Vocabulary
je m'appelle My name is | ||||
Enchantรฉ(e). Pleased to meet you. | ||||
bonjour hello | ||||
madame Mrs |
Lesson Notes
Grammar
The Focus of This Lesson is Self-Introduction and Basic Greetings in Formal French
Bonjour, Madame.
"Hello, Ma'am."
Bienvenu(e) ("Welcome") to the French language basics. Introducing oneself is inevitable in any situation and is rather easy! Let's start with the word bonjour!
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Bonjour ("Hello")
For a more classical and frequent greeting, use bonjour, meaning "hello." Its literal meaning is "good day."
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You can use bonjour anytime during the day in any circumstances. If you are speaking to a friend, an elderly person, or an unknown person in an informal or formal situation, use bonjour. It the safest and most respectable way of greeting a person while in France or another French-speaking country.
If the evening is falling and night is soon to come, use bonsoir, meaning "good evening." Like bonjour, bonsoir is the most common way to greet someone in a safe manner. The only difference is that you can use bonsoir for farewells as well at the end of the day.
Note that a title can follow both bonjour and bonsoir to be a bit more proper, as with bienvenu.
For Example:
Daytime
- Bonjour monsieur.
"Hello, sir." - Bonjour madame.
"Hello, ma'am."
Evening
- Bonsoir monsieur.
"Hello, sir." or "Good evening, sir." - Bonsoir madame.
"Hello, ma'am."
"Good evening, ma'am."
Greeting During the Day
French |
French Pronunciation |
"English" |
Bonjour |
Bon-juhrr |
"Hello" |
Bonjour monsieur |
Bon-juhrr muh-si-hoe |
"Hello, sir" |
Bonjour madame |
Bon-juhrr ma-dam |
"Hello, ma'am" |
Greeting or Farewell in the Evening or at Night
French |
French Pronunciation |
"English" |
Bonsoir |
Bon-su-ahrr |
"Hello/goodbye" |
Bonsoir monsieur |
Bon-su-ahrr Muh-si-hoe |
"Hello/goodbye sir" |
Bonsoir madame |
Bon-su-ahrr Ma-dam |
"Hello/goodbye ma'am" |
Stating a Name
After you're formally greeted in your hotel, someone will certainly ask you about your identity.
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In many other situations, social or otherwise, to get to know someone or introduce yourself, you will ask or hear the most frequent question: "What is your name?"
To answer it, use:
- the personal pronoun je, meaning "I" in English, and
- the verb s'appeler conjugated at the correct form
Conjugating the Verb s'appeler ("to be called")
The verb s'appeler means "to be called" and we translate it with the verb "to be" in English when stating a name, as shown in the dialogue translation. The infinitive verb s'appeler ends with the letters -er, telling us it is:
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- a regular verb and
- a verb from the first verb group
Its particularity is the presence at its infinitive form of the letter -s followed by an apostrophe. This tells us that this verb (as others with the same feature) is a "reflexive verb," which is also called in French verbes pronominaux.
The letter -s apostrophe is the reflexive part of the verb. Its function is to refer the information following the verb s'appeler-in other words, a name, back to the subject of the sentence.
When conjugating a reflexive verb, you should follow two steps. You need to change the letter -s apostrophe and the verb form according to the subject of the sentence, and therefore, the personal pronoun you use.
Changing the Reflexive Part of the Verb s'appeler
In the sentence Je m'appelle Maxime, the personal pronoun is je, which belongs to the first person singular. As the verb s'appeler is a "reflexive verb" or verbe pronominal, the letter -s needs to change to the letter -m followed by the apostrophe.
You will have m'appeler.
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Be aware that you only change the letter -m if the information following the verb s'appeler belongs to the person speaking it.ย If not, if you hear je t'appelle Laurent, it would mean "I call you Laurent" (instead of Mrs. Dubois, for example). In other words, the name stated needs to be the one of the person stating it, as in Je m'appelle Madame Lefebvre Camille. "I'm Mrs. Camille Lefebvre."
Changing the Ending of the Verb s'appeler
To change the ending of the verb form m'appeler previously mentioned, eliminate the letters -er. You'll end up with: m'appel.
