Dialogue

Want to Understand & Master the French Dialogue 100%?

Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Vocabulary

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

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: Hi everyone, I'm Eric.
Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine.
Eric: And welcome to Must-Know French Sentence Structures, Season 1, Lesson 7. Asking for a Reason.
Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for asking for a reason.
PATTERN
Eric: For example, "Why do the children sing?"
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
Yasmine: [slow] Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
Eric: The pattern for asking for a reason has 3 elements. First, the adverb "why."
Yasmine: Pourquoi.
Eric: Second, the polite form to ask something meaning, "is it that...?."
Yasmine: est-ce que.
Eric: Third, the complement, in this case a phrase meaning "the children sing."
Yasmine: les enfants chantent.
Eric: Altogether, we have "Why do the children sing?"
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent? [slow] Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent? [normal] Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
Eric: First you have the adverb meaning "why," followed by the polite form of asking a question, literally meaning "is it that." It’s quite similar to the English auxiliary "do" or "does." Finally there’s a complement, which is mostly a subject (an article and a noun), followed by a verb, and sometimes an extra complement.
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
Eric: So remember, to ask about a reason, start with the adverb "why," followed by the polite form of asking a question, and what you want to know.
Eric: Here's another example meaning, "Why do people lie?" First, the adverb "why."
Yasmine: Pourquoi.
Eric: Second, the polite form to ask something meaning, "is it that...?"
Yasmine: est-ce que.
Eric: Third, the complement, in this case a phrase meaning "people lie."
Yasmine: les gens mentent.
Eric: Altogether we have...
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent? [slow] Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent? [normal] Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent?
Eric: "Why do people lie?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent?
Eric: How do you say - "Why is the girl crying?" To give you a hint, "the girl cries" is...
Yasmine: la fille pleure. [slow] la fille pleure. [normal] la fille pleure.
Eric: "Why is the girl crying?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure? [slow] Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure? [normal] Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure?
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: "Why do the children sing?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
Eric: "Why do people lie?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent?
Eric: "Why is the girl crying?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure?

Outro
Eric: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for asking about a reason, as in...
Yasmine: Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?
Eric: meaning "Why do the children sing?"
Eric: You can find more vocab or phrases that go with this sentence pattern in the lesson notes. So please be sure to check them out on FrenchPod101.com. Thanks, everyone, see you next time!
Yasmine: A la prochaine!

Comments

Hide