Learn how to talk about age
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
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.
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.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: “You look so young.” Just like me, right, guys? |
| Céline: Oui c’est ça. That’s it. |
| Sam: You don’t sound like you mean it, though. |
| Céline: Bonjour Sam. |
| Sam: Well, hello. |
| Céline: Bonjour Sylvain. |
| Sylvain : Bonjour Céline. Yeah, there is morning like this. |
| Sam: Yeah, yeah. Sounds like you guys are really excited and so am I. So, what’s today’s lesson about? |
| Céline: Well, if you remember well, in our last week’s lesson we were at “Chez Marcel”. Today, still “Chez Marcel”, our visitor spots a young, good looking woman who’s sipping her expresso. Be surprised how these two click and present themselves, revealing their age. |
| Sam: So, what are we focusing on? |
| Sylvain : The focus of this lesson is the number by ten. |
| Sam: Numbers by ten. Fantastic! So, the conversation is between? |
| Céline: A man and a woman. |
| Sam: Let’s go! |
| Sylvain : Let’s go! |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez jeune! |
| Céline: Merci, j’ai 30 ans! |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez avoir 20 ans! J’ai 40 ans. |
| Céline: Ouah, vous semblez vieux! |
| Sam: One more time, slowly. |
| Sylvain: Encore une fois, lentement. |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez jeune! |
| Céline: Merci, j’ai 30 ans! |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez avoir 20 ans! J’ai 40 ans. |
| Céline: Ouah, vous semblez vieux! |
| Sam: One more time, with the English. |
| Sylvain: Encore une fois, avec l’anglais. |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez jeune! |
| Sam: “You seem young.” |
| Céline: Merci, j’ai 30 ans! |
| Sam: “Thank you. I’m 30 years old.” |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez avoir 20 ans! J’ai 40 ans. |
| Sam: “You seem to be 20. I’m 40 years old.” |
| Céline: Ouah, vous semblez vieux! |
| Sam: “Wow, you seem old.” |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: So, guys, in France, is it okay to ask someone their age, especially women? |
| Céline: Of course not. It’s really impolite. You should never, never ask a French woman about her age. |
| Sylvain : You can ask. But you will ask one time and not two. She will never speak to you again, as a friend. |
| Sam: I understand. So, Céline, if you’re in the same situation, would you tell your age? |
| Céline: I don’t think so. |
| Sylvain : She will lie. |
| Céline: Non, n’importe quoi! |
| Sylvain : Sorry, sorry, sorry. |
| Céline: Nonsense, I never lie. |
| Sylvain : Sorry. |
| Sam: So, quel âge as-tu Céline? |
| Céline: Quoi? |
| Sam: How old are you, Céline? |
| Céline: I don’t know. I can’t remember. |
| Sam: Oh, okay. |
| Céline: Yeah, it’s changing every year. |
| Sylvain : Yes, centuries old. |
| Sam: 22 again. |
| Céline: Exactement. Exactly. I mean, who cares? That’s true, who cares? Let’s take a look at the vocab for this lesson. |
| Sam: Okay. |
| Sylvain : Let’s see. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: The first item is? |
| Céline: Sembler. |
| Sam: “To seem.” |
| Céline: Sembler. Sembler. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Sylvain : Jeune. |
| Sam: “Young.” |
| Sylvain : Jeune. Jeune. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Vieux. |
| Sam: “Old.” |
| Céline: Vieux. Vieux. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Sylvain : Ans. |
| Sam: “Years” as in age. |
| Sylvain : Ans. Ans. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Now, let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the items of this lesson. |
| Céline: So, the first word we’ll look at is… |
| Sylvain : Sam, do you think I seem young? |
