Learn the many uses of the French word for "please"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Céline: Bonjour! Je m’appelle Céline! |
| Sylvain: Et moi c’est Sylvain. |
| Sam: Sam here. “A Beer, Please.” |
| Céline: Ok, so today’s lesson is “A Beer, Please” so I think Robert and Alice are finally at the restaurant. You know that eating is an art in France. |
| Sam: Oh, eating is also an art in the States, you know? |
| Sylvain: Don’t do the same thing that in the previous lesson. |
| Sam: What? I mean, it is an art. You know? Cheeseburgers, hamburgers. |
| Sylvain: He’s doing it again. |
| Céline: No, it’s different because in France, we usually have meals with family, and it’s a big deal. We spend like three, four, five hours eating with family. |
| Sylvain: I remember “un déjeuner”. Go at the table at 11:00, and we go out of the table at 5:00 in the afternoon. |
| Sam: 11:00 to 5:00? |
| Sylvain: 11:00 to 5:00. Normal, yeah? |
| Céline: Yeah. It’s really enjoyable. |
| Sylvain: And we begin the dinner at 7:00 to 2:00 in the morning. |
| Sam: That sounds good to me, yeah. |
| Céline: Yeah, but ok. Let’s hear the dialogue and figure out what Robert et Alice are ordering. So I’ll be Alice, while Sylvain will be Robert. |
| Sylvain: I will be Robert. |
| Céline: C’est parti! |
| Sam &Sylvain: Let’s go! |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sam: Bonjour Monsieur. |
| Sylvain: La carte, s’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: Vous prendrez quelque chose à boire? |
| Sylvain: Un demi, s’il vous plaît. |
| Céline: Et nous avons faim, un poulet frites s'il vous plaît. |
| Sam: One more time, slowly. |
| Céline: Encore une fois, lentement. |
| Sam: Bonjour Monsieur. |
| Sylvain: La carte, s’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: Vous prendrez quelque chose à boire? |
| Sylvain: Un demi, s’il vous plaît. |
| Céline: Et nous avons faim, un poulet frites s'il vous plaît. |
| Sam: One more time with the English. |
| Céline: Encore une fois, avec l’anglais. |
| Sam: Bonjour Monsieur. |
| Sam: Hello, sir. |
| Sylvain: La carte, s’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: The menu, please. |
| Sam: Vous prendrez quelque chose à boire? |
| Sam: Would you like something to drink? |
| Sylvain: Un demi, s’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: A beer, please. |
| Céline: Et nous avons faim, un poulet frites s'il vous plaît. |
| Sam: And we are hungry, too. Some chicken and fries, please. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sylvain: Do you know that French people used to prefer now beer than wine? |
| Sam: So now it’s beer, than wine? Or wine, than beer? |
| Sylvain: It depends, but young people now, in France, when they meet together to drink beer rather than wine. Wine have a --- except some really expensive wine --- have some image decreasing. I don’t know. |
| Sam: Oh, ok. So wine’s not like-- It doesn’t carry the same image that it used to, so the younger people are drinking beer. |
| Sylvain: That’s right. You’re right. |
| Sam: Wow! Interesting. |
| Céline: Je pense que c’est très intéressant. |
| Sam: I think it’s very interesting, too. Hey, how about you guys? Do you prefer beer or wine? |
| Sylvain: Me? |
| Sam: Yes. |
| Sylvain: Beer without any hesitation. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: Ah bon? |
| Sylvain: Sorry. |
| Céline: Really? But I think-- Ok. I’m sorry. I think beer and wine are totally different. I mean, you cannot say “I like beer better than wine.” You can’t compare. I mean you can say “Do you like France-- Which do you like better, France or America?” it’s... |
| Sylvain: “Cheeseburger” will come in a few seconds, I think. |
| Céline: Yeah, no, but beer and wine are good. |
| Sam: It’s a complex question, yeah. |
| Céline: Yeah. It’s hard to say which do you like better. |
| Sylvain: But wine, like cheese, are-- there is so much variety. For example, I love a wine who is really “rare”. It’s called Monbazillac. |
| Céline: Le Monbazillac. |
| Sylvain: Did you see her reaction?! |
| Sam: I love it too. |
| Sylvain: Sorry. The Monbazillac was created in the middle of the Middle Ages. |
| Sam: Oh, wow! |
| Sylvain: It’s oldest than Bordeaux. |
| Sam: Oh, wow. |
| Céline: It’s so good. You should try it sometime. |
| Sam: I’ve got some in my refrigerator. |
| Céline: Dans le réfrigérateur? Oh my god! |
| Sylvain: With foie gras. |
| Céline: Dans le frigo! Il a mis le vin dans le frigo! |
| Sylvain: Ahh! What are you saying? What are you saying? You put the wine in... |
| Céline: The refrigerator! Never ever! |
| Sylvain: This is a crime, in France. You can go to the jail for this. |
| Céline: Yeah! Never, never do that. |
| Sylvain: The police go “boom, boom, boom” |
| Sam: I like it cold! |
