Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use essential social expressions in French.
For example, "Excuse me" is
Excusez-moi.
Coralie Collin is on the train. A fellow passenger drops his wallet as he exits the train. Coralie picks up the wallet and chases after the man.
Before you listen to the dialogue, let's preview some of its key components.
Excusez-moi.
"Excuse me" or "sorry" depending on the context
Excusez-moi.
Excusez-moi.
De rien.
"you're welcome"
De rien.
De rien.
Merci beaucoup.
"Thank you very much."
Merci beaucoup.
Merci beaucoup.
Ce n'est rien.
"It's alright."
Ce n'est rien.
Ce n'est rien.
Listen to the following three short dialogues between Coralie and the man.
Ready?
Coralie is chasing the man on the platform with the wallet in her hand.
Excusez-moi.
Oui ?
Coralie hands the wallet to the man.
Merci beaucoup.
De rien.
Coralie turns to board the train, but the doors shut.
Je suis désolé.
Ce n'est rien.
Once more with the English translation.
Coralie is chasing the man on the platform with the wallet in her hand.
Excusez-moi.
"Excuse me."
Oui ?
"Yes?"
Coralie hands the man the wallet.
Merci beaucoup.
"Thank you very much."
De rien.
"You're welcome."
Coralie turns to board the train, but the doors shut.
Je suis désolé.
"I'm sorry."
Ce n'est rien.
"It's alright."
Let's break down each of these expressions.
First, do you remember how Coralie Collin says,
"Excuse me."
Excusez-moi.
In this context, Excusez-moi is used to get someone's attention, and translates as "Excuse me." Excusez-moi.
First is excusez, meaning “excuse.” Excusez. Excusez.
Excusez is from the verb, excuser, meaning “to excuse.” Excuser.
Next is moi, “me.” Moi. Moi.
Together, it’s Excusez-moi. “Excuse me.”
Excusez-moi.
This is a formal expression. Coralie uses it because she’s speaking with someone she doesn’t know.
Note: This expression can also be used as a mild apology, but here Coralie uses it to get the attention of the person she’s chasing after.
Do you remember how the passenger acknowledges Coralie by saying,
"Yes?"
Oui?
Oui? "Yes?" Oui?.
Oui?
The second part of the conversation takes place after Coralie returns the passenger’s wallet.
Do you remember how the passenger politely says,
"Thank you very much."
Merci beaucoup.
First is Merci, “Thank you.” Merci. Merci.
Next is beaucoup, “a lot, so much.” Beaucoup. Beaucoup.
All together, Merci beaucoup. "Thank you very much." Merci beaucoup.
Merci beaucoup adds more emphasis when you want to show appreciation. When you simply want to say “Thank you,” Merci is enough.
Do you remember how Coralie says,
"You’re welcome."
De rien.
First is De, meaning, “of.” De. De.
Next is rien, “nothing.” Rien. rien.
Together, De rien, means something like “of nothing,” but translates as “You’re welcome.”
De rien.
After the train doors shut and Coralie misses her train, do you remember how the passenger apologies to Coralie by saying,
"I’m sorry.…"
Je suis désolé.
First is je, "I." Je.
Next is suis, "am," as in “I am.” Suis.
Suis is from the verb, être, meaning "to be." Être.
Together, Je suis, “I’m.” Je suis.
Last is, Désolé “sorry.” Désolé. Désolé.
All together, Je suis désolé.“I’m sorry.” Je suis désolé.
Do you remember how Coralie replies,
"It's alright."
Ce n'est rien.
This starts with Ce, "this." Ce. Ce.
Next is n’est, which means "is not." N’est. N’est.
Ne. "Not," Ne.
Est. "Is," Est.
Ne is contracted with est to form n’est.
Last is rien. "Nothing." Rien. Rien.
Note, rien is a negative pronoun and must be paired with ne.
All together, Ce n'est rien means something like, "This is nothing," but it translates as "It's alright." Ce n'est rien.
This is a common phrase used to express that things are alright.
In more casual situations, you can remove the contracted form of “ne.”
Ce n'est rien becomes C’est rien.
Note, ce is contracted with est to form c’est for easier pronunciation.
C’est rien
C’est rien.
You can use this expression with friends or family.
In the conversation, you learned De rien. as, “You’re welcome,” in response to Merci, “thank you.”
Je vous en prie. is another way to say “You’re welcome.” Je vous en prie.
Note, this phrase is more formal than De rien.
Je vous en prie can be used like the English “you’re welcome” in response to merci. It means something like “I beg of you ,” but translates as “you’re welcome.” Je vous en prie.
In informal situations, you can say, Je t'en prie.
Here te replaces the more formal vous, and te is contracted with en to form t'en.
Je t'en prie.
In the conversation, you learned Je suis désolé. "I’m sorry."
In the case of mild apologies, such as accidentally bumping into someone, the phrases Excusez-moi and Pardon, “Pardon,” are commonly used.
Let’s look at the expressions once more.
Listen and repeat, or speak along.
Excusez-moi.
"Excuse me."
Excusez-moi.
Oui ?
"Yes?"
Oui ?
Merci.
"Thank you."
Merci.
Merci beaucoup.
"Thank you very much."
Merci beaucoup.
De rien.
"You're welcome."
De rien.
Je suis désolé.
"I'm sorry."
Je suis désolé.
Ce n'est rien.
"It's alright."
Ce n'est rien.
Let's review.
Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.
Ready?
Do you remember how Coralie Collin says,
"Excuse me."
Excusez-moi.
Excusez-moi.
And how the passenger says,
"Yes?"
Oui?
Oui?
Do you remember how to say
"Thank you."
Merci.
Merci.
And how to say
"Thank you very much."
Merci beaucoup.
Merci beaucoup.
Do you remember how to say
"You’re welcome."
De rien.
De rien.
And how the passenger says,
"I'm sorry."
Je suis désolé.
Je suis désolé.
Do you remember how Coralie says,
"It's alright."
Ce n'est rien.
Ce n'est rien.
Let's practice.
Imagine you're Constance Collin , and you receive a popular French candy from your French teacher.
Say, "Thank you very much."
Ready?
Merci beaucoup.
De rien.
Listen again and repeat.
Merci beaucoup.
Merci beaucoup.
Let’s try another.
Imagine you're Christophe Collin, and a passenger bumps into you.
Respond by saying, "It's alright."
Ready?
Je suis désolé.
Ce n'est rien.
Listen again and repeat.
Ce n'est rien.
Ce n'est rien.
Let’s try one more.
Imagine you're Christophe Collin and you see a man drop his wallet.
Get his attention.
Ready?
Excusez-moi.
Oui ?
Listen again and repeat.
Excusez-moi.
Excusez-moi.
Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Use Essential Social Expressions unit of this course.
Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.
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