Then, to have the correct spelling for this verb, remember to add an extra letter -l to all the forms except for the first and second person plural. You'll have now: m'appell.
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Finally, as for any verb ending in -er at the infinitive form, add the ending -e corresponding to the first person singular. You will have the final conjugated form: m'appelle.
Of course, to get the final sentence, add in front of it the personal pronoun je and after it your name: Je m'appelle.
French |
"English" |
Je m'appelle Marie. |
"My name is Mary." |
Je m'appelle Madame Dupont. |
"My name is Mrs. Dupont." |
Je m'appelle Madame Dupont Marie. |
"My name is Mrs. Mary Dupont." |
Cultural Insights
Most and Least Popular Given First Names
For boys, according to the French magazine Femme Actuelle, first names sounding foreign are in regression. They used to be popular, possibly because the names of characters appearing in Hollywood's broadcasted soap operas are dubbed in French. The least popular are Liam and Aaron, as well as Matthieu and Jean, two biblical first names. Another one losing popularity is Loรฏc, which is short for Alexandre or Alex.
However, the most popular first names in 2008 and 2009, for both boys and girls, will be short ones such as Tom, Zoรฉ, or the traditional Paul and Marie. Another trend is first names ending in the letter -o for boys, such as Enzo, Hugo, Lรฉo, Thรฉo, or Mathรฉo, and -a for girls, such as Emma, Clara, and Lรฉa, which are the three most popular names. Some other ever-classic first names are Alexandre, Raphaรซl, and Gabriel for boys and Marie, Inรจs, and Camille for girls.
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A very popular book is published every mid-September for parents-to-be called L'Officiel des Prรฉnoms (Official First Names). It is the yearly reference for first names, listing twelve thousand of them with their etymologies and discussing trends in names.
Lesson Transcript
INTRODUCTION | |
Virginie: Bonjour! | |
Eric: Eric here. Basic Bootcamp Season 1, lesson 1 - Self Introduction and Basic Greetings in Formal French. | |
Eric: Hello, and welcome to the Basic Bootcamp S1 at FrenchPod101.com, where we study modern French in a fun, educational format! | |
Virginie: So, brush up on the French that you started learning long ago, or start learning today. | |
Eric: Thank you for being here with us for this lesson. Virginie, how are you today? | |
Virginie: Iโm good, Eric, thank you. OK, now you probably think, Bootcamp, this is going to be painful. | |
Eric: No, in our bootcamp, Thereโs no suffering here. | |
Virginie: We'll be slow, we promise. | |
Eric: We should have called it BootSpa, actually. | |
Eric: In this lesson, you will learn how to initiate the first contact with a person in French and how to introduce yourself. | |
Virginie: This conversation takes place at the reception lobby of a hotel in France. | |
Eric: And itโs between a receptionist and a tourist. | |
Virginie: The speakers will be speaking formally. | |
Eric: OK, so now let's listen to the conversation. | |
Lesson conversation |
|
---|---|
Rรฉceptionniste: Bonjour, Madame. Je m'appelle Maxime. | |
Mme Lefebvre: Enchantรฉe, Monsieur. Je m'appelle Madame Lefebvre Camille. | |
Rรฉceptionniste: Enchantรฉ Madame. | |
Eric: One more time, a little more slowly. | |
Rรฉceptionniste: Bonjour, Madame. Je m'appelle Maxime. | |
Mme Lefebvre: Enchantรฉe, Monsieur. Je m'appelle Madame Lefebvre Camille. | |
Rรฉceptionniste: Enchantรฉ Madame. | |
Eric: How about in English. | |
Rรฉceptionniste: Bonjour, Madame. Je m'appelle Maxime. | |
Eric: Hello, madam. I'm Maxime. | |
Mme Lefebvre: Enchantรฉe, Monsieur. Je m'appelle Madame Lefebvre Camille. | |
Eric: Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Mrs. Camille Lefebvre. | |
Rรฉceptionniste: Enchantรฉ Madame. | |
Eric: Nice to meet you, Madam. | |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER | |
Eric: Now I noticed that she introduced her name starting with her last name. Is that a usual thing to do? | |
