Breakdown of Je fais cuire le riz dans la casserole.
je
I
dans
in
le riz
the rice
la casserole
the pot
faire cuire
to cook
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Questions & Answers about Je fais cuire le riz dans la casserole.
Why do we say je fais cuire instead of je cuisine or je cuis?
- Faire + infinitive is the causative construction. Faire cuire literally means “to make [something] cook,” and it’s the most natural everyday way to say you’re cooking a specific item (rice, pasta, eggs, etc.).
- Cuisiner means “to cook/prepare (a dish),” i.e., the activity of cooking. You’d say je cuisine to talk about cooking in general or preparing a more elaborate dish. Je cuisine du riz is possible but less idiomatic for plain rice.
- Cuire by itself is either:
- intransitive: Le riz cuit = “The rice is cooking.”
- transitive: Je cuis le riz = “I cook the rice.” This is grammatically correct but sounds formal/recipe-like; in daily speech, je fais cuire le riz is preferred.
Is Je cuis le riz correct?
Yes, it’s correct French, but it sounds more formal or technical (recipe/kitchen jargon). In everyday conversation, Je fais cuire le riz is much more natural.
Why is it le riz and not du riz?
- Le riz (definite article) refers to a specific rice already known in the context or to rice as a general category (“the rice” we talked about, bought, or planned).
- Du riz (partitive = “some rice”) is what you’ll usually say if you mean you’re cooking an unspecified quantity. Without context, Je fais cuire du riz is the most natural choice.
Should it be la casserole or une casserole?
- La casserole implies a particular, identifiable pot (e.g., the one on the stove, the one we always use).
- Une casserole is “a pot/saucepan,” unspecified. With no prior context, dans une casserole is more neutral. So, many contexts would prefer: Je fais cuire du riz dans une casserole.
Which preposition should I use: dans, à, or avec?
- Use dans for physical location: dans la casserole = “in the saucepan.”
- À la casserole exists as a cooking-method label (like menu style: “leeks cooked in a saucepan”), but for a concrete, physical description, dans is best.
- Avec une casserole (“with a saucepan”) is unusual here because you’re cooking in it, not just using it as a tool.
How do I replace le riz and/or dans la casserole with pronouns?
- Replace le riz with le: Je le fais cuire dans la casserole.
- Replace dans la casserole with y: J’y fais cuire le riz.
- Replace both (grammatical but a bit heavy): Je l’y fais cuire.
- If you had du riz, replace with en: J’en fais cuire. Notes:
- Don’t say Je fais le cuire. The object pronoun goes before fais: Je le fais cuire.
- Pronoun order is: me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en.
How do I say this in the past? Do I need agreement: Je l’ai fait(e) cuire?
- Past (passé composé): J’ai fait cuire le riz dans la casserole.
- With a direct-object pronoun: Je l’ai fait cuire.
- In the causative with faire, the past participle fait is invariable (no agreement), even if the direct object precedes. So: Je l’ai fait cuire (not faite).
How do I give the command “Cook the rice in the pot!”?
- Informal (tu): Fais cuire le riz dans la casserole !
- Formal/plural (vous): Faites cuire le riz dans la casserole !
- With a pronoun: Fais-le cuire dans la casserole ! / Faites-le cuire dans la casserole !
How do I say “The rice is cooking / is being cooked” vs. “The rice is cooked (done)”?
- “The rice is cooking”: Le riz cuit (dans la casserole). or Le riz est en train de cuire.
- “The rice is being cooked” (by someone): On fait cuire le riz (dans la casserole).
- “The rice is cooked (done)”: Le riz est cuit.
Pronunciation tips for fais cuire, riz, and casserole?
- fais = [fɛ], like “feh” (not “fay”); cuire = [kɥiʁ], start with a tight lips “u” glide [ɥ].
- fais cuire: [fɛ kɥiʁ].
- riz: [ʁi]; the final z is silent.
- casserole: [kasʁɔl], with a French guttural r.
Is there a liaison in fais cuire or riz dans?
- fais cuire: no liaison; say [fɛ kɥiʁ].
- riz dans: a liaison after a singular noun is generally avoided in casual speech, so most speakers say [ʁi dɑ̃] without linking a [z] sound. Safe choice: no liaison.
What if I’m using a different vessel (pan, pot, rice cooker)?
- Frying pan: dans la poêle (e.g., for something you sauté), but rice is normally boiled/steamed, not done “à la poêle.”
- Large pot: dans la marmite.
- Dutch oven/enameled casserole dish: dans la cocotte.
- Pressure cooker: dans la cocotte-minute.
- Rice cooker: dans un cuiseur à riz (common), sometimes heard as dans un rice cooker in informal speech.
Can casserole mean a baked “casserole” dish as in English?
Not in standard French. Une casserole is a saucepan. The baked dish called a “casserole” in American English would usually be un gratin, un plat au four, or un plat en cocotte depending on the recipe.
How do I negate the sentence?
- Standard negation: Je ne fais pas cuire le riz dans la casserole.
- With a pronoun: Je ne le fais pas cuire dans la casserole.
- If you’d use the partitive, it changes to de under negation: Je ne fais pas cuire de riz.
Can I say Je suis en train de faire cuire le riz to mean I’m cooking it now?
Yes. Je fais cuire le riz can already mean “I’m cooking the rice” (French present covers progressive), but Je suis en train de faire cuire le riz stresses that it’s happening right now.