Learn how to politely ask someone to do something
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| 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! |
Comments
Hide