Review
As you practice asking names using the verb s’appeler, it’s useful to know that you can use this expression to ask about the name of things or what things are called and not just people’s names. For example, Comment ça s’appelle? can be used to ask What is this called? That’s a handy expression for learning the names for things in French from other French speakers. You can also appelle someone for dinner or on the phone--you just drop the s’ that comes in front.
For now, focus on recognizing the expressions with s’appeler that you learned on the last slide. But try to keep in mind the meaning of the verb appeler so that you can recognize it when you see it in other phrases and situations.
First, try matching the French phrases with their English meanings.
Think you got it?
If you were able complete this matching activity, you can recognize the meanings of the different phrases with s’appeler. You might have noticed that the form of s’appeler for il and elle is the same, appelle. However, the form of appeler that goes with tu changes to appelles. Many verbs in French follow this same rule when they are conjugated, or changed according to the subject.
Take a look at how the verb s’appeler changes with je, tu, il and elle.
Je
Je
m’appelle
Tu
Tu
t’appelles
Il ou Elle
Il ou Elle
s’appelle
You have seen the word Comment in the expression Comment ça va ?, which we translated as How are you?
Now you are seeing Comment in the expression Comment t’appelles-tu? It literally translates to How do you call yourself? But that’s just complicated, or compliqué, as the French would say. English speakers would say What is your name?
The meaning of a word can change with the situation or the phrase or expression the word is used in.
Question
What does comment mean in French?
How
