Je balaie la cuisine avec le balai pendant que tu prépares le café.

I sweep the kitchen with the broom while you make coffee.

Breakdown of Je balaie la cuisine avec le balai pendant que tu prépares le café.

• je: I
• tu: you
• avec: with
• préparer: to prepare

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?