Learn how to describe the things you love and the things you dislike
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| Introduction |
| Virginie: Hello, everyone, this is Virginie and I am here with Eric. Hi, Eric. |
| Eric: Wow the Crowd With These Fine Lines for Meetings or Public Events. |
| Virginie: What are we going to learn today? |
| Eric: Well, it looks like Joe’s had a dinner party with his co-workers and make some very interesting and colorful friends. |
| Virginie: Yes. They are at a local restaurant called L'avenue, The Avenue, and I think Joe is about to try a lot of bizarre foods in that restaurant. |
| Eric: Well, let’s have a listen. |
| Dialogue |
| Directrice : Bon travail tout le monde. Je vous présente Joe, des Etats-Unis. |
| (bonjour collectif) |
| Directrice : Joe, je vous en prie. |
| Joe : Bonsoir tout le monde. Je m'appelle Joe McFly, je suis de Californie. Je suis consultant en marketing. Et j'aime la France. |
| Groupe : Bonsoir, enchanté. |
| Directrice : Merci Joe. Je vous en prie, asseyez-vous. |
| Franck : Joe, je suis Franck. Enchanté. |
| Joe : De même. |
| Franck : Vous aimez le foie gras ? |
| Joe : Non, je n'aime pas. (pause) J'adore. (rires) |
| Franck : Et les escargots ? Vous aimez ? |
| Joe : Hmmm...qu'est-ce que c'est ? |
| Franck : Ah, les escargots, c'est délicieux. Vous allez adorer. C'est très français. |
| Joe : D'accord. Vous avez d'autres suggestions ? |
| Franck : OK, laissez-moi faire. Oh, et vous voulez boire...? |
| Joe : Ah ben je vous laisse faire. |
| Franck : Très bien ! (il appelle la serveuse) S'il vous plaît ? |
| Eric: One more time, a little more slowly. |
| Virginie: Encore une fois, plus lentement. |
| Directrice : Bon travail tout le monde. Je vous présente Joe, des Etats-Unis. |
| (bonjour collectif) |
| Directrice : Joe, je vous en prie. |
| Joe : Bonsoir tout le monde. Je m'appelle Joe McFly, je suis de Californie. Je suis consultant en marketing. Et j'aime la France. |
| Groupe : Bonsoir, enchanté. |
| Directrice : Merci Joe. Je vous en prie, asseyez-vous. |
| Franck : Joe, je suis Franck. Enchanté. |
| Joe : De même. |
| Franck : Vous aimez le foie gras ? |
| Joe : Non, je n'aime pas. (pause) J'adore. (rires) |
| Franck : Et les escargots ? Vous aimez ? |
| Joe : Hmmm...qu'est-ce que c'est ? |
| Franck : Ah, les escargots, c'est délicieux. Vous allez adorer. C'est très français. |
| Joe : D'accord. Vous avez d'autres suggestions ? |
| Franck : OK, laissez-moi faire. Oh, et vous voulez boire...? |
| Joe : Ah ben je vous laisse faire. |
| Franck : Très bien ! (il appelle la serveuse) S'il vous plaît ? |
| Eric: One more time, with the translation. |
| Virginie: Encore une fois, avec la traduction. |
| Directrice : Bon travail tout le monde. Je vous présente Joe, des Etats-Unis. |
| Manager: Great job, everyone. This is Joe from the United States. |
| Directrice : Joe, je vous en prie. |
| Manager: Joe, please. |
| Joe : Bonsoir tout le monde. Je m'appelle Joe McFly, je suis de Californie. Je suis consultant en marketing. Et j'aime la France. |
| Joe: Hello, everyone. My name is Joe McFly; I am from California. I am a marketing consultant. And I like France. |
| Groupe : Bonsoir, enchanté. |
| Group: Good evening, nice to meet you. |
| Directrice : Merci Joe. Je vous en prie, asseyez-vous. |
| Manager: Thank you, Joe. Please have a seat. |
| Franck : Joe, je suis Franck. Enchanté. |
| Frank: Joe, I'm Frank. Nice to meet you. |
| Joe : De même. |
| Joe: Same here. |
| Franck : Vous aimez le foie gras ? |
| Frank: Do you like goose liver? |
| Joe : Non, je n'aime pas. (pause) J'adore. (rires) |
| Joe: No, I don't like it. (pause) I love it. (laughter) |
| Franck : Et les escargots ? Vous aimez ? |
| Frank: What about snails? Do you like snails? |
| Joe : Hmmm...qu'est-ce que c'est ? |
| Joe: Hmmm...what is it? |
| Franck : Ah, les escargots, c'est délicieux. Vous allez adorer. C'est très français. |
| Frank: Oh, snails are delicious! You'll love it! It's very French! |
| Joe : D'accord. Vous avez d'autres suggestions ? |
| Joe: Okay, do you have any other suggestions? |
| Franck : OK, laissez-moi faire. Oh, et vous voulez boire...? |
| Frank: Okay, leave it to me. Oh, and you want to drink...? |
| Joe : Ah ben je vous laisse faire. |
| Joe: I leave it to you. |
| Franck : Très bien ! (il appelle la serveuse) S'il vous plaît ? |
| Frank: Great! (calls out a waitress) Please? |
| Post Conversation Banter |
| Virginie: Okay. So I guess Joe’s co-workers are, you know, trying to make fun of him by having him taste a bunch of different foods. |
| Eric: That could be funny, I guess. |
| Virginie: Yeah. |
| Eric: French foods are delicious but some are little eccentric. |
| Virginie: Yeah, some are a little strange. Well, you probably know the steak tartar? |
| Eric: Yeah you know I tried steak tartar after a few months of looking at it and thinking about it but I was very scared of it and then I’ve eventually tried it and it was delicious. |
