Learn how to express your ability to do something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, I'm Eric. |
| Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine. |
| Eric: Using the Auxiliary Verb "Can." |
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for expressing your ability to do something. |
| PATTERN |
| Eric: For example, "I can eat with chopsticks." |
| Yasmine: Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| Yasmine: [slow] Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| Eric: The pattern for expressing your ability to do something has 3 elements. First, the first person singular of the verb "can” or “to be able to." |
| Yasmine: Je peux. |
| Eric: Second, a verb in the infinitive form, in this case "to eat." |
| Yasmine: manger. |
| Eric: Third, the complement, in this case "with chopsticks." |
| Yasmine: avec des baguettes. |
| Eric: Altogether, we have "I can eat with chopsticks." |
| Yasmine: Je peux manger avec des baguettes. [slow] Je peux manger avec des baguettes. [normal] Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| Eric: First you have the expression "I can," then a verb in the infinitive form followed by a complement. |
| Yasmine: Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| Eric: So remember, to express your ability to do something, start with the expression "I can," followed by a verb in the infinitive form, describing what you can do. |
| Eric: Here's another example meaning, "I can do two things at once." First, the first person singular of the verb "can” or “to be able to." |
| Yasmine: Je peux. |
| Eric: Second, a verb in the infinitive form, in this case "to do." |
| Yasmine: faire. |
| Eric: Third, the complement, in this case "two things at once." |
| Yasmine: deux choses à la fois. |
| Eric: Altogether we have... |
| Yasmine: Je peux faire deux choses à la fois. [slow] Je peux faire deux choses à la fois. [normal] Je peux faire deux choses à la fois. |
| Eric: "I can do two things at once." |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux faire deux choses à la fois. |
| Eric: How do you say - "I can write with both hands." To give you a hint, "to write with both hands" is... |
| Yasmine: écrire des deux mains. [slow] écrire des deux mains. [normal] écrire des deux mains. |
| Eric: "I can write with both hands." |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux écrire des deux mains. [slow] Je peux écrire des deux mains. [normal] Je peux écrire des deux mains. |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux écrire des deux mains. |
| REVIEW |
| Eric: Let's review the sentences from this lesson. I’ll give you the English equivalent of the phrase, and you’re responsible for shouting it out loud in French. Here we go. |
| Eric: "I can eat with chopsticks." |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| Eric: "I can do two things at once." |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux faire deux choses à la fois. |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux faire deux choses à la fois. |
| Eric: "I can write with both hands." |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux écrire des deux mains. |
| [pause] |
| Yasmine: Je peux écrire des deux mains. |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for expressing your ability to do something, as in... |
| Yasmine: Je peux manger avec des baguettes. |
| Eric: meaning "I can eat with chopsticks." |
| Eric: Thanks, everyone, see you next time! |
| Yasmine: A la prochaine! |
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