Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Today, we’ll cover ordering once you’re at a table.
GRAMMAR POINT
First, you may have to get a hold of the waitstaff. You can accomplish this by saying one of two things.
First, excusez-moi, which means "excuse me."
As we said, this phrase can be used generally to get strangers’ attention, including waiters.
Let’s break it down by syllable: excusez-moi
Now let's hear it once again: excusez-moi
Another way to get a waiter's attention is to say Monsieur, which means "sir," or Madame, which means "madam." We learned about these words earlier as well. They are used generally to get a person's attention.
Let's break down these words and hear them one more time: Monsieur
Monsieur
And, Monsieur
Madame
Madame
And, Madame
If you like, you can say these two phrases together: for example, Monsieur, excusez-moi.
Or - Madame, excusez-moi.
Once the waiter or waitress comes to your table, you can go with the standard point and "this please" as we have learned in the first lesson.
In French, "this please" is ça, s'il vous plaît.
ça, s'il vous plaît.
Let’s break it down by syllable: ça, s'il vous plaît.
Now let's hear it one more time: ça, s'il vous plaît.
Now if you're feeling ambitious, you could go for "What do you recommend?"
In French, "What do you recommend?" is Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Let’s break it down by syllable: Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Now let's hear it one more time: Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
The first word, Qu'est-ce que, means "What is it that?" and we translate it as "What?"
Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: Qu'est-ce que
And, Qu'est-ce que
It is followed by vous, which, as we have learned, means "you." This is followed by recommandez, which means "recommend."
Vous recommandez
Vous recommandez
All together, we have Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Now two more phrases that will come in handy have to do with water and ice!
In France, the water is safe to drink so you can order tap water at a restaurant.
In French, "water, please" is de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
Let’s break it down by syllable: de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
Now let's hear it once again: de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
The first word, de l'eau, means "some water."
It’s actually three words: de, la, and eau; “of,” “the,” “water” respectively.
La and eau are contracted into l’eau to make the word flow more nicely.
Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: de l'eau
And, de l'eau
It is followed by s'il vous plaît, which we know means "please."
s'il vous plaît
s'il vous plaît
And, s'il vous plaît
Now on to the ice issue! Whether it is a health concern or economic decision, in French "no ice, please" is sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
Let’s break it down by syllable: sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
Now let's hear it once again: sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
The first word, sans, means "without."
Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: sans
And, sans
It is followed by glaçons, which in English means "ice cubes."
glaçons
Glaçons
And, glaçons
All together, we have sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît, and this means “without ice, please.”

Outro
Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so bonne chance, that means “good luck” in French. Ok, here we go!
"What do you recommend?" - Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez.
"water, please" - de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
"No ice, please." - sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
sans glaçons, s'il vous plaît.
This is the end of today’s lesson. See you soon! À bientôt!

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