| Virginie: Okay good. What was the dressing? |
| Eric: I don’t know. I think it had a kind of like chive and pepper… |
| Virginie: Okay. |
| Eric: Mixed in with the meat I think. |
| Virginie: Sometimes there is just an egg on top of that. |
| Eric: I think there was an egg as well. |
| Virginie: Yeah, but if it’s just an egg, it’s hard but if there is pepper and you know, other spices, it’s all easier to swallow. |
| Eric: Indeed. |
| Virginie: Yes. Joe’s co-workers are trying to be funny, right? |
| Eric: Right, it looks like it. |
| Virginie: Yeah, French people can be very funny sometimes. Do you think French people are funny Eric? |
| Eric: Sure. I don’t know if they have the reputation of being funny but they actually are very funny. |
| Virginie: Yeah thank you. Am I funny? |
| Eric: You are very funny. |
| Virginie: Thank you. French people, you know they have these Belgian jokes. |
| Eric: Ah. |
| Virginie: That are… |
| Eric: Picking on the Belgian’s again. |
| Virginie: Yeah I know. It’s not fair… |
| Eric: It’s mean. |
| Virginie: It’s really mean and there is no explanation to that. I don’t know why there are so many Belgian jokes in French and I am not going to tell you a Belgian joke. I am against it. |
| Eric: What a tease! |
| Virginie: No, no, no. |
| Eric: What about political humor, like Les Guignols? |
| Virginie: Oh yes, les Guignols de l'info is a puppet show on TV and they portray the politicians, the French politicians. |
| Eric: It’s really well done. It’s hilarious. |
| Virginie: It is very, very funny, yes. |
| Eric: Okay. So why don’t we get into a little vocabulary? |
| Virginie: Yes, let’s do that. |
| Vocab List |
| vraiment [natural native speed] |
| truly, really |
| vraiment [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| vraiment [natural native speed] |
| aimer [natural native speed] |
| to like |
| aimer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| aimer [natural native speed] |
| une suggestion [natural native speed] |
| a suggestion, a recommendation |
| une suggestion [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| une suggestion [natural native speed] |
| un escargot [natural native speed] |
| a snail |
| un escargot [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| un escargot [natural native speed] |
| être [natural native speed] |
| to be |
| être [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| être [natural native speed] |
| vous [natural native speed] |
| you (formal) |
| vous [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| vous [natural native speed] |
| très [natural native speed] |
| very |
| très [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| très [natural native speed] |
| autre [natural native speed] |
| other |
| autre [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| autre [natural native speed] |
| boire [natural native speed] |
| to drink |
| boire [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| boire [natural native speed] |
| laisser faire quelqu'un [natural native speed] |
| to leave it to someone |
| laisser faire quelqu'un [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| laisser faire quelqu'un [natural native speed] |
| Bon travail. [natural native speed] |
| Good job. |
| Bon travail. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Bon travail. [natural native speed] |
| Je vous en prie. [natural native speed] |
| You are welcome, please |
| Je vous en prie. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Je vous en prie. [natural native speed] |
| Et...? [natural native speed] |
| What about...? |
| Et...? [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Et...? [natural native speed] |
| vouloir [natural native speed] |
| to want |
| vouloir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| vouloir [natural native speed] |
| adorer [natural native speed] |
| to be fond of, to love |
| adorer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| adorer [natural native speed] |
| Post Conversation Banter |
| Virginie: first let's see the phrasess "Laissez moi faire" and "je vous laisse faire" |
| Eric: Yes, frank in our dialogue says "laissez moi faire, "leave it to me", to Joe |
| Virginie: Yes when it comes to choosing the meal, Frank seems to take control |
| Eric: So, first of all. This phrase is conjugated at the imperative form. |
| Virginie: Yes, it's an order, or rather a assertion (ask eric for the right term) |
| Eric: Our verb here is the verb "laisser" |
| Virginie: That means to leave, to let |
| Eric: And it's conjugated with the vous conjugation, since Frank talks to Joe in a formal way |
| Virginie: Yes he say "laissez" (spell) the z at the end is an indication that it's the vous conjugation |
| Eric: After that we have "moi", which is me |
| Virginie: So, "laissez moi" , let me |