| Sam: That’s a tricky question. If I say yes, you’ll tell me I meant you’re not mature. If I say no, you’d reply back that what I’m saying is that you’re an old, creepy person. So, I won’t say anything. |
| Sylvain : Nice choice. |
| Céline: Okay, guys, but the first word is “sembler”. |
| Sam: “To seem.” |
| Céline: Oui merci! In the dialogue, “sembler” is conjugated. Okay, “vous semblez jeune”. |
| Sam: “You seem young.” |
| Céline: Yes, the compliment made by the tourist to the young woman in the café. |
| Sam: Yes. And notice in that compliment they use the “vous” form, because they didn’t know one another. |
| Céline: Tout à fait. |
| Sylvain : But she replies “Vous semblez vieux.” |
| Sam: “You seem old.” Wow. |
| Céline: I think she’s not nice. |
| Sylvain : Not nice. |
| Céline: Oh, I’m sorry. |
| Sam: Or maybe just too honest. |
| Sylvain : That’s right. |
| Céline: Peut-être… Ok. The next word is “jeune”. |
| Sylvain : Jeune. |
| Sam: Which means “young”. |
| Céline: You can use this one to flatter a woman. |
| Sylvain : Céline is waiting for something. |
| Céline: Yeah, I think – I’m waiting for something. I mean, you got, Sam, you have the word “sembler” and then you have “jeune”, what would you say? |
| Sam: Oh, that was a hint. |
| Sylvain : You’re a long, Sam. |
| Sam: So, since Céline and I know one another, maybe I can use the “tu” form. |
| Céline: Tout à fait. |
| Sylvain : Nice. |
| Sam: Céline, tu sembles jeune. |
| Céline: Merci beaucoup Sam. |
| Sam: C’est une blague. |
| Céline: Oh, it’s a joke. N’importe quoi. |
| Sylvain : N’importe quoi. The next word is “merci”. |
| Sam: “Thank you.” |
| Céline: So, we already know this word, right? |
| Sam: Yeah. |
| Céline: “Merci” or you can also say “Merci beaucoup”. |
| Sam: “Thanks a lot.” |
| Sylvain : And the reply to “merci beaucoup”, is “de rien”. |
| Sam: “You’re welcome.” |
| Céline: Ou “avec plaisir”. |
| Sylvain : Avec plaisir. |
| Sam: “With pleasure.” |
| Céline: Tout à fait. After “merci” you can hear the woman stating her age. J’ai 30 ans. |
| Sam: “I’m 30 years old.” Or some people in English say, “I’m 30.” I know “ans” is years in my native language. |
| Sylvain : Either at the singular or the plural form, this word has the same pronunciation. It is a masculine noun. |
| Céline: For example, in the conversation, we find also the age of the man. |
| Sam: I know, when he says “J’ai 40 ans”. |
| Céline: Tout à fait. |
| Sylvain : Is 40 old, you think? |
| Sam: No, it’s the age of reason. Or maybe middle age crisis. |
| Céline: Anyway, let’s have a closer look at the following information. |
| Sam: Something with 20 years? |
| Céline: Yes. Vous semblez avoir 20 ans. |
| Sam: “You seem to be 20 years old.” Our male characters are Don Juan, a seductor with many lines he can use to pick up the ladies. |
| Céline: We have here the word “sembler” meaning “to seem”. It is used three times in the conversation. First in… |
| Sylvain : First in “vous semblez jeune”. |
| Sam: “You seem young.” |
| Céline: Then in “vous semblez avoir 20 ans”. |
| Sam: “You seem to be 20.” |
| Céline: And third? |
| Sylvain : Vous semblez vieux. |
| Sam: “You seem old.” |
| Céline: But, you know, there’s also another way in French to say “you seem” - “vous faites jeune”, meaning literally “you make young.” |
| Sylvain : Vous avez l’air d’avoir 20 ans. |
| Céline: Oui, vous avez l’air d’avoir 20 ans. |
| Sam: “You seem to be 20.” |
| Céline: Tout à fait. |
| Sam: And is there one more item we can use? |
| Céline: Yes. Vous ne faites pas votre âge. |
| Sam: Which literally means “you don’t make your age”. But, in English, it may be translated as more “You don’t seem your age”. |
| Céline: D’accord. |
| Sam: Okay, let’s go back to “you seem old”. That’s not really a compliment, is it? |
| Céline: Yes, you shouldn’t use this. |
