Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in French.
For example, "How do you say 'book' in French?" is
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
Coralie Collin is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Justine Jérôme.
It’s the French portion of the exchange, and she points at the textbook and asks what it's called in French.
Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.
français
"French"
français
français
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
On dit “livre”.
Once more with the English translation.
Comment dit-on “book”en français ?
"How do you say “book” in French?"
On dit “livre”.
You say “book.”
Let's break down the conversation.
Do you remember how Coralie asks,
"How do you say “book” in French?"
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
The standard way to ask for the meaning of a word in French follows a simple pattern.
First is comment, translating as "How" in this context. Comment. Comment.
Next is dit-on. “One says.” Dit-on.
Dit, “says,” as in “one says.” Dit.. Dit.
Dit is from the verb, dire, meaning “to say.” Dire.
Next is on, “one” as in “one says.” On. On.
Together, Comment dit-on, literally, “How says one,” but it translates as, “how does one say.” Comment dit-on.
Note the word order when asking a question: verb followed by the subject, dit-on, in this case.
When this inverted word order occurs in French, there is a hyphen between the verb and the subject.
After this is the English word, “book.”
Last is the phrase, en français, “in French.” En français.
First is en, “in.” En. En.
After this is français, “French,” as in “the French language.” Français. Français.
Note, when the context is clear, you may omit en français.
All together, Comment dit-on “book” en français ? literally, “How one says “book” in French?”, but translates as, “How do you say “book” in French?”
Comment dit-on "book" en français ?
Let’s take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Justine says,
“You say ‘book.’”
On dit “livre”.
First is on dit, which literally means “one says” but translates here as “you say.” On dit. On dit.
After this is the answer to the question: livre, “book.” Livre. Livre
All together On dit “livre,” literally, “One says “book,” but it translates as “You say ‘book.’”
On dit “livre”.
The pattern is
Comment dit-on “ENGLISH WORD” en français ?
How do you say “ENGLISH WORD” in French?
Comment dit-on “ENGLISH WORD” en français ?
To use this pattern, simply replace the {ENGLISH WORD} placeholder with the word you want to know.
Imagine you want to know the French word for “pen.”
Ask
“How do you say “pen” in French?”
Ready?
Comment dit-on “pen” en français ?
"How do you say ‘pen’ in French?"
Comment dit-on “pen” en français ?
This lesson introduces a grammatically complex, but commonly used, pattern: the impersonal form with on. The on-construction is used to express what people do in general, rather than point to a specific person.
The pattern is on plus a verb in the third, singular person. The example used in the lesson was on dit, “one says.” Let’s quickly look at a few more examples.
On appelle, one calls, as in, one calls it “book.”
On mange, one eats, as in, one eats a lot at Christmas.
On dort, one sleeps, as in one sleeps late on Saturday.
Also note that all nouns in French have grammatical gender. When learning new words, it’s often important to identify this gender so that you can remember how to use it in the future.
One simple way to do this is to follow up after someone tells you what a word is in French. You can simply say Un ou une ? after being told the word, to clarify if it is masculine or feminine. If the person responds with Un, you know it is masculine, and if they say une, it’s feminine.
Again, the key pattern is
Comment dit-on “ENGLISH WORD” en français ?
How do you say “ENGLISH WORD” in French?
Comment dit-on “ENGLISH WORD” en français ?
Let’s look at some more examples.
Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
"How do you say 'book’ in French?"
On dit “livre”.
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
Comment dit-on “pen” en français ?
"How do you say 'pen’ in French?"
On dit “stylo”.
Comment dit-on "pen" en français ?
Comment dit-on “bag” ?
"How do you say 'bag'?"
On dit “sac”.
Comment dit-on “bag” ?
Comment dit-on “pencil” en français ?
"How do you say 'pencil’ in French?"
On dit “crayon”.
Comment dit-on “pencil” en français ?
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
"How do you call this?"
On appelle ça livre
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
Did you notice how the last speaker used a different sentence pattern?
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
"How do you call this?" Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
This literally means, “How calls one this?” but it translates as "How do you call this?"
To create this pattern,
replace dit, “says,” with appelle, “calls.” Appelle. Appelle.
Note also the t between the verb and the subject. It’s added to help make pronunciation easier.
Also, replace the English word “this” with ça. Ça. Ça.
Recall, en français, “in French”, may be omitted if understood from context.
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
“How do you call this?”
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
This is a very useful pattern for using French to learn French.
Do you remember the response?
“You call this ‘book’.”
On appelle ça livre.
First is on appelle, which literally means “one calls,” but translates here as “you call.” On appelle. On appelle.
Next is ça, “this.” Ça. Ça.
After this is the answer to the question: livre, “book.” Livre
All together On appelle ça livre. Literally, “One calls this “book,” but it translates as “You call this ‘book.’”
Let’s review the key vocabulary.
Sac.
“Bag.”
Sac. Sac.
Un sac. “A bag.”
Stylo, “pen.”
Stylo. Stylo.
Un stylo. “A pen.”
Crayon, “pencil.”
Crayon. Crayon.
Un crayon. “A pencil.”
Ça, “this.”
Ça. Ça.
Let's review.
Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.
Ready?
Do you remember how to say “French,” as in the language?"
français.
français.
And how to say
“in French.”
En français.
En français.
Do you remember how to say “how?”
Comment.
Comment.
Do you remember how Coralie asks,
“How do you say “book” in French?”
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
Comment dit-on “book” en français ?
Do you remember how to say “book?”
Livre.
Livre.
And do you remember how Justine says,
“You say ‘book.’”
On dit “livre”.
On dit “livre”.
Do you remember how to say “this?”
Ça.
Ça.
And how to say
“How do you call this?”
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
Let's practice.
Imagine you're Constance Collin , and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with Pauline Petit.
You point to the pen and ask, “How do you say “pen” in French?”
Ready?
Comment dit-on “pen” en français ?
On dit “stylo”.
Listen again and repeat.
Comment dit-on "pen" en français ?
Comment dit-on “pen” en français ?
Now you want to know the word for “bag.” Omit “in French.”
Ready?
Comment dit-on “bag” ?
On dit “sac”.
Listen again and repeat.
Comment dit-on “bag” ?
Comment dit-on “bag” ?
Let's try one more.
Imagine you’re Corentin Collin , and you’re studying with your classmate. Point at a pencil, and ask "What do you call this?"
Ready?
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
On appelle ça “crayon”.
Listen again and repeat.
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
Comment appelle-t-on ça ?
In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in French. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review.
Do you remember the informal way to say
"Excuse me."
Excuse-moi.
Excuse-moi.
And how to say “repeat?”
répéter
répéter
Do you remember how to say,
"Excuse me, can you repeat it?"
Remember she uses informal French.
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
Imagine You're Jack Jones , and you're meeting your fellow student Justine Jerome for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name.
Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time, and slowly.
Ready?
Enchanté. Je m'appelle Justine.
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
Listen again, and repeat.
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
Excuse-moi, peux-tu répéter ?
On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the French portion of it you want to know how to say pencil in French.
Ask Justine Jerome how to say "pencil" in French.
Comment dit-on « pencil » en français ?
On dit « crayon ».
Listen again, and repeat.
Comment dit-on « pencil » en français ?
Comment dit-on « pencil » en français ?
Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course.
Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.
What's next?
Show us what you can do.
When you're ready, take your assessment.
You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.
Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.
Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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