Virginie: No it's not, here she is giving her name to a receptionist, that's why she is starting with her last name, for him to check her reservation. Usually, when you introduce yourself to someone, you say your first name first. | |
Eric: And sometimes you only say your first name, right? | |
Virginie: Yes, most of the time actually. The more formal the situation is, the more formal you will speak. And saying both your name and your last name is very formal. | |
Eric: You would that in a business context, I assume. | |
Virginie: Absolutely. | |
Eric: Now do people in France shake hands when meeting for the first time. | |
Virginie: At work, when it's your first encounter with your coworkers, then yes you will shake hands. | |
Eric: No kisses? | |
Virginie: Kisses come later, once you know people better. | |
Eric: And outside of a business context? | |
Virginie: That's different. In casual situations people will kiss each other to introduce themselves. Men with women, women with women. | |
Eric: What about men with men? | |
Virginie: well, men tend to shake hands. But when really good friends, they will kiss. | |
Eric: A kiss on each cheek, correct? | |
Virginie: Yes, so don't be shy when you go to France, and kiss everybody!!! | |
Eric: Well, not if it's your boss or a client... | |
VOCAB LIST | |
Eric: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. | |
: The first word we shall see is: | |
Virginie: bonjour [natural native speed] | |
Eric: hello | |
Virginie: bonjour [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
Virginie: bonjour [natural native speed] | |
: Next: | |
Virginie: madame [natural native speed] | |
Eric: Mrs | |
Virginie: madame [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
Virginie: madame [natural native speed] | |
: Next: | |
Virginie: je m'appelle [natural native speed] | |
Eric: My name is | |
Virginie: je m'appelle [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
Virginie: je m'appelle [natural native speed] | |
: Next: | |
Virginie: Enchantรฉ(e). [natural native speed] | |
Eric: Pleased to meet you. | |
Virginie: Enchantรฉ(e). [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
Virginie: Enchantรฉ(e). [natural native speed] | |
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES | |
Eric: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. | |
Virginie: The first word weโll look at is... Bonjour Madame | |
Eric: This is Hello Miss. | |
Virginie: Yes, and Bonjour/Hello is used during the day. It literally means Good Day. | |
Eric: That's right, at night, the French say Bonsoir/good evening. | |
Virginie: Exactly. | |
Eric: What else do we have here? | |
Virginie: We have Bonjour Monsieur. | |
Eric: Which means Hello Sir. | |
Virginie: One thing I want you to know is that you won't say bonjour monsieur all the time when you meet someone, you can just say bonjour, that's fine. It is extremely formal. | |
Eric: I assume I would say it if I met President Obama. | |
Virginie: Yeah, Eric, if you meet President Obama, maybe you should say Bonjour, Obama, instead of bonjour. But thatโs pretty much the only situation when you have to say that. | |
Eric: If you want to speak to Obama in French, that is. | |
Eric: OK what do we have next? | |
Virginie: We have Enchantee. | |
Eric: Which means "Nice to meet you". What would it be literally? Enchanted? | |
Virginie: Exactly. I know it's a little over the top. I know. | |
Eric: It's really nice. And next, we have... | |
Virginie: Je m'appelle - | |
Eric: That means my name is... | |
Virginie: Yes, Je m'appelle Virginie. My name is Virginie. | |
Eric: Or je m'appelle Eric. What is this verb? | |
Virginie: It is the verb s'appeler, and itโs spelled appeler. | |
Eric: Why donโt we introduce ourselves to each other. | |
Virginie: Thatโs a good idea. | |
Eric: Bonjour. | |
Virginie: Bonjour. | |
Eric: Je m'appelle Eric. | |
Virginie: Enchantee, Eric. Je m'appelle Virginie. | |
Eric: Enchante. | |
Virginie: Now, you can all introduce yourself in French. | |
Eric: What if I donโt know the other personโs name. How do I ask someone what his name is? | |
Virginie: Well, you can ask "Comment vous vous appelez?" | |
