French Phrase
Marine le tofu avant de le faire cuire.
Meaning
‘Marinate the tofu before cooking it.’ The sentence is a cooking instruction that tells the listener to let the tofu soak in a flavored liquid first, which helps the tofu absorb the taste and become more tender when it is later cooked.
When to use
Use this phrase when giving a recipe step, teaching a cooking class, or chatting with friends about how to prepare a vegetarian dish. It’s common in written recipes, cooking videos, and kitchen conversations.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Marineletofuavantdelefairecuire.
Imperative (2nd person singular)
‘Marine’ is the imperative form of the verb *mariner* (to marinate) addressed to ‘tu’. It drops the final ‘s’ in regular -er verbs.
Direct object pronoun
‘le’ refers to the tofu and is placed before the verb in the imperative affirmative construction.
‘avant de + infinitive’
The structure ‘avant de’ + infinitive expresses ‘before doing something’. It is the standard way to link two actions chronologically.
Periphrastic verb ‘faire cuire’
‘Faire cuire’ (to cook) is a causative construction; the infinitive ‘cuire’ follows the auxiliary ‘faire’.
🗨In Conversation
Marine le tofu avant de le faire cuire.
Marinate the tofu before cooking it.
D'accord, combien de temps je le laisse dans la sauce ?
Okay, how long should I leave it in the sauce?
✕Common Mistakes
Marine le tofu avant que le faire cuire.
‘Avant que’ requires a subjunctive clause, not an infinitive. The correct structure is ‘avant de + infinitif’.
Marine le tofu avant de faire cuire le.
In the imperative, the direct object pronoun must precede the verb, not follow it.
Mariner le tofu avant de le faire cuire.
The verb is *mariner* (to marinate). Using *mariner* (to sea‑sail) is a false friend.
↔Alternatives
Fais mariner le tofu avant de le cuire.
Let the tofu marinate before you cook it.
Laisse le tofu s'imprégner avant de le faire cuire.
Let the tofu soak up the flavor before cooking it.
Avant de le cuire, marine le tofu.
Before cooking it, marinate the tofu.
Cultural Tip
Tofu is not a traditional staple of classic French cuisine, but it has become popular in modern French cooking, especially in vegetarian and vegan restaurants. French chefs often marinate tofu in soy sauce, herbs, or citrus to give it a French‑style flavor profile. When you use this phrase, you’re showing familiarity with contemporary French culinary vocabulary, which can impress native speakers who enjoy cooking.