Easy Learning French Conversation. Collins Dictionaries

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      les hôtels (hotels) is pronounced layz-oh-tel (the s at the end of les sounds like a z)

Small talk

       Comment ça va? – How are things?

      Whether you’re going to be working in a French-speaking country or you’re going to spend some time with your French-speaking friends, you’ll want to be able to chat with people and get to know them better. The phrases in this unit will help you talk naturally to friends, family and colleagues in a number of everyday situations.

GREETINGS

      Just as in English, there are several ways of greeting people in French, depending on who you are addressing, and whether you want to be formal or not. Say bonjour, madame/mademoiselle/monsieur if you want to sound polite and just bonjour to someone you know a little. If you’re on friendly terms with someone, you can say salut! (hi!).

      Hello…

Bonjour.	Hello.
Bonjour, madame.	Good morning.
Bonjour, Pierre.	Good afternoon Pierre.
Salut, Olivier!	Hi Olivier!
Bonsoir.	Good evening.

       BON À SAVOIR!

      In French there is no equivalent for good morning and good afternoon – people just say bonjour during the day or bonsoir in the evening.

      Use au revoir, madame/mademoiselle/monsieur to say goodbye to people you don’t know well. You can just say au revoir to people you know, or use salut! (bye!) if you are on friendly terms with them.

      Goodbye…

Au revoir, monsieur.	Goodbye.
Au revoir, mademoiselle.	Goodbye.
Salut!	Bye!
Bonsoir.	Goodnight.

      See you…

À plus tard!	See you later!
À demain!	See you tomorrow!
À lundi!	See you on Monday!

INTRODUCING PEOPLE

      You may want to introduce people you know to one another. The simplest way is by saying voici (this is) when introducing a person. You can also use je te présente (I’d like you to meet) when addressing someone you know well, or je vous présente to be more formal or when speaking to several people.

      This is…

Voici mon mari, Richard.	This is my husband, Richard.
Voici mes enfants: Andrew, Gordon et Emma.	These are my children, Andrew, Gordon and Emma.
Je vous présente Danielle.	I’d like you to meet Danielle.
Je te présente Kevin, mon compagnon.	I’d like you to meet Kevin, my partner.

       BON À SAVOIR!

      When you’re introduced to someone, you’ll want to know how to react. The traditional enchanté should only be used in formal or business situations these days, and very often people just say bonjour.

TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF

      In order to get the conversation going, you’ll want to be able to talk about yourself – what your name is, what you do and so on. To say what your name is in French, you use the verb s’appeler which literally means to call oneself. The s’ (oneself) changes to m’ (myself) in je m’appelle (my name is). For more information on reflexive verbs like s’appeler, see here.

      My name is…

Je m’appelle Jean-Pierre Métayer.	My name is Jean-Pierre Métayer.
Je m’appelle Tarik.	My name is Tarik.
Il s’appelle André.	His name is André.
Elle s’appelle Lara.	Her name is Lara.
Vous vous appelez comment?	What’s your name?
Moi, c’est Liam.	Hi, I’m Liam.

      If you want to say how old you are, use j’ai followed by your age and ans (literally I have… years). ai comes from the verb avoir. For more information on avoir, see here.

      I’m…years old

J’ai trente-sept ans.	I’m thirty-seven years old.
J’ai vingt-deux ans.	I’m twenty-two.
Mon fils a huit ans.	My son’s eight.
Vous avez quel âge?	How old are you?

       BON À SAVOIR!

      If you have to ask Vous avez quel âge?, you can always add sans indiscrétion (if you don’t mind my asking).

      To talk about who you are and what you do, use je suis (I am). This comes from the verb être. For more information on être, see here.

Je suis une amie de Paul.	I’m a friend of Paul’s.
Je suis le frère de Ben.	I’m Ben’s brother.
Je suis célibataire.	I’m single.
Je travaille en tant que programmeur pour l’entreprise Dunier.	I work as a programmer for the Dunier company.
Je suis enseignant.	I’m a teacher.

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