Learn how to use French time expressions and discuss past time itineraries
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Céline: Bonjour. Je m'appelle Céline. |
| Alex : Et moi c’est Alexandre. |
| Sam: Sam here. I came, I saw, I conquered. Hi my name's Sam, and I'm joined here by... |
| Alex : Alexandre. |
| Céline: Et Céline. |
| Alex : Comment ça va Céline? |
| Céline: Je vais bien, merci. Et toi Alex? |
| Alex : Je vais très, très bien. Merci. |
| Céline: Super. Sam? |
| Sam: Je vais bien. Merci. |
| Céline: Ok. |
| Sam: Et toi? |
| Céline: Ça va. |
| Sam: C’est bon. |
| Céline: C’est très bon. |
| Sam: So, today's conversation takes place between Robert and Henri. Henri went on a fantastic business trip. He got to go to five cities. This time, Alex will be Robert and Christophe will be Henri. Today's conversation will take place using casual French. |
| Céline: Oui. C'est parti. |
| Sam: Let's go! |
| Alex : On y va! |
| DIALOGUE |
| Christophe: Oh quel déplacement ce voyage d’affaires! |
| Alex: Ah bon? |
| Christophe: Je suis allé dans 5 villes. |
| Alex: Tu es parti quand? |
| Christophe: Il y a 2 semaines, je me suis déplacé dans toute l’Europe. |
| Alex: Tu es resté dans des hôtels de luxe? |
| Christophe: Evidemment! Depuis ma promotion, je suis venu, j’ai vu, j’ai vaincu. |
| Sam: One more time, with the English. |
| Céline: Encore une fois, avec l’anglais. |
| Christophe: Oh quel déplacement ce voyage d’affaires! |
| Sam: Oh what a journey, what a business trip! |
| Alex: Ah bon? |
| Sam: Oh yeah? |
| Christophe: Je suis allé dans 5 villes. |
| Sam: I went to 5 cities. |
| Alex: Tu es parti quand? |
| Sam: When? |
| Christophe: Il y a 2 semaines, je me suis déplacé dans toute l’Europe. |
| Sam: 2 weeks ago, I went all around Europe! |
| Alex: Tu es resté dans des hôtels de luxe? |
| Sam: Did you stay in luxurious hotels? |
| Christophe: Evidemment! Depuis ma promotion, je suis venu, j’ai vu, j’ai vaincu. |
| Sam: Of course! Since my promotion, I came, I saw, I conquered. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: Wow. A business trip to five cities. Who travels more, French or Americans? |
| Céline: Je crois que ce sont les Américains. |
| Sam: Really? |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam: So you think Americans travel more? Why? |
| Céline: En fait, les Français n’aiment pas beaucoup voyager. |
| Sam: The French don't travel much? |
| Céline: Non. |
| Sam: Why? |
| Céline: Because they love France. They like to stay in France. |
| Sam: It is a beautiful place. |
| Céline: Oui. Exactement. |
| Alex : Mais je pense que les Américains voyagent plus à l’intérieur de leur pays. Ne penses-tu pas? |
| Céline: Oui je crois que tu as raison! Mais aussi les Français. |
| Sam: Ah, oui, oui. So what you guys are saying are that Americans and French travel quite a bit domestically. |
| Céline: Exactement. Mais la nouvelle génération française voyage beaucoup plus. |
| Sam: Ah, but the newer generation, they travel outside of France. |
| Alex : Surtout que maintenant, il y a beaucoup de vols, ce qu’on appelle “low-cost”. C’est un mot anglais. |
| Céline: Exactement. |
| Sam: Ah, so there are a lot of low-cost trips nowadays. |
| Alex : Exactement. |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam: What's the most popular destination for French travelers? |
| Alex : Je pense que c’est le Maroc. |
| Sam: You think Morocco? Pourquoi? Why? |
| Alex : Parce qu’il fait chaud là-bas. |
| Sam: The weather's great there? |
| Alex : Oui. |
| Céline: Oui. Et l’Espagne. |
| Sam: Also Spain? |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam: Par exemple? Où exactement en Espagne? |
| Céline: Barcelone. |
| Sam: Oh, Barcelona. |
| Céline: Andalousie. |
| Sam: Andalousie. |
| Céline: Tu veux y aller? |
| Sam: Oh, I have to go now! My flight's leaving soon, actually. |
| Céline: Where are you… Où tu vas? |
| Sam: Je retourne aux Etats-Unis! Pour les vacances. |
| Céline: Oh, tu pars en vacances aux Etats-Unis? |
| Sam: Oui! Bien sûr! |
| Céline: Ok. |
| Sam: Pourquoi pas. |
| Céline: Oui pourquoi pas. |
| Sam: Tu n’aimes pas les Etats-Unis? Je sais. |
| Céline: J’adore les Etats-Unis. J’adore les Etats-Unis. |
| Sam: Non. |
| Céline: Bien sûr que si. |
| Sam: Tu n’aimes pas les Etats-Unis. |
| Céline: C’est toi qui n’aimes pas la France. |
| Sam: Ou les Américains. Pourquoi? |
| Céline: Let's get into the vocab instead. |
| Sam: Ok. That's a good idea. Now let's look at some of the vocabulary from today's lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: The first item? |
