Learn the key pattern to ask for something at a store
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| Let’s take a closer look at how Ben asks for an item without knowing its name. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says, |
| "I would like this, please." |
| Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît. |
| This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern. |
| First is je, "I." Je (enunciated). Je. |
| Next is voudrais, "would like." Voudrais (enunciated). Voudrais. |
| Voudrais is a form of the verb vouloir, meaning to want. Vouloir. |
| Next is ceci. "This." Ceci (enunciated). Ceci. |
| Last is the phrase s’il vous plaît. "Please." S’il vous plaît (enunciated). S’il vous plaît. |
| All together, it's Je voudrais ceci, s’il vous plaît. "I would like this, please." |
| Je voudrais ceci, s’il vous plaît. |
| Using Je voudrais to ask for something is rather polite, and it’s commonly used in formal situations like restaurants, shops, etc. |
| Do you remember how the clerk says, |
| "Here you are." |
| Et voici. |
| Et voici literally means, "And there," but it translates as "Here you are," in this situation. Et voici (enunciated). Et voici. |
| Note: Sometimes you may hear Et voilà instead of Et voici. Both expressions mean exactly the same thing. |
| The pattern is |
| Je voudrais {ITEM}, s'il vous plaît. |
| "I would like {ITEM} please." |
| Je voudrais {ITEM} s'il vous plaît. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you want. |
| Imagine you’d like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is cela, "that." Cela (enunciated). Cela. |
| Say |
| "I would like that, please." |
| Ready? |
| Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît. |
| "That, please." |
| Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît. |
| The following phrases can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in French: |
| Je voudrais ceci. “I’d like this.” |
| Je voudrais cela. “I’d like that.” |
| Even if you don’t know the name of an item, and consequently its gender, you can use these pronouns, as they are the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. |
| For items that are plural, use ceux-ci, or "these," as the default. Ceux-ci. |
| And use ceux-là, or "those," for things that are far from you. Ceux-là. |
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