French for Beginners (5 page)

Chapter 8: Socializing in French

Here are the basic social words that you need to learn by heart:

• Yes – oui
  
• No – non
  
• Please – s’il vous plait
  
• Thank you. – Merci.
  
• You are welcome. – Je vous en prie.
  
• Excuse me. – Excusez-moi.
  
• Sorry – pardon
  

Greetings

When you are in France, you will commonly see people give a kiss on both cheeks when greeting family and friends ; but between two men, shaking hands is the more standard norm of greeting.  This is the same standard when a man is introduced to a woman for the first time.

• Hello – bonjour
  
• Hi – salut
  
• Good morning or good afternoon – bonjour
  
• Good evening – bonsoir
  
• See you later. - à bientôt.
  
• Goodbye – au revoir
  
• How are you? – Comment allez-vous? (formal) or Ça va? (informal)
  
• Fine, thank you. – Bien, merci.
  
• What is your name? – Comment vous appelez-vous? (formal) or Comment tu? (informal)
  
• My name is… - Je m’appelle…
  
• I would like to introduce you to… - Je vous présente…
  
• I am pleased to meet you. – Enchante (masc.) or Enchantée (fem.)
  

You may also observe that the French people are quite formal when they address people whom they are not acquainted to.  You will normally hear them use “monsieur”, “madame” or “mademoiselle” in instances where English speakers will not use any such term of address.  “Monsieur” is used both to pertain to Mister or Sir.  “Madame” is used to pertain to Mrs. or Miss (formal).  “Mademoiselle” is used to pertain to a “Miss”.

Making Conversations

When you are in a party, the topics considered to be the safest to discuss with other guests are culture and sports.  The topic of food, on the other hand, is the best way for you to get a French person to start talking; but you are highly advised not to talk about money including income and prices.

• Do you speak English? – Parlez-vous anglais?
  
• Do you live here? – Vous habitez ici?
  
• Do you like it here? – Ca vous plait ici?
  
• I love it here. – Ca me plait beaucoup ici.
  
• Where are you going? – Ou allez-vous?
  
• What are you doing? – Que faites-vous?
  
• Are you waiting (for a taxi)? – Attendez-vous un taxi?
  
• Can I have a light? – Vous avez du feu?
  
• What do you think (about…)? – Que pensez-vous (de…)?
  
• What is this called? – Comment ça s’appelle?
  
• Can I take a photo (of you)? – Je peux (vous) prendre en photo?
  
• That is beautiful, is it not? – C’est (beau), non?
  
• Are you here on a holiday? – Vous êtes ici pour les vacances?
  
• I am here for a holiday. – Je suis ici pour les vacances.
  
• I am here on business. – Je suis ici pour le travail.
  
• I am here to study. – Je suis ici pour les études.
  
• I am here with my family. – Je suis ici avec ma famille.
  
• I am here with my partner. – Je suis ici avec mon/ma partenaire (masc. or fem.)
  
• This is my first trip (to France). – C’est la première fois que je viens (en France).
  
• How long are you here for? – Vous êtes ici depuis quand?
  
• I am here for… days/weeks. – Je reste ici … jours/semaines.
  
• Have you ever been (to England)? – Es-ce-que vous êtes déjà allez (en Angleterre)?
  
• Do you want to come out with me? – Voulez-vous sortir avec moi?
  
• This is my son. – Voici mon fils.
  
• This is my daughter. – Voici ma fille.
  
• This is my friend. – Voici mon ami (masc.) or Voici ma amie (fem.).
  
• This is my husband. – Voici mon mari.
  
• This is my wife. – Voici ma femme.
  

Here are some local words and phrases used by French people:

• Hey! – He!
  
• Great! – Formidable!
  
• No problem. – Pas de problème.
  
• Sure. – D’accord
  
• Maybe. – Peut-être.
  
• No way! – Pas question!
  
• It is alright. – C’est bien.
  
• OK. – Bien.
  
