Learn how to express your needs by conjugating the French verb avoir (to have, to be)
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sylvain: Bonjour! Je m’appelle Sylvain. |
| Céline: Et moi, c’est Céline. |
| Sam : Sam here. “Hungry?” |
| {stomach rumbling} |
| Sylvain: So good, so good. Nice timing. |
| Sam : And of course, I am hungry. Anyway. |
| Sylvain: Anyway. |
| Sam : My stomach will calm down here soonly. Soon. Anyway. |
| Sylvain: I have a cavity in my stomach. |
| Sam : Huh? Pardon me? |
| Céline: Are you talking about your stomach? |
| Sylvain: That’s what I used to say when I was a kid when my stomach was screaming for food. |
| Céline: Can you say that in French? |
| Sylvain: J’ai un trou dans mon estomac. |
| Céline: J’ai un trou dans mon estomac. Oh mon Dieu c’est horrible. Mais quelle coïncidence! What a coincidence, Sam. |
| Sam : Of course! |
| Sylvain: Yes! |
| Céline: Because this is our thing today. |
| Sam : Oh, wow. |
| Sylvain: I will be Robert, while Céline will be Alice, Robert’s wife. |
| Céline: So, where are they going? |
| Sylvain: Yes. |
| Céline: Because they’re going somewhere, right? |
| Sylvain: try to guess? |
| Sam : Maybe somewhere involving food? |
| Céline: Peut-être. Ok, let’s listen to the conversation and check. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sylvain: Alice, tu as faim? |
| Céline: Oh oui! J'ai faim et j'ai soif. |
| Sylvain: On va au restaurant? |
| Céline: D’accord. On y va. |
| Sam : One more time, slowly. |
| Céline: Encore une fois, lentement. |
| Sylvain: Alice, tu as faim? |
| Céline: Oh oui! J'ai faim et j'ai soif. |
| Sylvain: On va au restaurant? |
| Céline: D’accord. On y va. |
| Sam : One more time with the English. |
| Céline: Encore une fois avec l’anglais. |
| Sylvain: Alice, tu as faim? |
| Sam : Alice, are you hungry? |
| Céline: Oh oui! J'ai faim et j'ai soif. |
| Sam : Oh yes! I’m hungry and thirsty. |
| Sylvain: On va au restaurant? |
| Sam : Let’s go to the restaurant? |
| Céline: D’accord. On y va. |
| Sam : Ok. Let’s go. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sylvain: What’s the most expensive restaurant in the world? |
| Sam : You got me. I don’t know. |
| Sylvain: According to Forbes, it’s Alain Ducasse au Plaza Anthénée, in Paris, France. Going price of $231 on average. |
| Céline: Ah les plaisirs de la table hein. $231. Qu’est-ce que tu en penses Sam? |
| Sam : That’s a little bit expensive. |
| Céline: Yes. |
| Sylvain: Les français sont épicuriens et hédonistes également. |
| Céline: Oui. Et hédonistes, tout à fait Sylvain! |
| Sylvain: Oui. |
| Sam : The French are epicurists and hedonists? |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam : Oh. I guess you can say that again. |
| Sylvain: On va le dire encore, épicuriens et hédonistes. |
| Sam : Oh. You can say that again. |
| Sylvain: Epicuriens et hédonistes. |
| Céline: Ok, ok, ok. So you know Alain Ducasse? |
| Sylvain: Alain who? |
| Céline: Alain Ducasse! He’s a famous French chef. A French chef is like a pleonasm. So, ok, Alain Ducasse is really expensive, but you can have a nice dinner in a French restaurant for €50 or €60 in France. |
| Sam : Oh! That’s expensive. |
| Sylvain: No! |
| Céline: No, no. Nice. |
| Sylvain: Nice dinner. |
| Céline: With a nice wine. But of course at this price you won’t drink the Cristal champagne. |
| Sam : Why? That’s an expensive meal. You should get a free glass, right? |
| Céline: €50 or €60 a dinner in France is not that expensive. |
| Sylvain: And a refill of coffee, also. |
| Sam : Really? Free refills of coffee? |
| Céline: No, no. We don’t do free refills. That’s an American... |
| Sam : You have American coffee? |
| Céline: No, we have French coffee. |
| Sylvain: Put water on it. |
| Sam : But you don’t have American coffee? Why? |
| Céline: We do, but we don’t like-- In France, the café, c’est le noir, le petit noir. That’s the French coffee. Similar to the Italian espresso. |
| Sylvain: No, no, no, no. It’s not similar from the Italian espresso. |
| Céline: I didn’t it’s same as. I said it’s similar. |
| Sylvain: Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. |
| Sam : What about the American espresso? That’s similar to the Italian espresso and French espresso, I think. |
