Making a Reservation at a French Restaurant

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Lesson conversation
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.
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!

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Making a Reservation at a French Restaurant

Want to Understand & Master the French Dialogue 100%?

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

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Lesson conversation

Lesson focus