| Céline: Voyage. |
| Sam: Trip or excursion. |
| Céline: Voyage. Voyage. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Alex : Affaire. |
| Sam: Business. |
| Alex : Affaire. Affaire. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Ville. |
| Sam: City. |
| Céline: Ville. Ville. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Alex : Il y a. |
| Sam: 'There is' or 'there are'. Also means 'ago'. |
| Alex : Il y a. Il y a. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Semaine. |
| Sam: Week. |
| Céline: Semaine. Semaine. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Alex : En fait. |
| Sam: In fact. |
| Alex : En fait. En fait. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Luxe. |
| Sam: Luxury. |
| Céline: Luxe. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Alex : Depuis. |
| Sam: Since. |
| Alex : Depuis. Depuis. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Promotion. |
| Sam: Promotion. |
| Céline: Promotion. Promotion. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Now let's feed your brain with some vocabs and phrases from today's lesson. |
| Céline: Our first word is “affaire”. It has two definitions. |
| Alex : The first one, used in the dialogue, is in relation to business. For example, “un dîner d’affaires”. |
| Sam: A business dinner. |
| Céline: Une réunion d’affaires. |
| Sam: A business meeting. |
| Céline: Le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères. |
| Sam: The Minister of Foreign Affairs. |
| Alex : It can also mean your belongings or your stuff. |
| Sam: Hey, you know the direct translation of that phrase, “Le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères”, is very interesting, because in English it literally means, "The Minister of Affairs of Strangers." |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam: Isn't that interesting? |
| Alex : Mais parce que “étranger”, it means 'foreigner' in English, right? |
| Sam: But doesn't it also mean stranger? |
| Alex : Yeah, at the same time it means stranger. |
| Céline: I told you there is no discrimination in France. |
| Sam: Oh, I know. Je comprends. I understand. |
| Céline: Ok. |
| Sam: Yeah, of course. Ah! So everyone's hated equally. |
| Céline: Yes. There are the French and the strangers. |
| Sam: Oh, ok. |
| Alex : The word “affaires” can also mean your belongings or your stuff, right? |
| Sam: I think so, yeah! Can you give us an example? |
| Céline: Je cherche mon bloc-notes dans mes affaires. |
| Sam: You look through your stuff for your notepad. Our next phrase is? |
| Alex : Il y a. “Il y a“ has two functions, either to enumerate things (for example, 'there are'), or it indicates a length of time in the past. |
| Sam: Wow. Can you give us an example? |
| Céline: Oui. Il y a 5 ans, je suis allée en Australie. |
| Sam: Five years ago, I went to Australia. Now, ok, how do you enumerate things? |
| Alex : Let's see. Dans le studio il y a des micros, des chaises et une table. |
| Sam: In the studio, there are mics, chairs, and a table. Depending on the context, “il y a” can either mean 'there is', 'there are', or 'ago'. |
| Céline: Oui. Exactement, Sam. So next word is “depuis”. |
| Alex : Depuis. The English equivalent is “for” or “since”, followed by an indication of time. |
| Céline: Oui. In French, you can either use “depuis” followed with a moment in time as a date or length of time including a number. As 2 days, 15 hours, 10 days... |
| Sam: Are these indications of time in the past? |
| Alex : Yes. As with 'for' and 'since' in English, the time indication starts in the past, up to the moment of speaking. |
| Céline: Ok. Let's see an example. Nous travaillons ensemble depuis 2 ans. |
| Sam: We've been working together for two years. |
| Céline: Exactement! |
| Alex : To close the vocabulary usage, we have the word “promotion”. |
| Céline: Une promotion ce serait sympa! |
| Alex : A promotion would be nice. |
| Sam: So what is a promotion? Isn't it like a store sale or a discount or a special whatever when you want to get rid of things? |
| Céline: Oui et non. No, because, here promotion is used in a business context. |
| Alex : It means “promotion”, promotion, the same word in English, when you get a job with more responsibilities and more money, too. |
| Sam: Oh I see. No wonder Céline wants one. |
| Céline: Eh oui. So concerning your answer, promotion does also mean 'discount' so you had the right definition but wrong context. |
| Sam: Je comprends. Merci beaucoup. |