| Céline: Really? I don’t know. I’ve never had it. |
| Sylvain: It’s a complex issue. |
| Sam : Let’s go have one. Oh. We have to finish first. |
| Sylvain: Yeah, yeah, yeah. |
| Sam : Ok. |
| Céline: I mean, if we have the choice, why don’t we go to a nice French restaurant and have a nice “café noir”? |
| Sam : Or we can go to… |
| Sylvain: Céline, invite us. |
| Sam : Oh, yeah. |
| Sylvain: Thank you, Céline! |
| Sam : Or we can go to a nice American restaurant. |
| Céline: Vous êtes vraiment des affamés. |
| Sam : We can go to a nice American restaurant and have the same quality meal, maybe? |
| {groans} |
| Sam : We might want to edit that part. Ok. |
| Céline: Ok. How about the vocab? |
| Sylvain: Ok. |
| Sam : Let me finish my coffee. Just a second. I’m joking. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: Ok. First item is: |
| Céline: Faim. |
| Sam : Hunger. |
| Céline: Faim. Faim. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Sylvain: Soif. |
| Sam : Thirst. |
| Sylvain: Soif. Soif. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline: Avoir faim. |
| Sam : To be hungry. |
| Céline: Avoir faim. Avoir faim. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Sylvain: Avoir soif. |
| Sam : To be thirsty. |
| Sylvain: Avoir soif. Avoir soif. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline: Au. |
| Sam : At. |
| Céline: Au. Au. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Sylvain: Restaurant. |
| Sam : Restaurant. |
| Sylvain: Restaurant. Restaurant. |
| Sam : Next. |
| Céline: D’accord. |
| Sam : Ok. |
| Céline: D’accord. D’accord. |
| Sylvain: Mesdames et messieurs. |
| Céline: Ladies and gentlemen. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sylvain: Let’s go on with the vocabulary usage. |
| Sam : The first word is “faim”. |
| Céline: “Faim” means hunger, but be aware of its homonym which spelling is F-I-N, meaning “end”. |
| Sylvain: And both are feminine, so make sure to grasp the context in which each is used. |
| Sam : Or I can google it, right? |
| Céline: Oh là là. That’s the lazy and less effective way to retain it. |
| Sam : But the easy way. Next word is “soif”. |
| Sylvain: Thirst. |
| Céline: So then there’s the phrase, “d’accord” |
| Sam : Ok! Oh! “D’accord” means “ok”. |
| Céline: Oui! |
| Sam : It’s like a transition or something, right? |
| Céline: How about “Ok, d’accord”? |
| Sylvain: Ok, d’accord. |
| Sam : Sounds like a melting pot of Franglish. |
| Sylvain: Yeah. |
| Céline: Yeah ok and then the last word, the most important word in French, “restaurant”. |
| Sylvain: its meaning is obvious, but his pronunciation is not. Other work to do. |
| Céline: Yes. So let’s practice with the “r”. |
| Sylvain: R-restaurant. |
| Céline: The French “r” |
| Sam : R. |
| Sylvain: R. |
| Céline: Bravo. |
| Sam : R. |
| Céline: So, ok. Say “restaurant”. |
| Sam : Restaurant. |
| Sylvain: You’re forcing it. |
| Céline: But it’s fine. At the beginning you can force, and then little by little you will get the r. |
| Sylvain: Please, Sam. We are listening to you. |
| Sam : Restaurant. |
| Céline: Ok. The problem when you say “restaurant” it’s like-- The “r”, le”r” is not “ou-r”. It’s “r”. |
| Sam : R. |
| Céline: R-restaur-rant. |
| Sam : R-restaur-rant. |
| Céline: Bravo. |
| Sylvain: You were good. |
| Céline: C’est ça. |
| Sylvain: Say it in English. |
| Sam : R-restaur-rant. No, I’m joking. Restaurant. |
| Céline: Yeah, you see in English, you’re just-- your lips are “Restrant”. |
| Sylvain: You just have to take the part, of “ant”-- Restaurant. Restaurant. And you have it. |
| Sam : Oh. |
| Sylvain: Restaurant. |
| Sam : That’s pretty easy. Even with the Delaware accent. |
| Céline: Yeah, but I think the difficult part is the “r”. |
| Sylvain: The center of the world. Delaware. |
| Céline: Donc euh... restaurant. |
| Sam : Rest... |
| Céline: Non. R-restaurant. |
| Sam : You said restaur-rant. |
| Céline: Non c’est r-restaur-rant. |
| Sam : R-restaur-rant. |
| Céline: Voila. Bravo. |
| Sylvain: Nice! |
| Sam : Thank you. |
| Sylvain: Ok. We have no more vocabulary after this. |
| Sam : Oh, no! No more vocabulary. |
| Sylvain: So then let’s go to the restaurant. |
