Bonjour. Comment Ça Va?

Both expressions are used to ask “Hello, how are you?” The first is used in formal situations (with colleagues, for example, or people you don't know well), and the second in informal situations (with friends or children).

Notice that in the phrase comment allez-vous?, the “t” sound at the end of comment, when pronounced, is attached to the beginning of allez, making it sound like “tallay.” This is an example of liaison. The “t” of comment ça va?, however, is not pronounced, as it precedes a consonant sound.

To respond to these greetings, you can say Bien, merci, or Ça va bien, merci or simply Ça va.

Comment Vous Appelez-Vous?

This means, “What is your name?” You'll notice that vous appears twice. It's a versatile word that can pull double duty. The last vous is the subject pronoun, and means “you.” The first vous, however, is used as a reflexive pronoun, and means “yourself.” Jump to Chapter 13 to find out more about reflexive pronouns.

Je M'appelle…

This means “My name is….” The literal interpretation takes a circuitous route, translating as “I call myself…” or “I am named…”

Je Ne Parle Pas Français.

This means, “I don't speak French.” Je is the French word for “I.” You use it whenever you are talking about yourself as the subject of a sentence. Ne and pas are the French equivalent to “not”; they always appear together in written form, but the ne is sometimes dropped in conversational French. The ne is just a language pointer to let you know that the subject is going to be in the negative, while pas means “not.” There are other negative expressions in French, but ne…pas is by far the most common you'll encounter. Français, as you may have guessed, means French.

Parlez-Vous Anglais?

This means “Do you speak English?” It can be used to address one person in the formal address, or it can be used to address more than one person. Note that there's no liaison between vous and anglais.

Où Sont Les Toilettes?

This means “Where is the bathroom?” To get right to the point, you can ask, “Les toilettes, s'il vous plaît?” Note that if you were to try and translate this literally into French, you would say “Où est la salle de bain?” In French, however, a salle de bain is literally the room containing the bath, and often does not have a toilet in it!

Je N'ai Pas Compris.

This means “I didn't understand.” Note that it is in the past tense, which you will learn about in Chapter 12. “Compris” is the past tense form of the verb “comprendre,” which you'll notice is very similar to the English word “comprehend.”

Répétez, S'il Vous Plaît.

This means “Please repeat.” S'il vous plaît is the French way of saying “please.” Literally translated, it means “If it pleases you.”

Parlez Plus Lentement, S'il Vous Plaît.

This means “Speak more slowly, please.”

Je Voudrais…

This is how to say “I would like…,” and is the polite way of ordering things. You'll find it a useful expression in stores and restaurants.

Pardon, or Excusez-moi.

Both expressions mean, “Excuse me,” and are useful when negotiating though a crowd to let people know that you need to pass.

Pronunciation of Common Phrases

In this section, you learned some useful expressions to get you started in French. Listen to the CD for their pronunciation.

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