Learn how to ask for clarification
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| Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in French. |
| For example, "Can you repeat that?" is |
| Peux-tu répéter ? |
| Coralie Collin meets her neighbor, Theodore Toussaint , for the first time in the lobby of their building. |
| Theodore introduces himself but Coralie doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification. |
| Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components, |
| répéter |
| "repeat" |
| répéter |
| répéter |
| Note, Coralie uses informal French. |
| Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore. |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| Je m'appelle Théodore. |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore. |
| “Nice to meet you. My name is Theodore.” |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| “Excuse me, can you repeat that?” |
| Je m'appelle Théodore. |
| "My name is Theodore." |
| 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. 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. Je. |
| Next is m’appelle, which translates as “call myself.” M’appelle. M’appelle. |
| Note me is contracted with appelle to form m’appelle. |
| Me. "Me." Me. Me. |
| Next is appelle. "Call," as in “I call.” Appelle. Appelle. |
| Appelle is from the verb appeler, meaning “to call.” Appeler. |
| Together, m’appelle, “call myself.”M’appelle. |
| After this is Theodore’s given name: Théodore. Théodore. |
| Note: Theodore only uses his given name. Coralie 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 call myself 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." |
| Théodore Toussaint : Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore. |
| Coralie 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. Excuse-moi. |
| Note: Excuse-moi is the informal form of "Excuse me." In this conversation, Théodore and Coralie are of similar age, so the informal excuse-moi is more natural. |
| Next is peux, "can," as in “can you.” Peux. Peux. |
| Peux is from the verb, pouvoir, "to be able." Pouvoir. |
| Next is tu. "You." Tu. Tu. |
| Together, it’s Peux-tu, “Can you?” Peux-tu. 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. 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?" |
| Coralie Collin : 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. 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. |
| Let’s look at the expressions once more. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speaker. First you will hear informal expressions, followed by their formal counterparts. |
| Excuse-moi. |
| "Excuse me." |
| Excuse-moi. |
| Peux-tu répéter ? |
| "Can you repeat that?" |
| Peux-tu répéter ? |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| Excusez-moi. |
| "Excuse me." |
| Excusez-moi. |
| Pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| "Can you repeat that?" |
| Pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| Je ne comprends pas. |
| "I don't understand." |
| Je ne comprends pas. |
| Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| "Can you speak more slowly?" |
| Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| Did you notice the new phrases? |
| Je ne comprends pas. |
| "I don’t understand." Je ne comprends pas. Je ne comprends pas. |
| Next is |
| Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? “Can you speak more slowly?” Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| First is pouvez-vous, "can you," formal form. Pouvez-vous. |
| Next is parler, "speak." Parler. Parler. |
| After this is plus, "more." Plus. Plus. |
| Finally, lentement, "slowly." Lentement. Lentement. |
| All together, Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? "Can you speak more slowly?" Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| For now, please remember Je ne comprends pas. and Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? as set phrases. |
| Let’s review the key vocabulary. |
| Parler |
| "speak." |
| Parler. Parler. |
| Plus. |
| "More." |
| Plus. Plus. |
| Lentement. |
| "Slowly." |
| Lentement. Lentement. |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember the informal way to say, |
| “Excuse me.” |
| Excuse-moi. |
| Excuse-moi. |
| And how to say "repeat?" |
| Répéter |
| Répéter. |
| Do you remember how Coralie asks, |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat?" |
| Remember she uses informal French. |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter? |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter? |
| Do you remember how to say |
| "Nice to meet you." |
| Enchanté. |
| Enchanté. |
| And do you remember how Théodore says, |
| "Nice to meet you. My name is Theodore." |
| Enchanté, je m’appelle Théodore. |
| Enchanté, je m’appelle Théodore. |
| Do you remember how to say, "speak?" |
| Parler. |
| Parler. |
| And how to say, "more?" |
| Plus. |
| Plus. |
| Do you remember how to say, "slowly?" |
| Lentement. |
| Lentement. |
| And how to say, |
| “Can you speak more slowly?” in a formal way |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Corentin Collin. Théodore introduces himself, but you can’t catch his name. Start with, “Excuse me, and ask him to repeat it using informal French. |
| Ready? |
| Enchanté. Je m'appelle Théodore. |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ? |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine you're Theodore. Constance Collin introduces herself, but you can't catch her name. Use formal French. |
| Ready? |
| Enchantée. Je m'appelle Constance Collin. |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ? |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Christophe Collin. Ask Fleur Toussaint to speak more slowly. |
| Ready? |
| Enchantée. Je m'appelle Fleur Toussaint. |
| Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement ? |
| This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in French. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking French. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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