• Look! – Regardez! (formal)
  
• Listen (to this)! – Ecoutez (ceci)! (formal)
  
• I am ready. – Je suis prêt(e). (masc. or fem.)
  
• Are you ready? – Vous êtes prêt(e)? (formal) or Tue s prêt(e)? (informal)
  
• Just a minute. – Une minute.
  
• Just joking! – Je blaguais!
  
• I am pulling your leg! – Je te fais marcher! (informal)
  

Nationalities

• Where are you from? – D’où êtes-vous? (formal) or D’où es-tu? (informal)
  
• What part of (Africa) do you come from? – D’où est-ce que vous venez (en Afrique)? (formal) or D’où est-ce que tu viens (en Afrique)? (informal)
  
• I am from (Singapore). – Je suis de (Singapour).
  

Age

• How old are you? – Quel âge avez-vous? (formal) or Quel âge as-tu? (informal)
  
• I am (20) years old. – J’ai (vingt) ans.
  
• Too old! – Trop vieux/vieille! (masc. or fem.)
  
• I am younger than I look. – Je ne fais pas mon âge.
  
• He/She is… years old. – Il/Elle a… ans.
  

Occupations and Study

• What is your occupation? – Vous faites quoi comme métier? (formal) or Tu fais quoi comme métier? (informal)
  
• I am a businessperson. – Je suis un(e) homme / femme d’affaires. (masc. or fem.)
  
• I am a chef. – Je suis un(e) cuisinier / cuisinière. (masc. or fem.)
  
• I am a drag queen. - Je suis un(e) travel. (masc.)
  
• I work in education. – Je travaille dans l’enseignement.
  
• I work in health. - Je travaille dans la santé.
  
• I work in sales and marketing. - Je travaille dans la vente et le marketing.
  
• I am retired. – Je suis retraite(e). (masc. or fem.)
  
• I am self-employed. – Je suis Independent(e). (masc. or fem.)
  
• I am unemployed. – Je suis chômeur/chômeuse. (masc. or fem.)
  
• What are you studying? – Que faites-vous comme études? (formal) Que fais-tu comme études? (informal)
  
• I am studying engineering. – Je fais des études d’ingénieur.
  
• I am studying French. - Je fais des études de français.
  
• I am studying media. - Je fais des études des medias.
  

Family

• Mother – une mère
  
• Father – un père
  
• Husband – un mari
  
• Wife – une femme
  
• Sister – une sœur
  
• Brother – un frère
  
• Child – un/une enfant (masc. or fem.)
  
• Boyfriend – un petit ami
  
• Girlfriend – une petite amie
  
• Family – une famille
  
• Partner – un/une partenaire (masc. or fem.)
  
• Do you have a…? – Vous avez…? (formal) or Tu as…? (informal)
  
• I have a… - J’ai…
  
• I do not have a… - Je n’ai pas…
  
• This is my… - Voici mon/ma/mes… (masc., fem., or plural)
  
• Are you married? – Est-ce que vous êtes marie(e)? (masc. or fem.) or Est-ce que tu es marie(e)?
  
• I am married. – Je suis marie(e).
  
• I am single. - Je suis célibataire.
  
• I am separated. – Je suis séparé(e).
  

Feelings

In French, emotions are normally described using either a noun or an adjective.  When using a noun, you need to add “have”, as in “I have thirst”.  When using an adjective, you need to use “be” just like in English.

• I am cold. – J’ai froid.
  
• I am not cold. – Je n’ai pas froid.
  
• Are you cold? – Vous avez froid? (formal) or Tu as froid? (informal)
  
• I am hot. – J’ai chaud.
  
• I am not hot. – Je n’ai pas chaud.
  
• Are you hot? – Vous avez chaud? (formal) or Tu as chaud? (informal)
  
• I am hungry. – J’ai faim.
  
• I am not hungry. – Je n’ai pas faim.
  
• Are you hungry? – Vous avez faim? (formal) or Tu as faim? (informal)
  
• I am thirsty. – J’ai soif.
  
