Learn useful phrases at the French post office
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Today we're going to work on getting your package one step closer to its intended destination. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| In the previous lesson, we discussed the phrase "I would like to send this package to New York," which is Je voudrais envoyer ce colis à New York. |
| Je voudrais envoyer ce colis à New York. |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Je voudrais envoyer ce colis à New York. |
| Again, the location is interchangeable. |
| Once you said this phrase, you will probably have to explain what's in the package. The post office agent may ask you, "What does your the package contain?" In French, this is Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| The first word, quel, means "what." |
| Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: quel |
| quel |
| Next we have est, which is the third person form of the verb être, which in English is "to be." |
| Again, it’s est. |
| Est |
| And then we have, le contenu, which is the literal French word for "the content." |
| Let's break it down: le contenu |
| le contenu |
| So to recap here, we have Quel est le contenu, literally, this means “what is the content.” |
| Finally, we have de votre colis, that means "of your package." |
| Let’s break it down: de votre colis |
| And, de votre colis |
| So all together, we have Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| Another way they can ask you "what’s in the package" or "What does your package contain?" is Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| This translates as "What is there in your package?" |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| The first words Qu'est-ce que means “what," and then we have il y a, and that’s “there is” literally. |
| Let’s break it down: il y a |
| il y a |
| Next we have dans, it’s the preposition for “in.” |
| And finally, votre colis, “your package” |
| Let’s break it down: votre colis |
| All together, we have Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| This literally means "What is there in your package?" |
| Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| Please remember that even in France, as in many other countries there are some rules for things you can or you cannot send. You can learn more about this if you visit the French post website https://www.laposte.com |
| Alright, that’s it for today. Thank you for listening, bye-bye! |
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. |
| “I would like to send this package to New York.” - Je voudrais envoyer ce colis à New York. |
| Je voudrais envoyer ce colis à New York. |
| Je voudrais envoyer ce colis à New York. |
| “What does your package contain?” - Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| Quel est le contenu de votre colis ? |
| “What's in your package?” - Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans votre colis ? |
| Alright, that’s going to do it for today. |
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