Learn how to tell people what you want
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam : The Subway. |
| Alex: In Paris. |
| Sam : I'm sorry. The Subway in Paris. |
| Alex: Le métro. |
| Céline: Attention! |
| Sam : What's the backdrop of today's lesson? |
| Céline : So a man wants to buy a subway ticket. |
| Sam : Ok. C’est parti? |
| Céline : Oui. C’est parti. |
| Alex: On y va. Let's go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sylvain: Bonjour, je voudrais un ticket de métro, s’il vous plaît. |
| Céline : Un ticket Paris-visite? |
| Sylvain: Qu’est-ce que c’est? |
| Céline : C’est un ticket valable de un à cinq jours pour le bus et le métro à Paris. |
| Sam : One more time, slowly. |
| Céline : Encore une fois, lentement. |
| Sylvain: Bonjour, je voudrais un ticket de métro, s’il vous plaît. |
| Céline : Un ticket Paris-visite? |
| Sylvain: Qu’est-ce que c’est? |
| Céline : C’est un ticket valable de un à cinq jours pour le bus et le métro à Paris. |
| Sam : One more time, with the English. |
| Céline : Encore une fois, avec l’anglais. |
| Sylvain: Bonjour, je voudrais un ticket de métro, s’il vous plaît. |
| English speaker :Hello, I’d like a subway ticket, please. |
| Céline : Un ticket Paris-visite? |
| English speaker :A ticket Paris Visite? |
| Sylvain: Qu’est-ce que c’est? |
| English speaker :What is it? |
| Céline : C’est un ticket valable de un à cinq jours pour le bus et le métro à Paris. |
| English speaker :It’s a ticket valid up to five days for the bus and subway in Paris. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam : So guys, what are some funny things that people do on the subway? |
| Alex: Well, funny things... I'm not sure it's very funny, but what I like about Parisian “métro” is that you can hear people singing songs and playing instruments in Paris “métro”. It's very unique, I think. |
| Céline : Yes, I think so, but also, they can ask you for money. |
| Alex: Yes. |
| Céline : Not the same people. I mean the same people ask for money, but other people, they just ask you for money. |
| Sam : Oh really? |
| Céline : Yes. |
| Sam : That must be awkward. |
| Céline : Yeah, yeah. It is, but you just ignore. Or say "I don't speak French." |
| Alex: Or you give something. You give just a little something. |
| Céline : Yes, you can. Ok, pardon. Excuse-moi. Ok. You can give it. You can give something. |
| Alex: It's even better. |
| Céline : But some bands and some singers are really good. |
| Alex: And they should be accepted by RATB, which is? |
| Sam : The railway company? |
| Alex: Exact. |
| Céline : In Paris. Exactement. |
| Sam : By the way, is that public or private? |
| Alex: No, I think it's public. |
| Céline : Public. Ok, let's check the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam : Ok. Sounds good. The first item is? |
| Alex: Bus |
| Sam : Bus. |
| Alex: Bus. Bus. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline : Jours. |
| Sam : Days. |
| Céline : Jours. Jours. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Alex: Cinq. |
| Sam : Five. |
| Alex: Cinq. Cinq. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline : Valable. |
| Sam : Valid. |
| Céline : Valable. Valable. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Alex: Métro. |
| Sam : Subway. |
| Alex: Métro. Métro. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline : Ticket. |
| Sam : Ticket. |
| Céline : Ticket. Ticket. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline : Je voudrais. |
| Sam : I would like. |
| Céline : Je voudrais. Je voudrais. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Alex: Qu'est-ce que c'est? |
| Sam : What is it? |
| Alex: Qu'est-ce que c'est? Qu'est-ce que c'est? |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline : Un. Une. |
| Sam : One, masculine. One, feminine. |
| Céline : Un. Une. Un. Une. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Céline : Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is "métro." |
| Alex: This word is a masculine noun meaning "subway." It is actually short for "métropolitain." |
| Céline : "le métro" is derived from “le transport métropolitain” referring to the transportation within a large city. |
| Sam : Ah. So with time, it got reduced to "le métro." The subway. |
| Céline : Tout à fait. And do you know how you say the metro entrance? |
| Sam : La bouche du métro. |
| Céline : Yes, the mouth. |
| Sam : Oh. |
| Alex: Next vocabulary term is "valable". |
| Céline : This is an adjective to qualify a noun. |
| Sam : What does it mean? |
| Alex: "Valid" for a document, or for a person, "qualified" or "of value." |
| Sam : That's interesting. Can you give us an example? |
| Céline : Oui bien sûr Alex! For example, in the dialogue, "le ticket Paris-visite est valable de un à cinq jours." |
