Collins Dictionaries - Easy Learning French Conversation

Here are some key phrases which you are likely to hear in conversation.

Lifestyle Tips

• The polite you (vous)is used to address people whom you don’t know. It’s also a way of showing respect to someone who’s older than you, or, at work, to someone who’s higher up in the hierarchy. People who work together on a daily basis usually say tuto each other, (se tutoyer– to say tu to each other ) but it is safer to wait a little before taking that step. Many people do not like to be addressed as vous,because they think it’s too formal. They will usually suggest you call them tu,saying tu peux me tutoyeror on peut se tutoyer.You can make the first move and ask On se tutoie?,if you think that the other person will be more comfortable using the tuform.

• When meeting someone for the first time, you usually shake hands (serrer la main à quelqu’un),whether it’s a man or a woman. In business relations, at business appointments or at negotiations, shaking hands is very common. Men who are on friendly terms usually shake hands, while women kiss on both cheeks (se faire la bise).Men also kiss female friends and in some cases other men, for instance when they belong to the same family. Bear in mind that habits may be different depending on where you are in France, which is why French people themselves often get confused; for instance, the number of kisses you give someone to say hello varies from one area to another!

• The words amiand copain(and the feminine forms amieand copine) can either mean friend or boyfriend/girlfriend . If someone uses mon copainfor instance, they could be either be talking about a male friend or their boyfriend. The expressions petit(e) ami(e)and petit(e) copain/copinecan also be used to mean boyfriend and girlfriend . To say my partner , use mon compagnonfor a man and ma compagnefor a woman.

• French people socialize in cafés and restaurants as British people do, but it is probably more common in France than in Britain to invite people, be it for coffee (pour prendre le café),for the apéritif (pour prendre l’apéritifor, more informally l’apéro)or for dinner (pour le dîner).Traditionally, le caféor l’apéritifare ways of getting to know people more, while le dîner(and lunch, le déjeuner)are an opportunity for people who already know each other well, or families, to spend time together.

If you’re going to be travelling to and around French-speaking countries and cities, the phrases in this unit will help you ask for directions, find out how to get to places and buy tickets in easy, everyday French.

When you’re travelling around, you will probably want to talk about what you’re going to do. Use je vais( I’m going to ) or on va( we’re going to ) before the verb. These come from the verb aller.For more information on aller,see here.

BON À SAVOIR!

Use normalementor si tout va bien( if all goes well ) at the beginning of a sentence to talk about a plan that might have to be changed.

If you want to talk about what your plans are, you can use j’ai l’intention de( I’m planning to ).

If you want to say that you have to do something in French, such as buy a ticket, catch a train and so on, you use il faut que( I have to ) or il faudrait que( I ought to ) followed by the subjunctive. For more information on the subjunctive, see here.