Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: Hi everyone, I'm Eric.
Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine.
Eric: Using the Auxiliary Verb "Could."
Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use a sentence pattern for politely asking someone to do something.
PATTERN
Eric: For example, "Could you close the window, please?"
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
Yasmine: [slow] Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: The pattern for politely asking someone to do something has 3 elements. First, the polite form of "could you."
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous.
Eric: Second, the verb "to close" in the infinitive form.
Yasmine: fermer.
Eric: Third, the complement, in this case "the window."
Yasmine: la fenêtre.
Eric: And last, the form of politeness "please," which can be omitted.
Yasmine: s'il vous plaît.
Eric: Altogether, we have "Could you close the window, please?"
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît? [slow] Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît? [normal] Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: First you have the expression "could you," followed by a verb in the infinitive form, and then a complement. “Please,” or…
Yasmine: S'il vous plaît
Eric: can come at the end of the sentence to show politeness, but it’s not obligatory.
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: So remember, to make a polite request, you first start with the expression "could you," followed by a verb in the infinitive form, and then your request.
Eric: Here's another example meaning, "Could you speak louder, please?" First, the polite form of "could you."
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous.
Eric: Second, the verb "to speak" in the infinitive form.
Yasmine: parler.
Eric: Third, the complement, in this case "louder."
Yasmine: plus fort.
Eric: And last, the form of politeness "please," which again can be omitted.
Yasmine: s'il vous plaît.
Eric: Altogether we have...
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît? [slow] Pourriez-vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît? [normal] Pourriez-vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: "Could you speak louder, please?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: How do you say - "Could you help me, please?" To give you a hint, "to help" is...
Yasmine: aider. [slow] aider. [normal] aider.
Eric: "Could you help me, please?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît? [slow] Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît? [normal] Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît?
REVIEW
Eric: Let's review the sentences from this lesson. I’ll give you the English equivalent of the phrase, and you’re responsible for shouting it out loud in French. Here we go.
Eric: "Could you close the window, please?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: "Could you speak louder, please?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: "Could you help me, please?"
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît?
[pause]
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît?

Outro
Eric: Okay. That's all for this lesson. You learned a pattern for politely asking someone to do something, as in...
Yasmine: Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?
Eric: meaning "Could you close the window, please?"
Eric: Thanks, everyone, see you next time!
Yasmine: A la prochaine!

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