Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Let’s take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Mark asks for a bottle of water?
"Excuse me. A bottle of water, please."
Excusez-moi. Une bouteille d'eau, s'il vous plaît.
Let’s start with Excusez-moi. "Excuse me." Excusez-moi.
First is excusez, "Excuse." Excusez (enunciated). Excusez.
Next is the word moi, meaning "me." Moi (enunciated). Moi.
Together, Excusez-moi, "Excuse me." Excusez-moi.
Here, Mark is using the expression to get someone’s attention. He uses the formal form since he’s speaking with someone he doesn’t know.
Note, this expression can also be used as a mild apology, but here Mark uses it to get the attention of the waiter who is nearby.
Next is une bouteille d’eau, meaning "a bottle of water." Une bouteille d’eau.
Let’s start with the word bouteille, "bottle." Bouteille (enunciated). Bouteille.
In French, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Bouteille is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before this is une, "a," think of this like the English "a," as in "a bottle." Une (enunciated). Une.
Une is also feminine and singular to agree with bouteille.
Next is d’eau, "of water." D’eau.
D’eau is a contraction of de, "of" and eau, "water."
De, "of." De (enunciated). De.
Eau, "water." Eau (enunciated). Eau.
Together, it’s une bouteille d’eau, "a bottle of water." Une bouteille d’eau.
Last is s’il vous plaît, "please." S’il vous plaît (enunciated). S’il vous plaît.
All together, it’s Excusez-moi, une bouteille d’eau, s’il vous plaît. "Excuse me. A bottle of water, please."
Excusez-moi, une bouteille d’eau, s’il vous plaît.
Let’s take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember the waiter’s response,
"Yes, immediately ."
Oui, immédiatement.
First is the expression Oui, "yes." Oui (enunciated). Oui.
Next is immédiatement, literally, "immediately," Immédiatement (enunciated). Immédiatement.
All together, it’s Oui, immédiatement, literally, "Yes, immediately," but in more natural English, "Yes, right away."
Oui, immédiatement.
Note, in place of Oui, immédiatement. you may hear Oui, tout de suite, "Yes, right away." Oui, tout de suite.
The pattern is
Excusez-moi. {ITEM}, s'il vous plaît.
"Excuse me. {ITEM}, please."
Excusez-moi. {ITEM}, s'il vous plaît.
Make sure to include the appropriate article before the noun.
To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the object you’re asking for.
Imagine you’d like to ask for “the menu.” La carte. La carte.
Carte. “Menu.” carte (enunciated). carte.
Carte is feminine and singular.
Before this is la. “The.” La.
la is feminine singular to agree with carte.
Together, it’s la carte, “the menu.” La carte.
Say
"Excuse me. The menu, please."
Ready?
Excusez-moi. La carte, s'il vous plaît.
"Excuse me. The menu, please."
Excusez-moi. La carte, s'il vous plaît.
To use the pattern with a specific item, you’ll need to know the number and gender of the thing you’re asking for. And also, whether you’re specifically referring to something.
The conversation introduces une. Think of it like the English “a” or “an,” as in Une bouteille d'eau, “a bottle of water.” It doesn’t refer to anything specifically. Here une agrees with the feminine singular noun bouteille; however, there is another form of this article.
For a masculine, singular noun, like thé, tea, use un. Un thé, "a tea ." Un thé.
When specifically referring to something, use the definite article. It’s like "the" in English.
The pattern section introduces la, think of it like the English "the" as in la carte, "the menu." It refers to something specifically. Here la agrees with the feminine singular noun carte; however, there is another form of this article.
For a masculine, singular noun, like dessert, dessert , use Le. Le dessert, "the dessert." Le dessert.
For both masculine, singular and feminine, singular nouns starting with a vowel, and often "h," use l’.
Masculine, L’apéritif, "the appetizer." L’apéritif.
Feminine, L'addition, "the check." L'addition.

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