| Sam : R-restaur-rant. |
| Céline: Let’s go to the restaurant? |
| Sylvain: Say it in French, Sam. |
| Sam : Est-ce que nous allons au restaurant? |
| Céline: Yeah, but “let’s go to the restaurant” is just like... |
| Sylvain: This was a question. |
| Céline: On va au restaurant. |
| Sam : On va au restaurant. |
| Céline: Ou allons au restaurant. |
| Sam : Allons au restaurant. |
| Sylvain: Imperative. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline: Mais pour l’instant, allons à la grammaire. So we are going to talk about the verb “avoir”, “to have.” |
| Sylvain: Oh, yes! I knew that it was time for the grammar point. |
| Sam : We need an example of the verb “avoir.” |
| Céline: No, ok. Before giving an example, let’s say that “avoir” is used to talk about possessions. |
| Sam : Oh I forgot that. Of course! It’s used to show possession. |
| Céline: Par exemple: |
| Sylvain: Il a un livre intéressant. |
| Sam : He has an interesting book. |
| Céline: And in the dialogue, “avoir” is used to describe sensations, as hunger or thirst. |
| Sylvain: But in English, the verb is used in this case. |
| Sam : So “j’ai soif” would be “I am thirsty.” |
| Sylvain: Yes. “J’ai soif.” |
| Céline: J’ai soif. And also, and also, “j’ai faim.” |
| Sylvain: J’ai faim. |
| Sam : I’m hungry. |
| Céline: I don’t know if you remember well, but Sylvain was talking about, in the previous lesson, about also to indicate the age. J’ai-- I remember that you... |
| Sylvain: J’ai 22 ans. |
| Céline: Oh, really? |
| Sam : You’re 22? |
| Céline: Ok. |
| Sylvain: That’s what I’m saying when I’m going to the club. |
| Céline: Pourquoi tu mens? |
| Sylvain: But I have not so much success, recently! |
| Céline: And you think that to say that you are younger will be... |
| Sylvain: Something. |
| Céline: Yeah? Better? |
| Sylvain: I love the way you... |
| Sam : It might work. |
| Céline: No. |
| Sylvain: It might work. |
| Sam : It might work. |
| Sylvain: Hope always works. |
| Céline: Ok. Another example to express the possession. |
| Sylvain: Oui. |
| Céline: Par exemple, Sylvain? |
| Sylvain: Oui? |
| Céline: Tu as une petite amie? |
| Sylvain: Non. Je n’ai pas de petite amie. |
| Sam : The question was, “Sylvain, do you have a girlfriend?” |
| Sylvain: The response was, “No, I have no girlfriend.” |
| Céline: You know what? |
| Sylvain: Yes! |
| Céline: J’ai faim et j’ai soif. |
| Sylvain: Et j’ai besoin d’amour! Sorry... |
| Sam : Ok. |
| Céline: Ok, pour l’amour je ne peux rien faire pour toi, par contre, on va au restaurant? |
| Sylvain: Bonne idée! Allons-y! |
| Sam : Let’s go get a cheeseburger. Yeah. |
| {groans} |
| Sam: Pas de... |
| Céline: Peasant. |
| Sylvain: Satan! |
| Céline: Peasant. Peasant. |
| Sam : So basically, Céline just called all of our American listeners who like cheeseburgers peasants. |
| Céline: Non pas du tout! Alors là n’importe quoi! |
| Sam : But that’s what you meant. |
| Céline: No, no, no. I love America, I love you Americans, and I love cheeseburgers. |
| Sylvain: Me too. |
| Sam : Ah oui? |
| Céline: Oui! |
| Sylvain: I go often to McDonald’s, but in secret. Hiding my identity of French guy. |
| Sam : You’re afraid people will think you’re American if you go to McDonald’s? |
| Céline: No, it’s ok, but it’s... |
| Sam: It’s American! |
| Céline: Mais non. J’aime les américains. I love Americans. |
| Sam: Céline déteste les américains. |
| Sylvain: Mais non mais non! |
| Céline: That’s really bad! I think that you hate the French! |
| Sylvain: That statement is a lie! |
| Sam : Ok, that’s the end of today’s lesson, and I can smell some cheeseburgers across the street. So... |
| Sylvain: Stop with your cheeseburgers! |
| Sam : Les américains… |
Outro |
| Sam: Ok, that’s the end of today’s lesson. Please pick up the PDF at FrenchPod101.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to use our forum or comment on today’s lesson. And if you have any good cheeseburger recipes, you can leave those as well. We’ll see you again tomorrow. |
| Sylvain: Cheeseburger! |
| Céline: A demain! |
| Sam : Until the next time. |
| Céline: Si tout va bien. |
| Sam : A la prochaine! Bye-bye. |
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