• I am not thirsty. – Je n’ai pas soif.
  
• Are you thirsty? – Vous avez soif? (formal) or Tu as soif? (informal)
  
• I am tired. - J’ai sommeil.
  
• I am not tired. – Je n’ai pas sommeil.
  
• Are you tired? – Vous êtes fatigue? (formal) or Tue s fatigue? (informal)
  
• I am OK. – Je vais bien.
  
• I am not OK. – Je ne vais pas bien.
  
• Are you OK? – Ça va?
  

Opinions

• Did you like it? – Cela vous a plu?
  
• What did you think of it? – Qu’est-ce que vous en avez pensé?
  
• I thought it was… - Je l’ai trouvé…
  
• It is… - C’est…
  
• Beautiful – beau
  
• Better – mieux
  
• Bizarre – bizarre
  
• Great – formidable
  
• Horrible – horrible
  
• OK – bien
  
• Strange- étrange
  
• Weird – bizarre
  
• Worse – pire
  

Degree Levels

• A little – un peu
  
• I am a little sad. – Je suis un peu triste.
  
• Really – vraiment
  
• I am really sorry. – Je suis vraiment navre.
  
• Very – très
  
• I feel very vulnerable. – je me sens très vulnerable.
  

When You are Having Difficulties

• Do you speak English? – Vous parlez anglais?
  
• Does anyone speak English? – Y a-t-il quelqu’un qui parle anglais?
  
• Do you understand? – Vous comprenez?
  
• I understand. – Je comprends.
  
• I do not understand. – Je ne comprends pas.
  
• I speak a little. – Je parle un peu.
  
• What does ‘fesses’ mean? – Que veut dire ‘fesses’?
  
• Could you please repeat that? – Pourriez-vous répéter, s’il vous plait?
  
• Could you please speak more slowly? – Pourriez-vous parles plus lentement, s’il vous plait?
  
• Could you please write it down? – Pourriez-vous l’écrire, s’il vous plait?
  
• How do you…? – Comment…?
  
• How do you pronounce this? – Comment le prononcez-vous?
  
• How do you write “bonjour”? – comment est-ce qu’on écrit “bonjour”?
  

When asking for help, it is important that you speak slowly. This would give the other person enough time to digest what has been said by discerning any accent-related mistakes in pronouncing certain words.

It would be best to keep practicing on the accent even when there is no one else around to speak French with. This way, should a really difficult situation arrive, asking for help wouldn’t take too much time. Read up on a lot of children’s books that are written in French because, just like all other children’s books in any language, these contain the most basic forms of the language that are easy for children and language-learners to understand.

Linguists also suggest that aside from reading up and vocalizing the French language, it would also be best to practice writing it. This way, the brain would have time to become attuned to the different nuances of the language and would be better able to discern the words that denote numbers and similar-sounding words that have a completely different meaning.

Admittedly, it is easier to learn how to speak French than to write it. So in order to gain a better understanding of how French words are written and read, it is best to start with a French-language book that has an accompanying audio file. This way, you can listen to the words as they are being read on the audio file while at the same time reading along with the words written on the book.

Also, when syllabicating or practicing how to say the French letters out loud, the best approach is to master the vowels first because often require intricate tongue and lip-formations that need a lot of practice to perfect. It would also be good to have a learning buddy who would be able to assist in learning complexities of reading and writing the French language.

Once you get the hang of reading and writing easy French words, it would be best to move on to learning more complex French words. Subscribing to a French-language newspaper or TV show would be a big help on this step.

Conclusion

Thank you again for downloading this book! 

I hope this book was able to help you to take the first few steps in learning to speak French. 

The next step is to persist in becoming an expert.

Finally, if you enjoyed this book, please take the time to share your thoughts and post a review on Amazon. We do our best to reach out to readers and provide the best value we can. Your positive review will help us achieve that.  It’d be greatly appreciated!

Thank you and good luck!