Learn to ask "How are you?"
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| Introduction |
| Becky: How are you? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how somebody is in French. |
| Body |
| Becky: Here's the informal way to ask 'How are you?' in French. |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Comment vas-tu? |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'how' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] comment [Slow] comment |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'go' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] vas [Slow] vas |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'you' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] tu [Slow] tu |
| Becky: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning 'How are you?' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Comment vas-tu? [Normal] Comment vas-tu? |
| Becky: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'How are you?' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Comment allez-vous? |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'how' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] comment [Slow] comment |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'go' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] allez [Slow] allez |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'you' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] vous [Slow] vous |
| Becky: Note again the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning 'How are you?' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Comment allez-vous? [Normal] Comment allez-vous? |
| Becky: Here's a response meaning 'I'm fine. Thank you.' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Je vais bien. Merci. |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'I' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] je [Slow] je |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'go' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] vais [Slow] vais |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'good' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] bien [Slow] bien |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'thank you' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] merci [Slow] merci |
| Becky: Listen again to the response meaning 'I'm fine. Thank you.' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Je vais bien. Merci. [Normal] Je vais bien. Merci. |
| Becky: Here's a response meaning, 'Not so well.' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Pas très bien. |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'not' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] pas [Slow] pas |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'very' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] très [Slow] très |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'good' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] bien [Slow] bien |
| Becky: Listen again to the response meaning 'Not so well.' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Pas très bien. [Normal] Pas très bien. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Becky: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Yasmine: Asking someone how they are is just a formal greeting in French – it’s a sentence you say just to be polite after saying "hello"; it doesn't mean that you actually care about how the other person feels. Most people answer "good and you?" then you say "good", and move on with the conversation. |
Outro |
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| Becky: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
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