Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Sylvain: Bonjour je m’appelle Sylvain!
Céline: Bonjour je suis Céline!
Sam: Sam here! How Many Times You Have to Be Told, I’m not Your Secretary? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to answer a phone call and formulate open questions about what and who.
Céline: The conversation takes place during a phone call at anytime of the day. Aurélie’s mother, Alice, picks up the phone to pass it on to Aurélie who seems to be in a bad mood.
Sam: The conversation is in informal French.
DIALOGUE
Clever Robert: Allô? Bien sûr, un instant. Aurélie, c’est pour toi.
Sweety Aurélie: Qui c’est ?
Clever Robert: C’est Daniel.
Sweety Aurélie: Qu’est-ce qu’il veut ?
Clever Robert: Hmm…
Sweety Aurélie: Je ne suis pas là !
Clever Robert: Aurélie !
Sweety Aurélie: Okay…
Sam: Now let’s try that again slowly.
Clever Robert: Allô ? Bien sûr, un instant. Aurélie, c’est pour toi.
Sweety Aurélie: Qui c’est?
Clever Robert: C’est Daniel.
Sweety Aurélie: Qu’est-ce qu’il veut?
Clever Robert: Hmm…
Sweety Aurélie: Je ne suis pas là!
Clever Robert: Aurélie!
Sweety Aurélie: Okayay…
Sam: Let’s try that with the English.
Clever Robert: Allô ? Bien sûr, un instant. Aurélie, c’est pour toi.
Sam: Hello? Sure, hold on. Aurélie, it's for you.
Sweety Aurélie: Qui c’est ?
Sam: Who is it?
Clever Robert: C’est Daniel.
Sam: It's Daniel.
Sweety Aurélie: Qu’est-ce qu’il veut?
Sam: What does he want?
Clever Robert: Hmm…
Sam: Hmm…
Sweety Aurélie: …Je ne suis pas là !
Sam: …I'm not here!
Clever Robert: Aurélie !
Sam: Aurélie!
Sweety Aurélie: Okayay…
Sam: Okay…
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Sam: Wow! Aurelie is being very difficult. Why doesn’t she want to talk to Daniel?
Céline: Maybe because he’s a stalker. I remember doing this to some of my friends.
Sylvain: Je me souviens que c’était lmes amis qui me le faisaient. I remember that it was my friend that was doing it to me.
Céline: Ah Sylvain, tu sais, dans la vie y a deux catégories d’individus, il y a ceux qui ont le revolver, et ceux qui creusent! Toi tu creuses!
Sylvain: sympa.
Sam: So what Céline was saying was there are two types of people – people that hold the gun and people that dig. And obviously, you’re a digger.
Sylvain: You’re a digger. I love the way you say it.
Sam: Oh, gosh. Anyway.
Sylvain: Okay. I mean, yeah, I know a girl who really receives lots of phone calls after the end of the lesson.
Sam: And what girl might be receiving all these phone calls?
Sylvain: Her name begin with C.
Céline: Okay. Talking about telephones, do you know which dial code is for friends, Sam?
Sam: Yes, I do.
Sylvain: Tell us.
Céline: So tell us. Right.
Sam: You already know, and I know. Why do I have to tell you?
Céline: Maybe for the listeners.
Sam: Okay, it’s 34. It’s 34.
Sylvain: Just one different.
Céline: That’s Spain.
Sam: Oh, 33.
Sylvain: Cool. We know it.
Céline: Okay. How about for cell phones?
Sylvain: How about for cell phones?
Céline: Yes. The number starts with 06.
Sam: Isn’t that mobile phone?
Céline: I mean, mobile phones.
Sam: Are telecommunication packages expensive in France?
Céline: Now you can get special packs with internet and phone. So basically it’s getting cheaper with mobile phones, sorry.
Sylvain: Yeah.
Céline: Still expensive in France.
Sylvain: In the states, it’s funny. The mobile phone is expensive but the service is very cheap.
Céline: You mean the phone?
Sam: The phone itself is very expensive but the service is quite cheap.
Céline: In France, it’s the opposite.
Sam: Oh, wow. Can you get a mobile phone anywhere in France or only the mobile phone shop?
Céline: Mobile phone shop.
Sam: What about Walmart?
Sylvain: We have no Walmart in France.
Sam: In the states, you can get a mobile phone at Walmart.
Céline: No. In France, only mobile shops.
Sylvain: But we have Carrefour.
Sam: So guys, in France, with the mobile phone or cell phone, do the companies make phones that use a SIM card?
Céline: Yes, we use SIM card.
