As-tu appris des expressions que tu ne connaissais pas ? Ou peut-être que j'ai éclairci des doutes que tu avais. Dis-moi ! Have you learned any new expressions? Or maybe I cleared up some doubts that you had. Let me know! J'ai adoré tourner cette vidéo à cet endroit à Lansargues près de Montpellier. La lumière dorée le matin est tellement beau. I loved filming in this location in Lansargues near Montpellier. The early morning sun is so golden and beautiful.
how much did you know before getting a job??? i feel like i know a decent amount but im only a2 level. is that enough to learn even more in france or would it be too hard to comprehend
@@ooo8421 yeah it's a good start, I worked in a cafe run by an Englishman so he liked giving work to people who might have otherwise struggled to find it in France. Take some lessons and keep learning and you'll get there.
Tout est correct. De toutes façons, quand vous entrez dans un bar, évitez de hurler "'A boire, nom de Dieu, ou je tue le chien !", ça risquerait d'être mal apprécié.
When the waiter/waitress asks, "Ca a été?", they are looking for a yes or no answer. It doesn't mean, how was it? But simply, was it? Most people answer yes as a formality. Working in hospitality in France, we are discouraged from asking "ça a été?", and instead encouraged to ask, "c'était comment?, because that will lead to a more open answer.
I liked this video not merely for its confirmation of my French usage au resto but mainly for the reminder of all my dining experiences in France. Not only is the food great, with the occasional exception, but the interaction -again with the occasional exception- with restaurant staff adds greatly to the pleasure. They've made an art of it. And not only is there none of the pseudo-friendly phoniness one finds in The Good Ol' US of A, tipping -though undoubtedly appreciated- is not required.
I also often hear "je voudrais..." in France when it comes to ordering something at a cafe or a restaurant. I love it that there is a valid French alternative to "i would like". Alex, thank you for the video! The location seems, well, tranquillu!)
My first night in Paris I attempted to speak to my waiter. I said "nous sommes finis " He politely told me that Correctly in France it is appropiate to say "Nous avons finis " It could be helpful to someone else. I simply replied "Merci" Additionally , I was extremely nervous speaking french for the first time
Yes, very helpful. Thanks James! "être fini" means "to be done for", like "I'm finished, it's over, I can't recover from this." They tend to use "terminer" more, I feel. You might notice the waiters say that to "Terminé ?"
We often say: "Ça y est. On n'a pas aimé !" meaning: "That's it. We didn't like it!" when our plates are 100% clean and we have "saucé" up the last of the sauce with our bread. That always gets a smile from the waiter! It's not really "advanced" French. It's the sort of thing you'd say in your own country. 🤔 (Snippets to learn...)
We often take a Tupperware container with us to a restaurant so I can present it to the waiter and say: "Vous m'avez battu... mais c'est tellement bon !" meaning: "You've beaten me ... but it's SOOOO good!" "Le déjeuner de demain" 👍.
Great stuff Alex, I’m a French beginner travelling in France and after feeling a bit bruised by my first couple of days I now can’t wait to get back in the fray. You are a superb communicator
Merci pour le vidéo, j'apprends beaucoup de nouvelles choses avec toi. J'espere que tu continues à faire des vidéos comme ça, à propos du "real-life situations." Saluts du Mexique
Salut depuis la France Miguel ! Merci pour ton commentaire. Je vais bien sûr continuer. C'est grâce aux commentaires comme le tien que j'ai la motivation pour revenir chaque semaine ! Continue à regarder et commenter :)
@@FrenchinPlainSight We always have subtitles on when they are available for everything except for the news and live events when they generate too slowly (even in English). It's a habit we've got into, so we can picture the phrases and spellings in our minds' eye. It's something I got my ESL students to do over 16 years of teaching and I find it enriches OUR FLE learning experience (you're ALWAYS learning even after 34 years in a country). Just watched your Subjunctive Video again. I chucked a couple of them into my naturalisation oral exam back in 2014 and got C2 (🥳)! Anyway keep up the good work. Really good stuff 👍👍+1.
@@andrewrobinson2565 great insight into the benefits of subtitles. Thanks for the contribution from your personal and professional experience Andrew. Usually, with the students I target, they need to train their ears and ween themselves off the habit of looking at the subtitles, but of course, at different stages and for different objectives, they can be extremely useful! Congratulations for the C2. Even if I am 9 years late ;)
'On règle ici ou au bar? est très utile, merci beaucoup! I gather it's a rule that menus in France have to be translated into English, but I wondered if that will revert back now we've left the EU? I found I understood the majority of menus in the South of France, but in Rouen I didn't understand much at all! Also I've heard that the idea of the doggy-bag did not go down well in France? The idea being that the food is immaculate, why would you want to eat it in a less than perfect way later on?
I don't think we can generalise that much when it comes to a whole country. Since I've been in France I've been taught and heard the term doggy-bag. It probably depends on the type of establishment. If it's a burger place or thai place or something that's easy to take away there won't be a problem. If it's chic French cuisine they serve, you probably wouldn't ask for it. :)
Merci Alex. Very helpful for real life interactions. It would be slightly better if you gave English translations of the different "prendre" variations. Great location and use of golden hour (or early morning?) light during video.
Thanks for the feedback! Sometimes I like to leave it in French only if my viewers know at least the general meaning on the verb. It can help reduce translation while maintaining understanding. For this exact video I can't remember if that was the reason or not. I may have simply forgotten.
@@FrenchinPlainSight I get it. Not a big deal. For beginners like me sometimes it's good to hear the subtle differences in meaning or politeness that helps me understand the verb or sentence structure better. "Prendre" just happens to be one of those verbs I'm currently trying to understand all the uses and nuances of - which brought me to your vid. Keep up the good work.
Should be "je vous apporte ça" but yes I guess colloquially everyone is using "amène" in France these days. Does anyone know if Canada is also following this trend?
Brilliant stuff, love the information. A long way from being even OK, but last trip I managed to get through most interactions OK. Australian not English seemed to make it easier for them to try English! Back to France in a couple of years, so plenty to time to hone, well, something! BTW J’aime aussi l’emplacement
Alex, merci beaucoup pour cette video. Je peux te demander faire un autre video that deals with how to handle problems in a restaurant? E.g. the check says two glasses of wine but i only had one. OR may I have a sharper knife? OR I dropped my fork. Will you bring another, svp? OR My steak is a little too bloody. Can you svp cook it a little more? These r just some things that may arise. Perhaps u will come up with others?
@@FrenchinPlainSight C'est chouette. I'll be there next week. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of these places in person. Merci pour tous les cours de français
Love it. My partner when in hospital (he is still learning French) said ou est la pistoire svp. I don’t think there’s such a word but they understood. If anyone knows if it’s a valid word please let me know.
Really? That does surprise me. It's probably still les WC because they do always pluralise it. "Où sont les WC ?", but "Où sont les toilettes ?" Is more common here. Are you in France or another francophone country?
Not sure this is exactly on target, but why is it such a struggle to actually get the server to bring you the bill in restaurants in France? Are there polite expressions for increasingly desperate pleas to be able to pay and leave?
This answer is probably coming late but you can say (in a voice as loud as you can, short of shouting) : On peut vous régler, Monsieur ? Or else: Peut-on avoir l'addition s'il vous plaît Madame ?
@@FrenchinPlainSight Dangling modifier. It should be "As an English speaker, I THINK that these really aren't obvious". Another one: "French language is weird (as an English speaker)" should be "French language is weird (FOR ME as an English speaker)".
