap the subjects: Tu prépares le café pendant que je balaie la cuisine.
Is tu prépares with an -s correct? How is préparer conjugated here?
Yes. Present tense: je prépare, tu prépares, il/elle prépare, nous préparons, vous préparez, ils/elles préparent. The final -s in tu prépares is silent. Don’t drop it in writing.
Should it be le café or du café?
- le café = the coffee (specific, e.g., today’s coffee you’re about to serve).
- du café = some coffee (an unspecified amount). In everyday speech, people often say faire/préparer du café for “make coffee.”
How would I replace the nouns with pronouns?
- la cuisine → la (feminine direct object), le café → le (masculine direct object).
- Example: Je la balaie pendant que tu le prépares.
- In the negative: Je ne la balaie pas pendant que tu ne le prépares pas (though double negation in both clauses is rare in real usage).
What are the genders of cuisine and balai, and what changes?
- cuisine is feminine → la cuisine, pronoun la.
- balai is masculine → le balai, pronoun le. Gender affects articles, adjectives, and pronouns.
Is there a more idiomatic everyday way to say “sweep”?
Yes: passer le balai. For example, Je passe le balai dans la cuisine pendant que tu prépares le café. With this idiom, you typically say dans + place (not direct object).
Can I use pendant without que before a clause?
No. Pendant alone is a preposition and must be followed by a noun phrase: Pendant la préparation du café, je balaie la cuisine. Use pendant que before a clause with a verb: pendant que tu prépares le café.
Could I talk about future or past with the same structure?
Yes. Keep the same connector:
- Future: Je balayerai la cuisine pendant que tu prépareras le café.
- Past: Je balayais la cuisine pendant que tu préparais le café. (imperfect for simultaneous ongoing past actions)