INTRODUCTION |
Greg: Hi everyone, I’m Greg: and welcome to FrenchPod101.com. This is Lower Beginner Season 1, Lesson 5, Making a Reservation at a French Restaurant. |
Mailys: Bonjour à tous. This is Mailys. In this lesson, we will learn the verb “to have”. |
Greg: Jacques has invited Mireille to a restaurant. |
Mailys: ...and now he is calling to book a table. |
Greg: Since he is talking to a stranger on the phone, he will be using formal French. |
Mailys: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation
|
Restaurant Oui allô, Restaurant Chez Marcello. |
Jacques Allô! J’aimerais réserver une table pour deux, pour 19 h 30 ce soir. |
Restaurant Je suis désolé, c’est impossible, monsieur. Mais nous avons une table |
à 18 heures. |
Jacques À 18 heures! C’est beaucoup trop tôt! Vous avez une table pour 19 heures? |
Restaurant Non, mais j’ai une table à 18 h 30. |
Jacques Bon, d’accord pour 18 h 30. |
Restaurant Quel est votre nom, monsieur? |
Jacques Je m’appelle Jacques. |
Restaurant Alors je réserve une table pour deux à 18 h 30 pour Monsieur Jacques. À ce soir! |
Jacques Merci, au revoir. |
Greg: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
Restaurant Oui allô, Restaurant Chez Marcello. |
Jacques Allô! J’aimerais réserver une table pour deux, pour 19 h 30 ce soir. |
Restaurant Je suis désolé, c’est impossible, monsieur. Mais nous avons une table |
à 18 heures. |
Jacques À 18 heures! C’est beaucoup trop tôt! Vous avez une table pour 19 heures? |
Restaurant Non, mais j’ai une table à 18 h 30. |
Jacques Bon, d’accord pour 18 h 30. |
Restaurant Quel est votre nom, monsieur? |
Jacques Je m’appelle Jacques. |
Restaurant Alors je réserve une table pour deux à 18 h 30 pour Monsieur Jacques. À ce soir! |
Jacques Merci, au revoir. |
Greg: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
Restaurant Oui allô, Restaurant Chez Marcello. |
Greg: Hello, Marcello’s Restaurant. |
Jacques Allô! J’aimerais réserver une table pour deux, pour 19 h 30 ce soir. |
Greg: Hello! I would like to book a table for two, for 7: 30 tonight. |
Restaurant Je suis désolé, c’est impossible, monsieur. Mais nous avons une table |
Greg: I’m sorry, that’s impossible, Sir. But we have a table at 6 o’clock. |
à 18 heures. |
Greg: At 6 o’clock! That’s way too early! Do you have a table at 7? |
Jacques À 18 heures! C’est beaucoup trop tôt! Vous avez une table pour 19 heures? |
Greg: No, but I have a table at 6: 30. |
Restaurant Non, mais j’ai une table à 18 h 30. |
Greg: Well, ok, for 6: 30. |
Jacques Bon, d’accord pour 18 h 30. |
Greg: What’s your name, Sir? |
Restaurant Quel est votre nom, monsieur? |
Greg: My name is Jacques. |
Jacques Je m’appelle Marcel. |
Greg: So I’ll book a table for two at 6: 30 for Mr. Jacques. See you tonight! |
Restaurant Alors je réserve une table pour deux à 18 h 30 pour Monsieur Marcel. À ce soir! |
Greg: Thanks, bye. |
Jacques Merci, au revoir. |
Greg |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
Greg: So Mailys, when people answer the phone in French, do they usually say ‘oui?’, ‘allô?’ or ‘bonjour?’ |
Mailys: They sometimes use a combination of these words, like ‘oui, allô?’ or ‘oui, bonjour?’ |
Greg: The other speaker will usually say ‘allô’ or ‘bonjour’ in reply, then ask for the person they want to speak to in this way... |
Mailys: Est-ce que je pourrais parler à Monsieur Leroux, s'il-vous-plaît? |
Greg: May I speak to Mister/Mrs. Leroux? |
Mailys: Then you can answer ‘Oui, un instant, s'il-vous-plaît.’ |
Greg: This means “Yes, one moment, please.” Alternatively, you can ask if the person is there... |
Mailys: Est-ce que Madame Leroux est là? |
Greg: Is Mrs. Leroux there? |
Mailys: The conversation usually ends with ‘au revoir’, or more informally, with ‘salut’. |
Greg: Ok, let’s move on to the vocab. |
VOCAB LIST |
Greg: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
The first word we shall see is: |
Mailys: restaurant [natural native speed] |
Greg: restaurant |
Mailys: restaurant [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: restaurant [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: chez [natural native speed] |
Greg: at someone’s house |