| Eric: And then we have a verb we're familiar with by now, "Faire" |
| Virginie: And that's to do, or do |
| Eric: So in the end laissez-moi faire is literally let me do. |
| Virginie: And that's something you will be able to use a lot. |
| Eric: Yes, whenever you want to take control over things. |
| Virginie: Just say "laissez-moi faire" |
| Eric: Now Joe later on says "je vous laisse faire" |
| Virginie: Yes he leaves the drink choice to Frank as well. |
| Eric: He says "I leave it to you |
| Virginie: It really looks like laissez moi faire, although the difference is that it's not in the imperative form. |
| Eric: No it's the affirmative form, just a common statement. |
| Virginie: so what joe says is "je" |
| Eric: I |
| Virginie: Vous |
| Eric: you |
| virginie: laisse |
| Eric: Let, or leave |
| Virginie: Faire |
| Eric: do. |
| Virginie: Literally it's I you let do. |
| Eric: In French, the pronouns are placed before the verb, usually. |
| Virginie: Once again, it's je (subject) vous (pronoun) laisse (let) faire (do) |
| Eric: Good. |
| Virginie: Now another phrase here is "Bon travail" |
| Eric: Oh yes the Manager Madame Fonta says it at the very beginning of the dialog |
| Virginie: And that means "good job". |
| Eric: Le travail, in French, is "job" and also "work". |
| Virginie: Yes. Once again, le travail. So to say "good job" in French is really easy. |
| Virginie: Just say bon which by now we know means "good" |
| Eric: And then just say "travail, "job" |
| Eric: Bon travail, Virginie! |
| Virginie: Merci, Eric! |
| Eric: So, maybe a little grammar? |
| Virginie: Yes, maybe a little grammaire now. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: What's our focus today? |
| Virginie: How to say you like or dislike something. |
| Eric: So to do this you will need to know two verbs. |
| Virginie: Oui. The verb "aimer" and the verb "adorer" |
| Eric: Let's start with aimer., to like. That's an ER vebs. |
| Virginie: It means that it will follow the conjugation of all the ER verbs. |
| Eric: So...let's use it with a word we just saw, "travail" |
| Virginie: Here's my sentence, J'aime le travail. |
| Eric: I like work. |
| Virginie: J'aime |
| Eric: "I like" |
| Virginie: And it's spelled "j'aime". Why is it not "je," Eric? |
| Eric: Well, because the "e" in "je" dropped in front of the vowel "a" at the beginning of "aimer", "je" becomes just "j'". |
| Virginie: OK, so it sounds like one single word. J'aime. |
| Eric: And then we have "le travail", which we know is work. Tu aimes le travail Virginie? |
| Virginie: Do I like work? You forgot I'm French, Eric. I don't like work. Je n'aime pas le travail. |
| Eric: So Virginie just talked about the negative form, Je n'aime pas le travail. |
| Virginie: What happened is tht the verb "aime" is squeezed between the negative particule "ne and pas. |
| Eric: It's the common negative construction in French. |
| Virginie: So we have "je then n', which is really "ne" with a dropped "e" in front of the verb aime.. |
| Eric: And then to close the negation, you say pas spell. Je n'aime pas. |
| Virginie: Je n'aime pas. |
| Eric: Good. OK. Now that you know how to say you like something, let's see how to say you LOVE something. Our verb here is "adorer", to love. |
| Virginie: Another very easy to use ER verb. |
| Eric: Tu adores le travail? |
| Virginie: Oui, j'adore le travail. Note that like with the verb "aimer", the e of "je" dropped. |
| Eric: J'adore le travail!! |
| Virginie: I love work! J'adore le travail!! |
| Eric: Virginie needs to make up her mind on whether she likes work or not. |
| Virginie: J'adore! I love it! |
| Eric: Now, to get the full conjugation of these two verb, you can refer to our lesson notes. |
| Virginie: And.. one last thing before we go. |
| Eric: Yes? |
| Virginie: There is another way to say I like in French. It's not in our dialog but I'd like to share it with you. |
| Eric: How generous of you Virginie. what is it? |
| Virginie: It's "j'aime bien" |
| Eric: Oh, so it's j'aime with the adverb bien , well" |
| virginie: Yes. Literally, I like well. |
| Eric: So, for example? |
| Virginie: J'aime bien le travail. |
| Eric: I like work. Whats the difference with j'aime? |
| Virginie: There's no difference really, except when you talk about a person |
| Eric: Why? |
| Virginie: Because if you say "j'aime Eric", it sounds ambiguous. It could also mean "I am in love with Eric" |
| Eric: Oh là là. |
| Virginie: So you add "bien" to specify that it's friendship. |
| Eric: Ok, so you say, J'aime bien Eric. J'aime bien Virginie. |
| Virginie: Exactly. I like Eric, I like Virginie. |
Outro |
| Virginie: Ok, I think we're done for this lesson, Eric. |
| Eric: Thank you very much for listening. |
| Virginie: Thank you for listening, merci beaucoup ! Au revoir ! |
| Eric: Au revoir ! |
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