Eric: One more time slowly. | |
Virginie: Comment vous vous appelez? Literally, how is it that you are name? | |
Eric: So that's in formal context, right? | |
Virginie: Yes, actually, if itโs a friend of a friend, you would say Comment tu t'appelles? | |
Eric: The use of โvousโ and โtuโ in French are actually pretty hard to get. | |
Virginie: It is hard to get, because in English, for example, you only have โyou.โ And in French, you have โtuโ when you speak with a friend or a friend of a friend, or someone of same age. But you have โvousโ whenever you speak to someone you donโt know, or someone more important in the company you work in. | |
Eric: So itโs a little bit more of a hierarchy when youโre using โvousโ youโre addressing someone more formally. | |
Virginie: Yes, exactly. | |
Eric: OK, now let's move on to the focus of this lesson. | |
Lesson focus |
|
Virginie: Now, you know how to say "je m'appelle" with your name, which means โmy name isโ. But there are other ways. | |
Eric: Just to review, je means โI,โ and mโappelle means โam calledโ. So literally, you are saying, โI am calledโ. | |
Virginie: Yes. Thatโs what it means literally. | |
Eric: And what other ways do you have of saying my name is? | |
Virginie: Well, you can use the verb รชtre โto be,โ and say Je suis Virginie. Je being โIโ and suis being โam.โ | |
Eric: Say it one more time for us. | |
Virginie: Je suis Virginie. | |
Eric: Okay, and thatโs pretty much the same as we would commonly say in English, I am Eric. | |
Virginie: Absolutely. Just a quick note about the verb s'appeler. S'appeler is the infinitive form of the verb, to be called and it ends with -er. You know, in French, there are three groups of verbs? | |
Eric: Right. | |
Virginie: And s'appeler belongs to the first one, the ER verbs but we will see that later on. | |
Eric: Okay, and there is a whole section of verbs that are going to end in ER. | |
Virginie: Yes, absolutely. | |
Eric: Great. Okay, great. So I think thatโs enough grammar for today then? | |
Virginie: Yes I think thatโs enough. | |
Outro |
|
Eric: Then that just about does it for us today. Some of our users already know that the most powerful tool on FrenchPod101.com | |
Virginie: Is the line by line audio. | |
Eric: It is the perfect tool for rapidly improving listening comprehension. | |
Virginie: By listening to lines of the conversation again and again, | |
Eric: Listen till every word and syllable becomes clear. Basically, we break down the dialogue into comprehensible bitesize sentences. | |
Virginie: So, you can try the line by line audio in the premium learning center at FrenchPod101.com | |
Eric: Please take a look. Take care, everyone. | |
Virginie: Au revoir | |
Eric: Bye! |
355 Comments
HideIs meeting people easy for you?
so useful and fun!!! J'aime francias!!!๐๐๐
Bonjour Michaela,
Thank you for the heads up, I'll let the team know!
Bonne journรฉe,
Marion
Team FrenchPod101
The line-by-line audio transcript isn't completely accurate. It might not be a big deal to others but while I was reading along it threw me off the flow a bit.
Bonjour Purnata,
Thank you for the kind comment! ๐
Bonne journรฉe,
Marion
Team FrenchPod101
Such a nice beginning.
Merci!
Bonjour Irene et Egle,
Merci pour vos commentaires !
Bonjour Meyan,
Thank you for your sweet words, I hope FrenchPod helps you in your studies! ๐
Bonne journรฉe,
Marion
Team FrenchPod101
I'm so glad I found this awesome website! I learn something today with the French language especially the grammar rules. It helps me understand more about how and when to use the words in an appropriate manner especially that I'm a Filipino, it's really hard to learn French words without any explanation of the grammar rules.
Bonjour! Je m'appelle Irene.
Merci, Team FrenchPod101 โค๏ธ๏ธ
Bonjour! Je m'appelle Egle. โค๏ธ๏ธ
Bonjour Homeyra, Amit, Pronit, Ahmed, Noam, Gelila, Mahmoud, Jaco, Russell, Devika et Emma,
Merci ร tous pour vos commentaires ! Je suis ravie de faire votre connaissance, et je vous souhaite la bienvenue sur FrenchPod ! ๐
Bonne journรฉe,
Marion
Team FrenchPod101