Mailys: chez [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: chez [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: j’aimerais + inf. [natural native speed] |
Greg: I would like |
Mailys: j’aimerais + inf. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: j’aimerais + inf. [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: réserver [natural native speed] |
Greg: to book, to reserve |
Mailys: réserver [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: réserver [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: table [natural native speed] |
Greg: table |
Mailys: table [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: table [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: désolé(e) [natural native speed] |
Greg: sorry |
Mailys: désolé(e) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: désolé(e) [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: impossible [natural native speed] |
Greg: impossible |
Mailys: impossible [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: impossible [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: avoir [natural native speed] |
Greg: to have |
Mailys: avoir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: avoir [natural native speed] |
Next: |
Mailys: votre [natural native speed] |
Greg: your |
Mailys: votre [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: votre [natural native speed] |
Last: |
Mailys: bon [natural native speed] |
Greg: good |
Mailys: bon [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Mailys: bon [natural native speed] |
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
Greg: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
Mailys: Let’s start with ‘chez.’ ‘Chez’ is a preposition that doesn’t have an exact English equivalent. |
Greg: It’s something like “in the house of”. It’s like [someone]‘s or someone’s place/house. |
Mailys: For instance, ‘chez Jacques’ means “at Jacques’ place.” |
Greg: We also use this with restaurants' and stores' names, especially when the name of the establishment contains a person’s name. |
Mailys: In the dialogue, ‘Chez Marcello’ is “Marcello’s.” |
Greg: It can also be used with some professions. |
Mailys: ‘Chez le dentiste,’ is “at” or “to the dentist’s office.” Here are more examples... |
Mailys: Chez Marcello |
Greg: Marcello’s |
Mailys: Chez le dentiste |
Greg: At the dentist’s office |
Mailys: Chez moi |
Greg: At my place/at home |
Mailys: Chez Jacques |
Greg: At Jacques’ place |
Greg: Now let’s look at the expression meaning “I would like” |
Mailys: j’aimerais |
Greg: This verb tense is called the conditional. It's a more advanced tense, but for now, you’ll find this expression to be very useful for making requests. |
Mailys: Just add a verb in the infinitive and you can ask for almost anything. |
Greg: Here are some examples. |
Greg: J’aimerais avoir un café. |
Mailys: I’d like to have a coffee. |
Greg: J’aimerais réserver une table. |
Mailys: I’d like to book a table. |
Greg: J’aimerais manger. |
Mailys: I’d like to eat. |
Mailys: and to be polite, add “please” at the end. |
Greg: s’il-vous-plaît |
Mailys: The adjective ‘bon’ means “good”. |
Greg: The feminine version is ‘bonne’. Let’s look at some examples |
Mailys: Elle aime les bons restaurants. |
Greg: She likes good restaurants. |
Mailys: Ils ont une très bonne table. |
Greg: They have a very good table. |
Mailys: Alors, les biscuits sont bons? |
Greg: So, are the cookies good? |
Mailys: La cuisine italienne est très bonne. |
Greg: Italian cuisine is very good. Ok, with that, let’s move on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus
|
Greg: The focus of this lesson is the verb “to have” in French, which is.... |
Mailys: ‘avoir.’ ‘Avoir’ is a very common and irregular verb, just like ‘être’. The present tense conjugation is as follows... |
Greg: J’ai |
Mailys: Tu as |
Greg: Il a |
Mailys: Nous avons |
Greg: Vous avez |
Mailys: Ils ont |
Greg: Notice that the verb sounds the same with ‘tu’ and ‘il’, even though they are spelled differently. |
Mailys: tu as, il a. |
Greg: I want to mention that the letter ‘a’ in French never sounds like the English “a”, |
