French Phrase
Le dimanche, c’est pour cuisiner et préparer les repas.
Meaning
This sentence states that Sunday is the day dedicated to cooking and getting the meals ready. It emphasizes the routine or purpose of the day rather than a single specific meal.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to explain your weekly routine, especially when talking about family traditions, meal‑prepping, or a relaxed Sunday spent in the kitchen.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Ledimanche,c’estpourcuisineretpréparerlesrepas.
Le + day of week
In French, days of the week are not capitalized and are preceded by the definite article ‘le’ when referring to a habitual action.
c’est pour + infinitif
‘c’est pour’ introduces the purpose of something; it is followed by an infinitive verb.
Infinitive verbs (cuisiner, préparer)
Both verbs are in the infinitive form because they follow ‘pour’ and express what is intended to be done.
et (and)
The conjunction ‘et’ simply links two actions of equal importance.
les repas
The plural definite article ‘les’ indicates ‘the meals’ in a general sense, not a specific meal.
🗨In Conversation
Le dimanche, c’est pour cuisiner et préparer les repas.
On Sundays, it's for cooking and preparing the meals.
Ah, donc tu passes la journée en cuisine ? J’adore ça !
Ah, so you spend the whole day in the kitchen? I love that!
✕Common Mistakes
Le dimanche, c’est pour cuisiner les repas.
‘c’est pour’ should be followed by an infinitive, not a noun phrase; you need the infinitive ‘cuisiner’ and then the object.
Le Dimanche, c’est pour cuisiner...
Days of the week are not capitalized in French unless they start a sentence.
Le dimanche, c’est pour cuisiner et préparer le repas.
If you refer to a specific meal, you would use ‘le repas’ (singular) or a more precise term; here the plural ‘les repas’ indicates meals in general.
↔Alternatives
Le dimanche, on cuisine et on prépare les repas.
On Sunday, we cook and we prepare the meals.
Le dimanche, c’est le jour de la cuisine et de la préparation des repas.
Sunday is the day for cooking and preparing meals.
Le dimanche, je profite pour cuisiner et préparer les repas de la semaine.
On Sunday, I take the opportunity to cook and prepare the week's meals.
Cultural Tip
In many French households, Sunday is traditionally a day for a family lunch that can last for hours. It’s common to spend the morning preparing dishes together, often using fresh, seasonal ingredients. While the pace is relaxed, the meal itself is a centerpiece of French conviviality, so mentioning Sunday cooking instantly evokes images of shared tables and long conversations.