Sam: So you can take the SIM card out and use it in a different phone?
Sylvain: I never tried that.
Céline: It depends on your contract.
Sam: But fundamentally, you’re not meant to, maybe?
Céline: Non.
Sam: Okay.
Céline: voilà.
Sylvain: This was a publicity for the French phone company.
Céline: No because we didn’t mention which.
Sylvain: So buy phone, buy the...
Céline: Okay, let’s check the vocab.
Sam: That sounds like a good idea. Let’s look at the words and phrases from this lesson. The first item is…
VOCAB LIST
Sylvain: Un instant [natural native speed]
Sam: One moment.
Sylvain: Un instant [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Un instant [natural native speed].
Sam: Next.
Céline: Pour [natural native speed]
Sam: For.
Céline: Pour [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Pour [natural native speed].
Sam: Next…
Sylvain: Qui
Sam: Who?
Sylvain: Qui. Qui.
Sam: Next…
Sylvain: Qui c'est? [natural native speed]
Sam: Who is it?
Sylvain: Qui c'est? [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Qui c'est? [natural native speed].
Sam: Next…
Sylvain: Vouloir [natural native speed]
Sam: To want.
Sylvain: Vouloir [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Vouloir [natural native speed].
Sam: Next…
Céline: Là [natural native speed]
Sam: There.
Céline: Là [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Là [natural native speed].
Sam: Now let’s take a look at the usage for some of the key items in this lesson.
Sylvain: The first word that we will look at is instant.
Céline: To make someone wait on the phone, it’s common to say “un instant s’il vous plaît”.
Sam: “Just a moment, please.” The next item?
Céline: “Pour” translated as the preposition “for” or “to”.
Sam: “Pour” can be used for a couple of different things – number one, to indicate a goal; next, for a purpose; and lastly, for designation of items or things. Let’s see an example.
Céline: Apprendre le français, c’est pour communiquer.
Sam: Okay. “Learning French for communication.” Another sentence to indicate a purpose?
Sylvain: Je travaille pour vivre.
Sam: “I work for life.” That’s a good one. Another sentence to indicate a goal?
Sylvain: Je pratique mon anglais pour améliorer ma prononciation.
Sam: “I practice my English in order to improve my pronunciation.”
Céline: No. Your accent is part of your charm personally.
Sylvain: My accent?
Céline: Oui exactement. And finally, a sentence with a “pour” illustrating designation for.
Sam: “The letter is for you.” How do you say that….
Céline: Euh… I didn’t say the word. Just... yeah ok. The letter is for you? La lettre est pour toi.
Sam: “The letter is for you.”
Céline: La lettre est pour toi donc.
Sylvain: The letter is for you.
Sam: Really?
Céline: Yes.
Sam: I got a letter. Great!
Sylvain: For you.
Céline: Okay. The next word to express desire or intention is vouloir.
Sam: “To want.”
Sylvain: Je veux manger. “I want to eat.”
Céline: Je veux un gâteau à la fraise.
Sam: “I want a strawberry cake.” Je veux plus verb or je veux plus noun indicates desire.
Céline: exactement.
Sylvain: But take care because if you use je veux in present, sometimes it’s a little bit impolite. We already said it.
Sam: It’s a little bit strong, huh?
Sylvain: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Céline: Je voudrais.
Sylvain: Je voudrais.
Sam: “I would like” is a better way to say something.
Céline: oui.
Sylvain: Yes.
Céline: Finally, there’s the interrogative pronoun “qui.”
Sylvain: Who. To ask about people.
Sam: For example…
Sam: Qui est le plus beau? Moi.
Sylvain: Bien sûr!
Sam: “Who’s the most handsome? Me.” Just remember, guys, when you’re describing man, you would say beau as in handsome. For ladies, “belle” for beautiful.
Céline: So you have an example?
Sam: If you’re asking for example, qui est le plus beau? “who’s the most handsome”, you’re talking about a male. If you say qui est la plus belle…
Céline: Answer?
Sylvain: Céline! Ah ouais c’est ça!
Céline: Merci Sylvain!
Sam: Back to our lesson. Let’s boost our grammar knowledge, okay?

