Je voudrais refaire cette tarte dimanche.

Questions & Answers about Je voudrais refaire cette tarte dimanche.

Why does French use voudrais here instead of veux?

Je voudrais is softer and more polite than je veux.

  • Je veux = I want
  • Je voudrais = I would like

So je voudrais refaire cette tarte dimanche sounds more natural if the speaker is expressing a wish, plan, or desire in a less direct way.

What form is voudrais exactly?

Voudrais is the first-person singular conditional form of vouloir.

That means:

  • infinitive: vouloir = to want
  • present conditional: je voudrais = I would like / I would want

In French, the conditional is often used to make statements sound less blunt, more tentative, or more polite.

Why is refaire in the infinitive?

After voudrais, the next verb stays in the infinitive.

So the pattern is:

  • je voudrais + infinitive

Examples:

  • Je voudrais manger. = I would like to eat.
  • Je voudrais partir. = I would like to leave.
  • Je voudrais refaire cette tarte. = I would like to make this tart again.

This is very common with verbs like vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, and similar verbs followed by another action.

What does refaire mean here?

Refaire literally means to do again or to make again.

It is built from:

  • faire = to do / to make
  • re- = again

So with food, refaire cette tarte usually means to make this tart again.

Depending on context, it could mean:

  • to repeat a recipe you made before
  • to remake it because it turned out well
  • to redo it because the first one failed
Why is it cette tarte and not ce tarte?

Because tarte is a feminine singular noun, the demonstrative adjective must agree with it.

French demonstrative adjectives are:

  • ce for masculine singular before most consonant sounds
  • cet for masculine singular before a vowel or mute h
  • cette for feminine singular
  • ces for plural

So:

  • ce gâteau
  • cet arbre
  • cette tarte
  • ces tartes
Does cette always mean this?

Not always. In modern French, ce / cet / cette / ces can mean either this or that, depending on context.

So cette tarte can mean:

  • this tart
  • that tart

If French wants to make the contrast clearer, it can add:

  • -ci = this one
  • -là = that one

For example:

  • cette tarte-ci = this tart
  • cette tarte-là = that tart
Why is there no preposition before dimanche?

In French, a day of the week can appear without a preposition when it means on Sunday or this Sunday, depending on context.

So:

  • dimanche = on Sunday / this Sunday

This is normal French.

You could also say:

  • ce dimanche = this Sunday

That version is a bit more explicit.

Does dimanche here mean this Sunday or every Sunday?

Here, dimanche most naturally means on Sunday / this Sunday, referring to one specific Sunday.

If you want to say every Sunday or on Sundays in general, French usually uses:

  • le dimanche

Compare:

  • Je voudrais refaire cette tarte dimanche. = one Sunday
  • Je refais cette tarte le dimanche. = on Sundays / every Sunday

So the absence or presence of le changes the meaning.

Why is dimanche placed at the end of the sentence?

French often puts time expressions at the end of the sentence, and that sounds very natural here.

So:

is a neutral, ordinary word order.

But French can also move the time expression for emphasis or style:

  • Dimanche, je voudrais refaire cette tarte.

That is also correct. It just puts more focus on Sunday.

Could the speaker also say j’aimerais instead of je voudrais?

Yes. J’aimerais refaire cette tarte dimanche is also correct.

Both are common, but there is a slight difference:

  • je voudrais = more literally I would want
  • j’aimerais = more literally I would like

In many everyday situations, they are very close in meaning. A learner will hear both often.

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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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