Learn about asking for a reason
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, I'm Eric. |
| Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine. |
| Eric: 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: Thanks, everyone, see you next time! |
| Yasmine: A la prochaine! |
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