By the end of this lesson you'll be able to write two short dialogues in French, one in a café and one in a clothes shop, from bonjour to au revoir.
What you've learned
This unit has been about food and shopping. Skim the list and go back to anything that feels shaky.
- Name foods and drinks. You know the words from the lesson on food and drink.
- Say "some". You can choose between le pain and du pain, from the lesson on du, de la and des.
- Order politely. You know Je voudrais and L'addition, s'il vous plaît, from the lesson on ordering at a café.
- Behave at the table. You know the order of a meal and the role of bread, from the lesson on French meals and mealtimes.
- Shop for clothes. You know colours, sizes and prices, from the lesson on clothes, colours and prices.
- Point things out. You know ce, cet, cette and ces, from the lesson on demonstratives.
A few words to hold it together
These short phrases will round off your dialogues.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ça fait… | sah feh | That comes to… |
| Voilà. | vwah-LAH | Here you are. |
| par carte | par KART | by card |
| Autre chose ? | oh-truh SHOHZ | Anything else? |
| le menu | luh muh-NEW | the fixed-price menu |
| la carte | lah KART | the menu (the full list)It also means a bank card. |
A model café dialogue
Here's a customer ordering lunch. Read it line by line and notice how polite and short each turn is.
Bonjour, madame. Je voudrais un sandwich, s'il vous plaît.
Hello, madam. I'd like a sandwich, please.
Et comme boisson ? — De l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
And to drink? — Some water, please.
Autre chose ? — Non, c'est tout, merci.
Anything else? — No, that's all, thank you.
L'addition, s'il vous plaît. — Ça fait neuf euros cinquante.
The bill, please. — That comes to nine euros fifty.
Par carte. Voilà. Merci, au revoir !
By card. Here you are. Thank you, goodbye!
Comme boisson means "as a drink". You can use it as a fixed phrase when you read or write a dialogue like this.
A model shopping dialogue
Now the same customer goes to a clothes shop. Notice how the demonstratives point to the things on the shelf.
Bonjour. Je cherche un pull gris.
Hello. I'm looking for a grey jumper.
Ce pull-ci ? — Non, ce pull-là, s'il vous plaît.
This jumper? — No, that jumper, please.
Je fais du 40. Je voudrais essayer ce pull.
I'm a size 40. I'd like to try on this jumper.
Combien ça coûte ? — Quarante-neuf euros.
How much does it cost? — Forty-nine euros.
Your turn
Write both of your own dialogues on paper or in a notes app. Decide who the customer is, and what's being bought. Aim for six to eight lines each.
In the café, include:
- a greeting, with madame or monsieur
- one order with je voudrais and one with je vais prendre
- something with du, de la or de l'
- a question from the server
- the bill, and a polite goodbye
In the shop, include:
- a greeting and je cherche
- a colour that matches its noun
- ce, cet, cette or ces, and -ci or -là
- your size
- a price
Check your work
Go through your dialogues once for each question below.
- Did you use vous all the way through, for both the staff and the customer?
- Is each colour after its noun and matching it?
- Did you use un or une for one item, and du or de la for an amount?
- Did you start with bonjour and end with merci or au revoir?
What's next
The final unit of A1 is about getting around. It starts with the lesson on places in town, so you'll be able to find a bakery or a chemist. Then the lesson on prepositions of place shows how to say where things are.