How to Indicate Objects with the Help of Gestures

Learn how to indicate objects with the help of gestures

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for something at a grocery store in French.

For example, "This, please." is

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Corentin Collin is at a small grocery store.

After finding something he wants, he points at the item and asks for it.

Before you hear the conversation, let's learn some of its key components.

ceci

"this"

ceci

Et voici.

"Here you are."

Et voici.

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Et voici.

Once more with the English translation.

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like this, please."

Et voici.

"Here you are."

Let’s break down how Corentin asks for an item without knowing its name.

Do you remember how Corentin Collin says,

"I would like this, please."

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern.

First is je, "I." Je. Je.

Next is voudrais, "would like." Voudrais. Voudrais.

Voudrais is a form of the verb vouloir, meaning to want. Vouloir.

Next is ceci. "This." Ceci. Ceci.

Last is the phrase s’il vous plaît. "Please." S’il vous plaît. S’il vous plaît.

All together, it's Je voudrais ceci, s’il vous plaît. "I would like this, please."

Je voudrais ceci, s’il vous plaît.

Using Je voudrais to ask for something is rather polite, and it’s commonly used in formal situations like restaurants, shops, etc.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are."

Et voici.

Et voici literally means, "And here," but it translates as "Here you are," in this situation. Et voici. Et voici.

Note: Sometimes you may hear Et voilà instead of Et voici. Both expressions mean exactly the same thing.

The pattern is

Je voudrais ITEM, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like ITEM please."

Je voudrais ITEM s'il vous plaît.

To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the thing you want.

Imagine you’d like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is cela, "that." Cela. Cela.

Say

"I would like that, please."

Ready?

Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like that, please."

Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît.

The following phrases can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in French:

Je voudrais ceci. “I’d like this.”

Je voudrais cela. “I’d like that.”

Even if you don’t know the name of an item, and consequently its gender, you can use these pronouns, as they are the same for both masculine and feminine nouns.

For items that are plural, use ceux-ci, or "these," as the default. Ceux-ci.

And use ceux-là, or "those," for things that are far from you. Ceux-là.

Again, the key pattern is

Je voudrais ITEM, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like ITEM please."

Je voudrais ITEM s'il vous plaît.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like this, please."

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like that, please."

Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît.

Je voudrais ceux-ci, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like these, please."

Je voudrais ceux-ci, s'il vous plaît.

Je voudrais ceux-là, s'il vous plaît.

"I would like those, please."

Je voudrais ceux-là, s'il vous plaît.

Ceci, s'il vous plaît.

"This, please."

Ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Did you notice how the last speaker used a shortened sentence pattern?

Ceci, s'il vous plaît.

"This, please."

First is ceci, "this." Ceci.

Next is s'il vous plaît, “please.” s'il vous plaît.

Together, Ceci, s'il vous plaît. This please. Ceci, s'il vous plaît.

This simple and convenient phrase can be used while pointing to something or referring to something close to you that you would like to have.

Let’s review the key words.

Cela

"That."

Cela. Cela.

Ceux-ci.

"These."

Ceux-ci. Ceux-ci.

Ceux-là.

"Those."

Ceux-là. Ceux-là

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 "please?"

S'il vous plaît.

And how to say "this?"

ceci.

Do you remember how to say "I?"

Je.

Do you remember how Corentin says,

"I would like this, please."

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are."

Et voici.

When you don’t know the name of something, do you remember the word for "that?"

Cela.

When you don’t know the name of something, do you remember the word for "these?"

Ceux-ci.

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Corentin. And you’re at the grocery store to buy some bread, but you don't know the word. Point at it and say,

"I would like this, please."

Ready?

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Et voici.

Listen again and repeat.

Je voudrais ceci, s'il vous plaît.

Let's try another.

Imagine you’re Coralie , and you see some small snacks you’d like to try.

Ask for "these."

Ready?

Je voudrais ceux-ci, s'il vous plaît.

Et voici.

Listen again and repeat.

Je voudrais ceux-ci, s'il vous plaît.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Constance , and you see a sandwich in the showcase behind the counter.

Ask for "that."

Ready?

Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît.

Et voici.

Listen again and repeat.

Je voudrais cela, s'il vous plaît.

Ceci and Cela are very polite ways to refer to an item you don’t know. In a more colloquial way, it is possible to use ça instead of ceci and cela.

Although this is more colloquial, its use is really easy as it doesn’t depend on gender.

Therefore, Je voudrais ceci s’il vous plaît or Je voudrais cela s’il vous plaît can just become Je voudrais ça s’il vous plaît.

This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to request something by pointing, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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