Lesson focus

Céline: Donc Sylvain la grammaire?
Sylvain: Oui la grammaire c’est quoi? Euh… structure questions with the interrogative pronom “qui” and “qu’est-ce que”.
Céline: Que means “who” as in “qui veut jouer à la Belotte”?
Sylvain: Qui veut jouer à la Belotte? What a question.
Sam: What is la Belotte?
Sylvain: It’s…
Céline: A card game.
Sylvain: …a card game from the south of France. Really traditional.
Sam: I think I know that one, played by teams of two?
Céline: Exactement oui. So you can also say “qui est-ce qui veut jouer à la Belotte?”.
Sylvain: Yes.
Céline: Qui can be replaced by “qui est-ce qui” .
Sam: Oh, interesting. What about “qu’est-ce que”?
Sylvain: Tu m’as enlevé le mot de la bouche. You took the word out of my mouth.
Sam: The words out of your mouth?
Sylvain: Yeah, French expression.
Sam: Okay.
Céline: qu’est-ce que as to other forms as mentioned in the previous lesson.
Sylvain: que and quoi. Que is placed at the end of the questions.
Sam: An example, please, before I get lost in translation.
Céline: Tu manges quoi?
Sylvain: “What do you eat?”
Céline: Just remember, using quoi is le français familier.
Sylvain: Très familier.
Sam: Oh, casual French.
Céline: oui!
Sylvain: On the contrary, que is formal.
Sam: Therefore, don’t forget to follow the pronoun que by the verb first and then the subject next. So, “tu manges quoi?” could be “que manges-tu?”.
Sylvain: parfait!
Céline: Bravo!
Sylvain: Très bien.
Sam: I’m pretty smart, huh? Not really, but that’s okay.
Sylvain: No. Improvise another question, with “que”.
Sam: with “que”? Hmm…
Sylvain: “What do you want?” For example.
Sam: “que veux-tu?”
Céline: oui!
Sylvain: parfait!
Céline: Que veux-tu?
Sylvain: Que veux-tu?
Sam: Wow! French is fun and easy.
Céline: Bien sûr.
Sam: You know, that was a lot of info. I’m so glad I don’t have to take notes.
Sylvain: That was a lot of info. That’s right.
Céline: By the way, qui écrit les leçons? “Who writes the lessons?”
Sam: Who wrote the lessons? I don’t know.
Céline: No, who writes the lesson, all the lessons.
Sam: Who writes all the lessons? I still don’t know.
Céline: Sylvain?
Sylvain: I don’t know either!
Céline: You don’t know?
Sylvain: No, no, no.
Céline: Okay, I know but I won’t tell you.
Sam: Why?
Céline: Parce que.
Sylvain: Because? Because of what?
Céline: Because I don’t know. I don’t want to.
Sam: You keep asking who writes all the text. Maybe you want our listeners to find out because maybe that person left a post with his or her first name in the forum.
Sylvain: That’s right.
Céline: peut-être.
Sam: Maybe?
Céline: So that’s the question, qui est l’auteur des leçons?
Sylvain: Who is the author?
Sam: Who’s the author? I guess I’ll have to go to FrenchPod101.com to find out, and so can our listeners.
Sylvain: That’s right.
Céline: Voilà.
Sylvain: And leave some comment in the forum.
Sam: Of course.
Sylvain: And things like this.
Sam: Of course.
Céline: Voilà, exactement.
Sam: And maybe that’s a good place to end today’s lesson.
Céline: oui!

Outro

Sam: Thank you, guys. That’s a wrap for today’s lesson. Find out the author’s first name in the comment section of this lesson. And be sure to leave us a message on today’s lesson in the forum at FrenchPod101.com. See you again tomorrow! Salut, à demain!
Céline: A demain!
Sylvain: A demain!

Grammar

French Grammar Made Easy - Unlock This Lesson’s Grammar Guide

Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Comments

Hide