| Sam : Ah. So the special Paris visit ticket is valid for one to five days. |
| Alex: voilà. |
| Céline : Another example: Un athlète valable pour les jeux olympiques. |
| Sam : An athlete who's qualified for the Olympics. |
| Céline : Oui. Next word, Alex? |
| Alex: Next word is "bus." |
| Sam : Like to bus tables at a restaurant? |
| Céline : No! Here it is in relation to transportation. It is the short, lazy version of "autobus." |
| Sam : Oh, of course. A bus as in a truck. |
| Alex: Correct. We use also "autocar" in French. |
| Sam : Next we have... |
| Céline : Ticket. |
| Sam : Ticket. Like a “billet”? |
| Céline : Non pas exactement. Not exactly. Un ticket, you say "Un ticket de métro" et un billet “un billet d’avion”. Un billet c’est un document imprimé qui donne un droit. |
| Sam : That sounds interesting. So their meanings are a little bit different. "Un ticket" is a ticket for the metro, for example. And “un billet” is like a document. |
| Céline : Yes. |
| Alex: But you can also say, don't forget, “un billet de 5 euros”. |
| Céline : Tout à fait. |
| Sam : Can you say that once again, Alex? |
| Alex: Un billet de 5 euros. |
| Sam : Ah! Like a note. You can use it in place of the word "note". Like in English you say "one dollar note" or a five dollar note." |
| Alex: Yeah! Exactly. |
| Sam : Interesting. |
| Céline : Yes, but don't worry. If you're confused, I mean, people, they will understand you. |
| Sam : I hope so. |
| Céline : Bien sûr! So at last, we have the question "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" |
| Alex: We'd like to insist on that complete question as it is a life-saver. |
| Céline : It means "What is it?" when you want to ask about an object's name or a word in French or simply get explanation on something, as illustrated in the dialogue. |
| Alex: "Qu'est-ce que" is one element of the question. Equivalent of "what" in English. |
| Céline : "C'est" is composed of the demonstrative adjective C-apostrophe followed by the verb "être" at the third person singular form. |
| Sam : So "qu'est-ce que" basically means "what"? |
| Céline : Oui. |
| Sam : Easy. And why are you providing such details? |
| Alex: Because, later on, if one knows the why and how, it will be easier to understand and recognize the same element in other phrases. |
| Sam : I got it! You're preparing us for the future, huh? |
| Alex: Bien sûr! |
| Céline: Oh alors là… |
| Sam : Merci beaucoup. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline : Let's get into the grammar. |
| Sam : Ok. |
| Céline : So, here the main point is to express a desire or ask or wish for something. The verb "vouloir" is used. In order to make a polite request the verb "vouloir" is conjugated at a specific tense called "le conditionnel présent". |
| Sam : Interesting. |
| Céline : So, let's study different formulations to make a request from a straightforward one to the highest level of politeness, using "vouloir." |
| Alex: Ok! So to express a strong desire or a straightforward request, use "vouloir" at the simple present, called in French, “le présent de l’indicatif”. Par exemple: Je veux un café. I want a coffee. It's a straightforward request. Vous voulez être millionnaire. You want to be a millionaire. This is a strong desire. |
| Céline : And then to express a polite request or a wish, use "vouloir" au conditionnel présent, which the literal translation in English is "would like". Par exemple: Je voudrais un café. |
| Sam : I would like a coffee. |
| Céline: This is a polite request. Vous voudriez être millionnaire. This is a wish or a desire. |
| Sam : You would like to be a millionaire. Me, too. |
| Céline : Wish or desire? |
| Sam : Well, since we all know money's not the most important thing, maybe it's more of a wish. |
| Alex: Maybe. |
| Céline : Je voudrais être riche. I'd like to be rich. |
| Sam : Est-ce que tu veux manger maintenant? |
| Céline : Ok, you used the informal. Euh… Oui je voudrais manger maintenant. |
| Sam : Que voulez-vous? |
| Céline : Alex, que voulez-vous? |
| Alex: Je veux danser. |
| Sam : You want to dance. |
| Alex: Yes. |
| Céline : Alex, voulez-vous danser avec moi ce soir? |
| Alex: Bien sûr. |
| Sam : Céline? |
| Céline : Oui? |
| Sam : Que voudriez-vous faire ce soir? |
| Céline : Je voudrais aller danser avec Alex. |
| Sam : You'd like to dance with Alex? |
| Alex: Oh, no! |
| Céline : Yes. And the question you asked was really polite. What would you like to do tonight? That was polite French. I think it's time to end. |
| Alex: To dance. |
| Céline : To end and maybe to dance, yeah. |
Outro |
| Sam : So until next time. |
| Céline : À bientôt, Sam. On y va Alex? |
| Alex: Oui! On y va maintenant. |
| Sam : Au revoir! |
| Alex: Au revoir. |
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