In general, the French are very polite, so it’s important to speak with la politesse (politeness). For example, if you walk into a shop, you are expected to say bonjour. Long ago, shops were an extension of the shopkeeper’s home. Just as you would greet someone if you were entering their home, you should also greet the clerk or shopkeeper in each shop or store.
Additionally, when you ask for something or order a meal in France, you should never say je veux. Instead, use the polite form je voudrais (I would like). Voudrais comes from the verb vouloir, which means to want. We do something very similar in English. When we teach children to say I would like instead of I want, we are teaching politeness.
Another French expression you use to be polite is puis-je (may I/can I). This expression allows you to ask politely for what you want. Again, we do something similar in English when we replace the demand Give me … with the request May I have… to be polite. Puis comes from the verb pouvoir, which means “to be able to.”
Let’s look at some examples with je voudrais (I would like) and puis-je (can I/may I). Read and listen along with the dialogue below.
Let’s say M. goes to the bakery to buy a baguette. The conversation might go
like this:
Boulanger: Bonjour, Monsieur!
M: Bonjour, Monsieur.
Boulanger: Vous désirez?
M:
Je voudrais une baguette, s’il vous plait.
Boulanger:
Voici votre baguette. C’est tout?
M:
Puis-je prendre (take)
un éclair aussi?
Boulanger: Bien sûr. Voici Monsieur.
Question
How do you say I would like an eclair in French?
Je voudrais un éclair.
Do you remember the French expression il y a? It means there is/there are, and it can be used to describe a lot of things. Do you recall how to form the negative of il y a?
il n’y a pas
Let’s look at some examples:
Dans mon quartier, il y a une boulangerie, une pâtisserie, et
un supermarché.
Il n’y a pas de boucherie ou de fromagerie.
Question
What stores are not in the speaker’s neighborhood?
a butcher shop and a cheese shop
Practice using il y a and polite terms by using the words from the Word Bank to fill in the blanks in the paragraph below.
Word Bank
- il y a
- puis
- Il n’y a pas
- voudrais
- Bonjour
J’habite dans une petite ville. Dans la ville une pâtisserie et une boulangerie. de fromagerie. J’achète souvent une baguette à la boulangerie. Quand je vais à la boulangerie, je dis (say): . Je une baguette, s’il vous plaît. La boulangère dit: C’est tout? Non, -je prendre aussi une brioche?
Question
How do you say In my neighborhood there is a church in French?
Dans mon quartier, il y a une église.
Do you understand how to use these polite expressions in French? Click to the next page to review the conjugations of vouloir and pouvoir.
