Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Greg: Hello everyone, I’m Greg. What Do You Take to a French Picnic?
Mailys: Bonjour à tous. This is Mailys. In this lesson, we will learn about French demonstratives - words like “this”, “that”, “these” and “those”.
Greg: Mireille is going to the grocery store to buy a few items for the picnic she’ll be having with Jacques.
Mailys: She is using informal French when talking to herself, but formal French when speaking to the store clerk.
Greg: Let’s listen the conversation!
DIALOGUE
Mireille: Bon ! D'abord, j'ai besoin d'une baguette... Ah, le pain est ici. Cette baguette à 2 euros 50 est un peu chère, mais celle-ci à 1 euro 75 est parfaite. Ensuite, j'ai besoin de confiture...
Mireille: Bonjour madame, je cherche la confiture ?
Employée: Est-ce que vous voyez ces pommes ?
Mireille: Oui, oui, je les vois.
Employée: Eh bien la confiture est à côté des pommes.
Mireille: Parfait, merci.
Mireille: Oh là, là, 5 euros 40 pour de la confiture aux fraises, c'est trop cher ! Ouf, il y a aussi de la confiture à 3 euros Bon, à la caisse !
Employée: Rebonjour, madame ! Une baguette à 1 euro 75 et de la confiture aux fraises à 3 euros 10. Ça fait 4 euros 85.
Mireille: Voici 5 euros.
Employée: Merci, et voici 15 centimes. Au revoir !
Greg: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Mireille: Bon ! D'abord, j'ai besoin d'une baguette... Ah, le pain est ici. Cette baguette à 2 euros 50 est un peu chère, mais celle-ci à 1 euro 75 est parfaite. Ensuite, j'ai besoin de confiture...
Mireille: Bonjour madame, je cherche la confiture ?
Employée: Est-ce que vous voyez ces pommes ?
Mireille: Oui, oui, je les vois.
Employée: Eh bien la confiture est à côté des pommes.
Mireille: Parfait, merci.
Mireille: Oh là, là, 5 euros 40 pour de la confiture aux fraises, c'est trop cher ! Ouf, il y a aussi de la confiture à 3 euros Bon, à la caisse !
Employée: Rebonjour, madame ! Une baguette à 1 euro 75 et de la confiture aux fraises à 3 euros 10. Ça fait 4 euros 85.
Mireille: Voici 5 euros.
Employée: Merci, et voici 15 centimes. Au revoir !
Greg: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Mireille: Bon ! D'abord, j'ai besoin d'une baguette... Ah, le pain est ici. Cette baguette à 2 euros 50 est un peu chère, mais celle-ci à 1 euro 75 est parfaite. Ensuite, j'ai besoin de confiture...
Mireille: Okay! First, I need a baguette... Ah, the bread is here. This baguette for two euros fifty is a bit expensive, but that one for one euro seventy-five is perfect. Next, I need jam...
Mireille: Bonjour madame, je cherche la confiture ?
Mireille: Hello, ma'am, I'm looking for the jam?
Employée: Est-ce que vous voyez ces pommes ?
Employee: Do you see those apples?
Mireille: Oui, oui, je les vois.
Mireille: Yes, I see them.
Employée: Eh bien la confiture est à côté des pommes.
Employee: Well, the jam is next to the apples.
Mireille: Parfait, merci.
Mireille: Perfect, thanks.
Mireille: Oh là, là, 5 euros 40 pour de la confiture aux fraises, c'est trop cher ! Ouf, il y a aussi de la confiture à 3 euros Bon, à la caisse !
Mireille: Oh my, five euros forty for strawberry jam, that's too much! Phew, there is also jam for three euros ten. Okay, to the register!
Employée: Rebonjour, madame ! Une baguette à 1 euro 75 et de la confiture aux fraises à 3 euros 10. Ça fait 4 euros 85.
Employee: Hello again, ma'am! A baguette for one euro seventy-five and strawberry jam for three euros ten. It comes to four euros eighty-five.
Mireille: Voici 5 euros.
Mireille: Here are five euros.
Employée: Merci, et voici 15 centimes. Au revoir !
Employee: Thanks, here are fifteen cents. Goodbye!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Mailys: So Greg, Mireille bought a baguette, a type of French bread - this is an easy dialogue to relate to!
Greg: Yes, French bread is known all over the world, and the most famous type of French bread is undoubtedly the baguette.
Mailys: The word baguette means stick or wand.
Greg: Indeed, baguettes are long loaves of bread. It's said that the shape allows for faster cooking times. A law went into effect in 1920 prohibiting anyone from cooking bread before 4 am, making it impossible to bake enough bread in time for customers' breakfast.
Mailys: Really? I didn’t know it had that kind of history!
Greg: Yes, and while stick-like loaves existed before that, it seems to have marked a rise in the popularity of the baguette.
Mailys: Baguettes are also commonly used at lunchtime for sandwiches in French cafés.
Greg: Definitely! And now 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: d’abord [natural native speed]
Greg: first of all
Mailys: d’abord [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: d’abord [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: avoir besoin de [natural native speed]
Greg: to need
Mailys: avoir besoin de [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: avoir besoin de [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: un peu [natural native speed]
Greg: a bit
Mailys: un peu [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: un peu [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: cher [natural native speed]
Greg: expensive, dear
Mailys: cher [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: cher [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: ensuite [natural native speed]
Greg: then
Mailys: ensuite [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: ensuite [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: confiture [natural native speed]
Greg: jam
Mailys: confiture [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: confiture [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: chercher [natural native speed]
Greg: to look for
Mailys: chercher [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: chercher [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: à côté de [natural native speed]
Greg: next to
Mailys: à côté de [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: à côté de [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: caisse [natural native speed]
Greg: cash register, till
Mailys: caisse [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: caisse [natural native speed]
Next:
Mailys: voici [natural native speed]
Greg: here is, here are
Mailys: voici [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Mailys: voici [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
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 ‘chercher’, meaning “to look for”.
Greg: We wanted to look at this verb to drive home the point that every verb has its own requirements in terms of how it introduces objects.
Mailys: Yes, in English, you say looking FOR, but in French, it’s just ‘chercher’, without a preposition.
Greg: There is no logic to it, you just have to learn it. So whenever you come across a new word, always look at how it’s used. For instance, to say “she’s looking for the apples”, you say...
Mailys: elle cherche les pommes.
Greg: “He’s looking for Mireille” is
Mailys: Il cherche Mireille.
Greg: Let’s now look at another verb that behaves very differently from its English equivalent, ‘avoir besoin de’, “to need”.
Mailys: It’s made up of ‘avoir’, “to have”, which will be conjugated, and 2 other words -, ‘besoin’ meaning “need”, and the preposition ‘de’ meaning “of”.
Greg: It literally means “to have need of”. Here are some examples...
Mailys: J’ai besoin de pain.
Greg: I need bread.
Mailys: Elle a besoin de café.
Greg: She needs coffee.
Mailys: Il a besoin de la voir.
Greg: He needs to see her.
Mailys: Nous avons besoin de parler français.
Greg: We need to speak French.
Greg: Lastly, let’s look at ‘un peu’ meaning “a little” or “a bit”.
Mailys: ‘Il est un peu grand.’ “He's a bit tall.”
Greg: You can also add ‘de’, to make ‘un peu de’ which then means “a bit of” and this is used with a noun.
Mailys: Un peu de pain.
Greg: A bit of bread.
Mailys: Il y a un peu de vent.
Greg: There is a bit of wind.
Greg: The variant ‘un petit peu’, meaning “a little bit”, is also used. For example...
Mailys: Nous sommes un petit peu en retard.
Greg: We are a little bit late. Ok, now let’s move to the grammar!

