Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

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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