Article by Angela Labrila
If you go to France or to a French speaking country you will need to know the basic french sentences. That’s because a lot of people in France are not speaking correct English. As a matter of fact, a lot of people in those countries can’t understand it. That’s because even if they love American movies they are dubbed. So they don’t have the opportunity to listen to real people speaking. So even if they know the expression you want to use they won’t always understand.So here are the basic French expressions. For example, to say hello you can say “bonjour” if you don’t know the person or “salut” if you know him or her better.
To say how are you can say “comment allez vous?”. It’s a polite expression you can use with your boss, for example. Remember that the “vous” is a form of respect and he only use as a mark of respect with your superiors for example but it would sound awkward if you use it with a friend. With people you know well you can use “comment ça va” or “comment vas tu?”. Notice that this time you can use “tu” because you know the person better. However, you don’t want to use with someone you don’t know. They can consider that a lack of respect.
If you’re not sure you can use it ask the person “Je peux te tutoyer?”. If the person answers yes you can use “tu” and stop using “vous”. So basically at the beginning you almost always use “vous” and you can use “tu” after a while you get to know the person better. To give you an example in my assurance habitation http://assurancehabitationmoinscher.net office I always use “vous” with my boss.
You will obviously need other expressions. In order to say thanks you can say “merci”. But you can also use “je te remercie” or “je vous remercie” depending on the person. The latter is a bit more polite. “Merci” is more use in everyday situations like during a dinner when somebody the salt. “Je te remercie” or “je vous remercie” is more commonly used in more formal situations.
Another very famous expression is “bon appetite”. However, in French you don’t pronounce the t at the end. If you say it anyway people will understand you but it will sound strange to a French ear. Nothing too serious though. Your hosts will understand that strangers can say French expressions in a different way without being offended.
Hello, I’m Angela I’m a writer for a french website about assurance habitation and assurance maison.