Practice Makes Perfect

Ne pas se pencher par la fenêtre.  Do not lean out of the window.

Ne pas marcher sur la pelouse. 

Keep off the lawn.

Lire le mode d’emploi avant  

Read the instructions before using. 

utilisation.

Since a verb in the infinitive mood is not conjugated, the negation (ne… pas) 

does not surround the verb but rather precedes it, and is not separated.

Il a promis de ne pas ajouter  

He promised not to add too much 

trop d’ail. 

  garlic.

Je lui ai demandé de ne pas faire   I asked her not to fry the fish. 

frire le poisson.

Elle m’a dit de ne pas mettre  

She told me not to put any oil in. 

d’huile.

Je lui ai conseillé de ne pas  

I advised her not to put the cake in 

mettre le gâteau au four  

  the oven before noon. 

avant midi.

VOCABULAIRE

ajouter 

to add

assaisonner 

to season

bouillir 

to boil

braiser 

to braise

broyer 

to grind, to crush

caraméliser 

to caramelize

couper 

to cut

cuire 

to cook

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  practice makes perfect  Complete French All-in-One   

décortiquer 

to shell, to husk

écailler 

to scale (fish)

écraser 

to crush, to squash

écumer 

to skim (soup)

émincer 

to slice thinly

épicer 

to spice

éplucher 

to peel (vegetables)

faire la cuisine 

to cook

faire revenir 

to brown

faire sauter 

to sauté

farcir 

to stuff

flamber 

to flambé

frire 

to fry

garnir 

to garnish

glacer 

to glaze

gratiner 

to brown, to cook au gratin

griller 

to grill, to toast

hacher 

to chop, to mince

macérer 

to macerate, to soak

mariner 

to marinate

mettre au four 

to put in the oven

mijoter 

to simmer

paner 

to coat with bread crumbs

pétrir 

to knead 

piler 

to crush

pocher 

to poach

râper 

to grate

réduire 

to reduce (by boiling)

rôtir 

to roast

tremper 

to soak

verser 

to pour

Although nowadays French household magazines tend to use the imperative mood in reci-

pes and other instructions, the infinitif présent is often used in professional cookbooks and 

other instruction manuals.

Hacher le persil. 

Chop the parsley.

Farcir la dinde. 

Stuff the turkey.

Râper une demi-livre de fromage. 

Grate half a pound of cheese.

Pocher le poisson. 

Poach the fish.

22·1

EXERCICE

  

Traduire les phrases suivantes en utilisant l’infinitif présent.

 1.  Writing this book was a challenge.

 2.  Studying French is fun.

 3.  Working four days a week is ideal.

 4.  Finding a new job will be difficult.

 5.  Walking along the Seine is pleasant.

 6.  Waking up at five 

a

.

m

. is too early.

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The infinitive mood 

317

 7.  Cooking takes a lot of time.

 8.  Take this medicine twice a day.

 9.  Add some pepper.

  10.  Do not put in any garlic.

The infinitive is used after verbs of perception (where the present participle is used in English).

J’ai vu les moutons traverser la route. 

I saw the sheep crossing (cross) the road.

Elle a entendu le coq chanter. 

She heard the rooster crowing (crow).

On entendait le chef fredonner une  

We could hear the chef humming (hum)  

chanson. 

  a song.

Elle a vu la biche sauter par-dessus  

She saw the doe jumping (jump) over 

la clôture. 

  the fence.

The infinitive is used in the interrogative infinitive.

Que répondre? 

What can I (can we) answer?

Comment le lui expliquer? 

How to explain it to him?

Pourquoi protester? 

Why protest?

Que dire? 

What is there to say?

Quoi faire? 

What can we do?

You learned faire in Chapter 13. This causative form with faire is used to express the idea of 

having something done by someone or of causing something to happen.

Il a fait macérer la viande vingt-quatre  

He macerated the meat twenty-four hours. 

heures.

Elle a fait rôtir le poulet. 

She roasted the chicken.

J’ai fait griller le pain. 

I toasted the bread.

J’ai fait tremper les pruneaux. 

I soaked the prunes.

The infinitive is used after expressions of spending time.

Elle passe son temps à créer de  

She spends her time creating new recipes. 

nouvelles recettes.

Il passe ses vacances à lire des livres  

He spends his vacation reading cookbooks. 

de cuisine.

Il a gaspillé sa vie à ne rien faire. 

He wasted his life doing nothing.

Je passe mon temps à chercher de  

I spend my time looking for new spices. 

nouvelles épices.

The infinitive is used after expressions of position. The preposition à precedes the infinitive. 

(Note the present participle equivalents in English.)

Il est debout à éplucher des carottes. 

He is standing peeling carrots.

Elle est assise à écosser des petits pois. 

She is sitting shelling peas.

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Il est accroupi dans le jardin à cueillir  

He is squatting in the garden picking 

des fraises. 

 strawberries.

Elle est à genoux à arracher les  

She is kneeling pulling out weeds. 

mauvaises herbes.

22·2

EXERCICE

  

Réécrire les phrases suivantes en traduisant les expressions entre parenthèses.

  1.  Elle passe ses après-midi (cooking).

  2.  Ils passent leurs nuits (dancing).

  3.  Ils sont accoudés au comptoir (talking).

  4.  Elle est assise (peeling vegetables).

  5.  Il a gaspillé sa vie (working for them).

  6.  Tu as perdu ton temps (looking for another job).

  7.  Je suis allongée sur la plage (reading).

  8.  Elle est debout dans le jardin (picking some flowers).

  9.  Il passe son temps (dreaming).

10.  Ils passent leurs journées (shopping).

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22·3

EXERCICE

Translate the following sentences.

  1.  I saw Victorine eating a chocolate cake in her office.

  2.  His cousin Grégoire spends his time playing basketball.

  3.  My neighbor Carl spends his time watching television.

  4.  I heard him talking in the hallway.

  5.  Samuel spends his vacation visiting libraries in Paris.

  6.  In the summer, we spend our time traveling in Europe.

  7.  Carla saw him cutting wood in the garden.

  8.  Laurent spends his time learning foreign languages.

  9.  She heard them saying they would sell their house.

 10.  I was watching him sleeping.

22·4

EXERCICE

Match the two columns.

   

  1.  Tu es accroupi dans le jardin 

a.  à réfléchir à son destin.

   

  2.  Elle est étendue sur son lit 

b.  à boire une bière.

   

  3.  Ils sont accoudés au bar 

c.  à arracher les mauvaises herbes.

   

  4.  Elle est assise, la tête dans les mains 

d.  à nettoyer les étagères de la  

   

  5.  Vous êtes debout sur une chaise  

bibliothèque.

   

   

e.  à lire un roman d’amour.

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22·5

EXERCICE

Translate the following sentences, using the tu or vous form, as indicated.

  1.  They are sitting in the grass watching the sunset.

  2.  The professor is standing reading a passage from The Lover by Marguerite Duras.

  3.  Xavier is lying on his bed reading the dictionary.

  4.  We are lying down on the sofa watching a new Italian film.

  5.  Yvon is squatting in the field picking some strawberries.

  6.  Édouard is leaning against the door of the refrigerator wondering what he is going to eat.

  7.  Lucien is leaning against the wall watching people dance.

  8.  You are standing on a chair cleaning the windows. (vous)

  9.  The novelist is sitting in front of her computer thinking about what she is going to write.

 10.  You are squatting in the kitchen trying to repair the door. (tu)