Learn how to ask where you can find something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Have you ever been in a city you don't know at all, and you are desperately looking for something you need and cannot find it? It happens a lot when you travel! I wandered around without knowing where to go to find, for example, a bar, a phone, or a restroom! But don't worry! Thanks to our survival phrases, if you go to France, you’d always be able to ask for information and help. |
| Today, I would like to introduce you to a phrase that will help you track down that specific something you're looking for. |
Lesson focus |
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| "Where can I find...?" in French is Où je peux trouver...? |
| Où je peux trouver...? |
| Then, you add the name of the specific thing you are looking for. |
| you can use this basic structure in any situation in which you will need to get something. This structure is made up of the adverb où ("where"), followed by the subject and verb je peux ("(I) can"), and finally the infinitive form of the verb trouver ("to find"). |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Où je peux trouver...? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Où je peux trouver...? |
| Now let's see what kinds of things you might need if you're traveling abroad. Let's imagine you're walking around one of France's many quaint villages, in the south, for example. It's very hot, and you need to get something to drink. Let's go and ask where you can find a bar! There’s a nice man with a moustache who’s happy to help you. |
| "Where can I find a bar?" in French is Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| As you can easily note, you have the structure you have just seen, Où je peux trouver, followed by the thing you are looking for, un bar ("a bar"). |
| Bar is a very easy noun: it is the same in French and English. In this case, bar is preceded by the masculine singular indefinite article un, or in English, "a." |
| Let’s break down this sentence: Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| Now let's hear it one more time: Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| With this form, you can go anywhere you need and ask for anything you are looking for. You could use another form if you wanted to be more polite and wanted to use a different expression. Let's imagine you are looking for a tobacco shop this time. |
| "Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a tobacco shop?" is Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Don't you think this is more formal? Of course it is! So what do we have here? We have Excusez-moi ("excuse me"), then the subject and verb vous pouvez, which we know by now means "you can." This is followed by me dire, which means "tell me" in English. After we have said Excusez-moi, vous pouvez me dire ("Excuse me, can you tell me"), we have to add what we want to be told! In this case, we want to find "a tobacco shop," which is où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Let’s look at the different parts. Où, as we have previously seen, means “where.” |
| Then we have je peux again, which is the first person singular of “can.” |
| This is followed by the verb trouver, “to find.” |
| And finally, what we want to find, un tabac ("a tobacco shop"). There you have it! |
| Now let's hear the phrase one more time: Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Now to ask for any other item, you can just replace un bar or un tabac with any other word and the phrase works brilliantly. Let's try it with "supermarket," which in French is supermarché. |
| Let's break this word down: un supermarché |
| Now let's hear it once again: un supermarché |
| "Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a supermarket?" in French is Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un supermarché? |
| These phrases will come in handy beofre leaving a hotel, or talking with taxi drivers, or other people trying to help you locate a desired item. |
| And that’s it for today! |
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. |
| "Where can I find...?" - Où je peux trouver...? |
| Où je peux trouver...? |
| Où je peux trouver...? |
| "Where can I find a bar?" - Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| Où je peux trouver un bar? |
| "Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a tobacco shop?" - Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un tabac? |
| "Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a supermarket?" - Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un supermarché? |
| Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un supermarché? |
| Excusez-moi vous pouvez me dire où je peux trouver un supermarché? |
| Alright, that’s going to do it for today. |
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