| Céline: C’est un sacrilège. Ok, so if you like cold wine, it means you don’t know about wine. You’re not a connaisseur. |
| Sam: Ok. That’s enough about wine. |
| Céline: Yeah, because I’m going to kill you, so it’s better to change the topic. |
| Sam: We can have a glass later with the cheeseburger. But anyway. |
| Sylvain: {groans} |
| Sam: Let’s go on to the vocabulary. Ok? Vocabulary time! Ding-ding-ding-ding. |
| Sylvain: {cheers} |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: The first item is... |
| Sylvain: Monsieur. |
| Sam: Sir. |
| Sylvain: Monsieur. Monsieur. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Carte. |
| Sam: Menu. |
| Céline: Carte. Carte. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Sylvain: S’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: Please. |
| Sylvain: S’il vous plaît. S’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Soif. |
| Sam: Thirsty. |
| Céline: Soif. Soif. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Sylvain: Un demi. |
| Sam: A tap beer. |
| Sylvain: Un demi. Un demi. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Poulet. |
| Sam: Chicken. |
| Céline: Poulet. Poulet. |
| Sam: And lastly... |
| Sylvain: Frites |
| Sam: French fries. |
| Sylvain: Frites. Frites. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Céline: Mmm. Chicken is good. Beef is good. |
| Sylvain: Pork is good. Bacon is good. |
| Sam: Scrapple is good. |
| Sylvain: Eh? |
| Sam: Oh, nothing. |
| Sylvain: Ok? |
| Céline: Ok. So apparently everyone here likes meat. |
| Sam: Yeah, we’ve decided that, but let’s stop boring them with useless usage. Let’s look at the vocabulary usage. |
| Céline: Bravo, Sam. |
| Sylvain: The first word is... |
| Céline: “Carte.” This word means “menu” if in a restaurant setting. Otherwise, it is a map. |
| Sylvain: You don’t ask for a map in a restaurant. |
| Sam: Calm down, guys. Calm down. Otherwise, it’s a map, and it’s good to know if you get lost. |
| Sylvain: You’re following, Sam. Thank you. |
| Sam: The next word is “s’il vous plaît.” |
| Sylvain: S’il vous plaît. |
| Sam: This one is a must. |
| Sylvain: Really used. That’s right. It enables you to be polite and well-educated as any mother would wish their children to be. |
| Céline: Yeah. It means “please” but the formal way. |
| Sylvain: If you are speaking to a close one, you’d say “s’il te plaît.” |
| Sam: Oh, I see. So someone close to you, “s’il te plaît.” If you don’t know or if they’re older, “s’il vous plait.” |
| Sylvain: That’s good. |
| Sam: I see. Thank you. |
| Céline: Then there’s “poulet.” |
| Sylvain: I like this one. |
| Céline: Of course. It’s poultry. To be exact, chicken. |
| Sam: Very popular in Delaware. But that makes sense. |
| Céline: And the last word. |
| Sylvain: Frites. |
| Sam: Le French fries. Le French frites. Sorry. |
| Sylvain: Les frites françaises. You know they’re not from France. They’re from... |
| Céline: Belgium! So in French we never say “frites français”. We don’t say that. We say “frites”. |
| Sam: Why? |
| Céline: Because? |
| Sam: Where did the name French fries come from? |
| Sylvain: We don’t know. |
| Sam: And that’s good homework for our listeners, right? |
| Céline: Exactement. |
| Sylvain: Please, find into the web where come from the French fries. |
| Sam: Mmm. French fries and hamburger, or French fries and fish! I’m getting hungry. |
| Sylvain: Today, Sam, is ok. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sam: Ok. “Frites” also means fried? |
| Sylvain: Yes! That’s a verb. “Frire” past participle in feminine. Frire, frit, frite. |
| Sam: Oh, great. Well, they are cooked in oil, right? In America, they’re cooked in a lot of oil, so definitely fried. |
| Céline: Yeah, ok. So how about review the conjugation of “avoir”. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: With, for example, “I’m hungry.” |
| Sylvain: J’ai faim. |
| Sam: I’m hungry. |
| Céline: Tu as faim. |
| Sam: You’re hungry. |
| Sylvain: Il a faim. |
| Sam: He’s hungry. |
| Céline: Elle a faim. |
| Sam: She’s hungry. |
| Sylvain: Nous avons faim. |
| Sam: We’re hungry. |
| Céline: Vous avez soif. |
| Sam: You’re thirsty. |
| Sylvain: Ils ont soif. |
| Sam: They’re thirsty. Which is a group of guys or a mixed group. “Ils”. |
| Céline: Elles ont soif. |
| Sam: They’re thirsty. Which is a group of only ladies. |
| Céline: So I think we are ready to eat and drink? |
| Sylvain: Yes! Lots of beer. |
| Sam: We can eat lots of cheeseburgers and French fries. |
| Sylvain: No, no, no. |
| Sam: Oh. |
Outro |
| Céline: Ok, guys, this is the end. |
| Sam: But don’t sound so sad. We’ll be back. Ok. We’ll see you next time. Bye-bye. |
| Sylvain: Goodbye. |
| Céline: Au revoir. |
| Sam: Au revoir. |
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