| Céline: Avec plaisir! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline: So let's complete the grammar section in the previous lesson with the “passé composé”. Which is, Sam? |
| Sam: The simple past tense! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. |
| Céline: Bravo! |
| Alex : Parfait. Nous sommes tous à la même page. We are on the same page. |
| Céline: So let's see if any of you, and Sam, remember which auxiliaries are used with the “passé composé”. |
| Sam: Let me think. Avoir. |
| Céline: C’est vrai. Et l’autre? |
| Sam: I don't know. |
| Alex : No worries. That is today's point. Dr. and Mrs. Vandertramp verbs. Verbs such as... |
| Céline: … “aller”, “venir” take “être” in the “passé composé”. |
| Sam: Hey, guys, maybe we should put that in the PDF. Like a complete list. |
| Céline: Oui c’est mieux. |
| Sam: I think that would be better. |
| Céline: Oui. Exactement. |
| Sam: But I have a question. My favorite word. Why? Why are there two auxiliary verbs in the “passé composé”? |
| Céline: Tu es curieux Sam. I guess language evolved from the beginning of time, and you know, Sam, I wasn't there from the start, so the origin is unknown to me. But there's one main grammar point difference. |
| Alex : En effet, “avoir” is used with most of the past participle of the main verbs. On the other hand, “être” is used with verbs expressing movement from point A to point B. |
| Sam: Oh, interesting. I wonder why. |
| Céline: Stop wondering, Sam. Nous ne sommes pas des encyclopédies vivantes. Let's concentrate on the topic. |
| Sam: So you mean we're not walking encyclopedias? Ok. |
| Alex : So “être” is used with verbs of movement. Sam, could you tell me please, what are the verbs of movement in the dialogue? |
| Sam: In the dialogue? So verbs of displacement are like “aller”, to go? |
| Céline: Exactement! |
| Sam: Ok. How about the word “vu”? |
| Alex : That is the past participle of “voir”, which is 'to see', so it's not a verb of movement or displacement. |
| Sam: So if I wanted to say "I saw" it would be “j’ai vu”? |
| Céline: Oui. J’ai vu. |
| Sam: So “voir” is not a verb of movement. |
| Céline: Non. |
| Sam: Ok. I understand, now. |
| Céline: Another verb? |
| Sam: How about “rester”. That's not a verb of movement is it? |
| Alex : Well, you got us there, actually. The list of verbs used with “être” in the “passé composé” are the verbs of movement and a few other which are, in total, 14. |
| Céline: Vous trouverez la liste complète euh... in the grammar bank of FrenchPod101.com. |
| Sam: What about the sentence building? |
| Alex : You'll find that, too. However, that will cost you. Ca va vous coûter. Et ça va vous coûter cher. |
| Céline: Peut-être oui. In an affirmative phrase, put the subject first then the auxiliary “être” at the present form followed by the past participle of one of the main 14 verbs from the list. |
| Sam: For example? |
| Alex : For example, “vous êtes rentré(e)s tard”. You came back late. |
| Céline: Alex, tu n’oublies pas les verbes pronominaux aussi? |
| Alex : Oh mince, j’allais oublier. I almost forgot. The auxiliary “être” is also used with pronominal verbs, as with “s’ennuyer”. For example, “on ne s’est pas ennuyés avec la leçon d’aujourd’hui”. We didn't get bored with today's lesson. Or? |
| Céline: S’habiller. Nous nous sommes habillé(e)s en jean. We dressed in jeans. |
| Sam: Don't forget that the verbs that take “être” in the passé composé must agree in gender and number. Right, guys? |
| Alex : Exactement. |
| Céline: Oui, Sam. |
| Sam: I think that's about it for today. |
| Céline: What about practicing just a little bit? |
| Sam: With passé composé? |
| Céline: Exactement. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: Sam, où es-tu allé hier? |
| Sam: Je suis allé au Mac Do. |
| Alex : “Mac Do” c’est une abrévation de “Mac Donald’s”. |
| Céline: Et toi Alex, qu’est-ce que tu as fait hier? |
| Alex : Je suis resté à la maison. |
| Céline: Ah tu es resté à la maison? |
| Alex: Oui. J’ai fait mes devoirs. |
| Sam: You stayed at home and did homework? |
| Alex : Yes, exactly. Exactement. |
| Céline: Intéressant. |
| Sam: Why? Just joking! |
| Céline: Sam! |
| Alex : Tu poses trop de questions! |
| Céline: Oui. |
Outro |
| Sam: I know. I ask a lot of questions. I think that's a good point to end today's lesson. So thank you, guys and that's a wrap up for today, so have a nice day. |
| Céline: Merci, Sam. Bonne journée. |
| Alex : Merci à toi aussi. |
| Sam: Merci. A la prochaine! Thank you. Bye-bye. |
| Céline: Bye, Alex. |
| Alex : Au revoir! |
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