Lesson focus

Greg: The focus of this lesson is French demonstratives.
Mailys: In the dialogue, the store clerk asked Mireille ‘est-ce que vous voyez ces pommes?’, “Do you see those apples?”
Greg: ‘ces’ means “those”, and the words “this”, “that”, “those” and “these” are called demonstratives.
Mailys: In French, we don’t usually indicate if the object is close or far, like “this” or “that”, but it’s important to use the right demonstrative with the right gender and number.
Greg: To point to a masculine noun, we use ‘ce --’
Mailys: ‘ce garçon’, “this (or that) boy.”
Mailys: ‘ce biscuit,’ “this or that cookie.”
Greg: When a masculine noun starts with a vowel, ‘cet’ is used –
Mailys: ‘cet ami’, “this (or that) friend”.
Greg: To point to a feminine noun, we use ‘cette’
Mailys: Like ‘cette fille’, “this (or that) girl.”, or ‘cette table’, “this or that table”.
Greg: When the noun is plural, regardless of its gender, we use ‘ces’ –
Mailys: Like ‘ces pommes’, “these (or those) apples.”, or ‘ces bouteilles’, “these or those bottles.”
Greg: Let’s listen to all the forms again. Listen carefully to the form of the demonstrative, it will tell you what gender the word is...
Mailys: ce garçon
Greg: this, that boy
Mailys: cet ami
Greg: this, that friend
Mailys: cette fille
Greg: this, that girl
Mailys: ces pommes
Greg: these, those apples
Greg: Mailys: said that French doesn't usually distinguish between objects that are near or far, but it is possible to make that distinction when comparing two objects.
Mailys: It’s very simple, just add, after the noun, ‘-ci’ for objects that are close and ‘-là’ for objects that are far. For instance, ‘cette pomme-ci’ meaning “this apple” and ‘cette pomme-là’, “that apple.”
Greg: Here are a few example sentences...
Mailys: J’aime ces biscuits-ci, mais ces biscuits-là ne sont pas bons. (I like these cookies, but those cookies are not good.
Mailys: Ces baguettes-ci sont un peu chères, mais pas ces baguettes-là. (These baguettes are a little expensive, but not those baguettes)

Outro

Greg: Ok, that’s going to do it for this lesson! Join us for lesson 10 to find out how Jacques and Mireille’s picnic date goes!
Mailys: Exciting! À bientôt!
Greg: See you soon!

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