Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Theodore introduces himself?
"Nice to meet you. My name is Theodore."
Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore.
First is enchanté, meaning "glad." Enchanté (enunciated). Enchanté.
Enchanté is actually a shortened version of Enchanté de vous rencontrer, meaning "Glad to meet you." Enchanté de vous rencontrer.
Theodore uses the shortened version, Enchanté, in his introduction. This is the standard version when meeting someone for the first time, and is appropriate for both informal and formal situations.
Next is Je m’appelle Théodore. “My name is Theodore.” Je m’appelle Théodore.
First is Je. "I." Je (enunciated). Je.
Next is m’appelle, which translates as “call myself.” M’appelle (enunciated). M’appelle.
Note me is contracted with appelle to form m’appelle.
Me. "Me." Me (enunciated). Me.
Next is appelle. "Call," as in “I call.” Appelle (enunciated). Appelle.
Appelle is from the verb appeler, meaning “to call.” Appeler.
Together, m’appelle, “call myself.”M’appelle.
After is Theodore’s given name: Théodore (enunciated). Théodore.
Note: Theodore only uses his given name. Sasha and Theodore are young adults in an informal situation, so he only uses his given name.
Together, it’s Je m’appelle Théodore. Literally, “I myself call Theodore,” but translates as "My name is Theodore." Je m’appelle Théodore.
All together, Enchanté, je m’appelle Théodore. "Nice to meet you. My name is Theodore."
Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore.
Sasha can’t catch his name.
Do you remember how she asks,
"Excuse me. Can you repeat that?
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
First is Excuse-moi. "Excuse me." Excuse-moi (enunciated). Excuse-moi.
Note: Excuse-moi is the informal form of "Excuse me." In this conversation, Théodore and Sasha are of similar age, so the informal excuse-moi is more natural.
Next is peux, "can," as in “can you.” Peux (enunciated). Peux.
Peux is from the verb, pouvoir, "to be able." Pouvoir.
Next is tu. "You." (informal) Tu (enunciated). Tu.
Together, it’s Peux-tu, “Can you?” Peux-tu (enunciated). Peux-tu.
Notice the word order when asking a question: verb, "peux," followed by the subject, "tu." “peux-tu, in this case.”
When this inverted word order occurs in French, there is a hyphen between the verb and the subject.
Last is répéter, “repeat,” Répéter (enunciated). Répéter.
Note: the verb répéter, “to repeat,” is in its infinitive form.
All together, Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? Literally, "Excuse me, can you repeat?" but it translates as, “"Excuse me, can you repeat [that]?" Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
Pronunciation note: notice the rising intonation indicating a question.
Finally, do you remember how Theodore says,
“My name is Theodore.”
Hint, you’ve heard it before.
Je m’appelle Théodore. "My name is Theodore."
Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore.
In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation:
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
Excuse me, can you repeat?
To ask for clarification in a formal situation:
Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ?
Excuse me, can you repeat?
Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ?
Note the following changes in the formal form.
First, Excusez-moi, replaces Excuse-moi.
Excusez-moi, "Excuse me,” in the formal form. Excusez-moi.
Second, pouvez-vous, replaces peux-tu.
Pouvez-vous, “can you,” when using formal French. Pouvez-vous (enunciated). Pouvez-vous.
Pouvez is from the verb pouvoir, meaning "to be able." Pouvoir.
Next is vous, a formal form for "you," which is singular in this context. Vous is the second person plural word for "you," but in formal contexts can be used with just one person.

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