| Sylvain : Yes, absolutely forbidden. “You look like mature”, something like this. |
| Céline: Tout à fait. “Vieux” has a… |
| Sam: A negative connotation? |
| Céline: A negative connotation, yeah. I don’t know why. But, rather, you should use “jeune”. |
| Sam: “Young”. |
| Céline: Yeah, it’s the opposite of “vieux”. |
| Sam: I understand. |
| Céline: So, why don’t we check the grammar now? |
| Sam: Okay. |
| Sylvain : Let’s go to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sam: Onto our grammar now. So, let’s just recap. “Vieux” is “old”, “jeune” is “young”. Vous semblez avoir 20 ans. “You seem to be 20.” |
| Céline: Yeah, let me help. J’ai 30 ans. |
| Sam: “I’m 30.” |
| Céline: J’ai 40 ans. |
| Sam: “I’m 40.” |
| Sylvain : You two just put your finger onto today’s grammar point. |
| Céline: Yeah, sorry for the ones who aren’t 20, 30, 40 or 90 even. You will get to learn all the numbers between 10 to 100 next newbie lesson. |
| Sam: Oh, fantastic. I feel better now. So, how can a person tell his or her age? |
| Sylvain : First major difference between French and English is the verb. In French, the verb “to have” is used to tell someone’s age. |
| Sam: So, you say “I have”. |
| Sylvain : Yes. |
| Sam: That was a surprise for me when I first learned it. |
| Céline: Oh yeah, I’m sure. When I first learned English, it was a problem for me, too. So the two full sentences in the dialogue are “J’ai 30 ans”. |
| Sam: “I’m 30.” |
| Céline: J’ai 40 ans. |
| Sam: “I’m 40.” What about 50? |
| Sylvain : That will be “cinquante”. |
| Sam: So: J’ai 50 ans. |
| Céline: But, you’re not 50. |
| Sam: No! But it’s a good one to teach my age sensitive cousin, even if he’s a young 40 year old. |
| Céline: Oh, okay. You want to tease him. |
| Sam: Of course. |
| Sylvain : If you’re 60, you say: J’ai 60 ans. |
| Sam: If I remember, the next decade would be 70. |
| Céline: Oui. Soixante-dix. |
| Sylvain : Soixante-dix. |
| Sam: So, I would say: J’ai 70 ans. |
| Céline: Tout à fait Sam, and we have 80. Sylvain? |
| Sylvain : J’ai 80 ans. J’ai 80 ans. |
| Sam: How about 90? |
| Céline: J’ai 90 ans. |
| Sam: And finally, if anyone reaches the century mark? They would say… |
| Sylvain : J’ai 100 ans. |
| Céline: C’est magnifique. |
| Sylvain: C’est merveilleux. |
| Céline: It’s beautiful. |
| Sam: It’s fantastic, yes. So, let’s recap the numbers with age very quickly. I’ll give the English and Céline or Sylvain will give the French. |
| Sylvain : Okay. |
| Sam: I’m 10 years old. |
| Céline: J’ai 10 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 20 years old. |
| Sylvain : J’ai 20 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 30 years old. |
| Céline: J’ai 30 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 40 years old. |
| Sylvain : J’ai 40 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 50 years old. |
| Céline: J’ai 50 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 60 years old. |
| Sylvain : J’ai 60 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 70 years old. |
| Céline: J’ai 70 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 80 years old. |
| Sylvain : J’ai 80 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 90 years old. |
| Céline: J’ai 90 ans. |
| Sam: I’m 100 years old. |
| Sylvain : J’ai 100 ans. |
| Sam: Thanks for the help, guys. |
| Céline: Tu sembles jeune, Sylvain. |
| Sam: “You look young, Sylvain .” |
| Sylvain : Pour 100 ans, oui. |
| Sam: “For 100, yes.” |
| Céline: Tu es bien conservé. |
| Sam: “You took really good care of yourself.” |
| Sylvain : Creams. |
Outro |
| Sam: So, maybe age and numbers can be a bit of a sensitive topic, so we’ll stop there for today. Until the next time… |
| Céline: A bientôt Sam, à bientôt Sylvain! |
| Sylvain : A bientôt! |
| Sam: A bientôt! |
Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Comments
Hide