Mailys: that's really important. Be careful not to confuse ‘tu as’ and ‘il a’ with ‘tu es’, “you are”, and ‘il est’ meaning “he is”. |
Greg: As for the plural ‘ils’ and ‘elles’, a liaison ‘z’ is inserted before ‘ont’, |
Mailys: ils ont. |
Greg: and don’t get confused with ‘ils sont’ meaing “they are”, which has an ‘s’ sound instead of the ‘z’. |
Mailys: ‘ils ont’, “they have”, ‘ils sont’, “they are”. This sound is the only way to distinguish them. |
Greg: Spelling-wise, you might have noticed that the preposition ‘à’ as in ‘à 19 heures’, “at 7 pm”, is pronounced the same as the ‘a’ in ‘il a’, but it’s written with an accent grave so they can be told apart. |
Mailys: Let’s look at some examples |
Mailys: Jacques a une invitation pour Mireille. |
Greg: Jacques has an invitation for Mireille. |
Mailys: Vous avez une table pour deux? |
Greg: Do you have a table for two? |
Mailys: Ils ont deux heures. |
Greg: They have two hours. |
Greg: In previous lessons, we learned the numbers up to 20. Let’s continue up to 49. |
Mailys: It's much easier to remember numbers if you understand how to make them than if you try to learn them one by one. |
Greg: Let's first look at numbers 20 to 29. |
Mailys: vingt |
Greg: 20 |
Mailys: vingt et un |
Greg: 21 |
Mailys: vingt-deux |
Greg: 22 |
Mailys: vingt-trois |
Greg: 23 |
Mailys: vingt-quatre |
Greg: 24 |
Mailys: vingt-cinq |
Greg: 25 |
Mailys: vingt-six |
Greg: 26 |
Mailys: vingt-sept |
Greg: 27 |
Mailys: vingt-huit |
Greg: 28 |
Mailys: vingt-neuf |
Greg: 29 |
Greg: Number 21 uses ‘et un’. For other numbers, ‘et’ is not used. We use ‘vingt’ followed by the second digit. |
Mailys: The last ‘t’ in ‘vingt’ is only silent with number 20, ‘vingt’. |
Greg: With this pattern in mind, listen to the numbers 30 to 39. |
Mailys: trente |
Greg: 30 |
Mailys: trente et un |
Greg: 31 |
Mailys: trente-deux |
Greg: 32 |
Mailys: trente-trois |
Greg: 33 |
Mailys: trente-quatre |
Greg: 34 |
Mailys: trente-cinq |
Greg: 35 |
Mailys: trente-six |
Greg: 36 |
Mailys: trente-sept |
Greg: 37 |
Mailys: trente-huit |
Greg: 38 |
Mailys: trente-neuf |
Greg: 39 |
Greg: And now let’s go through 40 to 49. |
Mailys: quarante |
Greg: 40 |
Mailys: quarante et un |
Greg: 41 |
Mailys: quarante-deux |
Greg: 42 |
Mailys: quarante-trois |
Greg: 43 |
Mailys: quarante-quatre |
Greg: 44 |
Mailys: quarante-cinq |
Greg: 45 |
Mailys: quarante-six |
Greg: 46 |
Mailys: quarante-sept |
Greg: 47 |
Mailys: quarante-huit |
Greg: 48 |
Mailys: quarante-neuf |
Greg: 49 |
Greg: Ok, that’s it for this lesson! Thanks for listening, and join us for lesson 6 to find out how Jacques and Mireille’s dinner date will go! |
Mailys: À bientôt! |
Greg: See you soon! |
31 Comments
HideHi everyone!
What do you have in your bag now?
J'ai mon portefeuille, mas aucun argent.:sweat_smile:
oops meant to write mais not mas
Bonjour Janelle !
Bravo pour votre auto-correction !
On dira plutôt : "j'ai un portefeuille, mais pas d'argent."
Cela semble plus naturel.
Congrats for your auto-correction!
The French would rather say : "J'ai un portefeuille, mais pas d'argent."
It sounds more natural.
Merci pour votre commentaire !
Mélanie
Team FrenchPod101.com
Je n’ai pas un sac, mais j’ai un portefeuille avec des billets!
Merci Gwynn pour votre message !
Oui c'est tout aussi pratique.
Bon dimanche !
Marie Alice
Team FrenchPod101.com
Dans ma sac, j'ai un portefeuille avec les cartes de crédit et de l'argent, des clés, un rouge à lèvres, et un masque (pour le COVID 19).
Bonjour Beverly,
Merci pour ton commentaire ! Attention, sac est masculin donc il faut dire "mon sac". Tu peux aussi dire "mes clés", "mes cartes de crédit" puisque ces objets t'appartiennent. 😉
Bonne journée,
Marion
Team FrenchPod101
Salut!
I have a question regarding this sentence "Est-ce que je pourrais parler à Monsieur/Madame Leroux, s'il-vous-plaît?"
Is it possible to say pourrais-je? or does it apply the same rule as pouvoir (as we cant say peux-je, so we say puis je)
Bonjour Shaza,
Yes, you could also say "pourrais-je", both work here!
Bonne journée,
Marion
Team FrenchPod101
Bonsoir! J'ai un ordinateur portable, un stylo, un cahier, une bouteille d'eau, des ecouteurs, et une porte feuille dans mon sac maintenant.