¶ Welcome to the Language Theater
Bienvenue. Welcome to the language theatre. Come in, come in, take your seat and get ready for a unique experience. My name is Jean-Paul and I will take you through this masterful play. I hope you will enjoy the performance and learn to understand and even speak French by the end of the play. Oh, and by the way, it's a long play. From one act to the next, you will learn the language, discover nuances of French culture,
and experience the thrill of a theatrical performance in the language you are learning. Oui, oui, we start with just a few words of French in Act I. But by the end of our play, most of the acts will be performed in French. Oh, what a thrill it is to enjoy a play in French. Now... a few words about the format of the show, or course, if you will. A French teacher, Valérie, gives one-on-one lessons. The students who come for the lessons have very little knowledge of French, almost none.
From the first lesson to the last, they will learn to the extent that each one of them will be able to understand and speak French well. You are cordially invited to enjoy the language theater. and learn French with our students. Well, let's begin Act 1. Valérie, our French teacher, is waiting for her student, Jack.
¶ Meeting Valérie and Jack's Motivation
This is the first time Valérie and Jack meet in person. Bonjour, êtes-vous Jacques? Excuse me? Hello? Are you Jacques? Oh, right. Bonjour. Oui, oui. Je suis Jacques. Très bien. Please, come on in. It is very nice to meet you. And I'm glad... that you want to learn French. Thank you, Valerie. Well, let's start our first lesson. Thank you so much for taking me as a student. You are most welcome, Jacques.
But before we start, tell me a little about yourself. You have studied French before, right? In school, if it counts. I just remember a few words like Bonjour. Je m'appelle Jacques. S'il vous plaît, merci, au revoir. Very good. But I'm very serious about studying. Excellent. May I ask you why you have decided to go back to studying French? I would like to know what your goals are so that I can successfully design a course for you. Sure. You see...
I have this idea. It's a business idea, and I'll need a good knowledge of French. And, I may add, French culture. Oh, it's intriguing. What is that? Is that a secret? It's a French restaurant. I want to open a French restaurant. Ah bon? Really? I have so many ideas about this restaurant, so it's going to be great. But I really need to be able to speak French, and I need to know cultural nuances to design a great menu. Well, good luck. Bonne chance. Merci. Well...
Let's not waste time. Let's start learning.
¶ Introduction to the Verb Être
Our first grammar lesson will be about the verb to be. In French, le verbe être. Think about the conjugated form of to be. in English. I am, you are, she is, he is and so on. It doesn't really sound like a variation of to be, right? In French It's the same with the verb être. It's an irregular verb. So, you won't really hear être once we start conjugating it. This is être in the present. I am. Je suis. You are. Tu es. She is. Il, elle, est. We are. You are.
you probably noticed that i said you are twice in english but gave two different translations in french tu es and vous êtes Yes. One of these is informal UR and the other formal. But we will talk about it later today. And now let's start speaking French.
¶ Practicing Être and Tu vs Vous
Just like that? Well, I will try to use French as much as I can. And if you feel confident, you answer in French. Well... Let's try. Merci, Valérie. Je suis Jacques. Je suis... Vous êtes un entrepreneur. Oui, oui. Je suis un entrepreneur. And nous sommes in a class learning French. Something is coming back, Valerie. Très bien. You are doing very well. Give me more examples, Jacques. Je suis... Je suis...
Not easy to start speaking French just like that. Because you are a... Je suis... I'm a... Because je suis a picker. Je suis a grinner. Je suis a lover. Playing my music in the sun. I love Steve Miller Band. Je suis a joker. Je suis a smoker. Très bien! In French, il est et elle est. Il est a doctor. Elle est a teacher. Il est médecin. Elle est professeur. Très bien. Continue.
Il est smart and il est tall, il est interesting and il est funny. I think you already said il est funny. Okay, il est very funny. Now... Elle est blonde and elle est French. Elle est a student, elle est a friend. Excellent! He and she seem to be very nice people. Well... That's enough for the first lesson. Let's take a quick break and then we will continue. And ils sont. So, Jacques, we already talked about je suis, il est and elle est. Now, let's practice tu es.
Nous sommes. Vous êtes. Ils sont. And elles sont. What is tu es? It's you are. Bien. What about nous sommes and vous êtes? Nous sommes is we are and vous êtes is you are. So... What's the difference between tu es and vous êtes if they both mean you are? Excellent, Jacques. There is another use for... Vous êtes, or just vous. It's the polite or formal you. You should use vous and not tu.
with a person you don't know. Par exemple, in your case, you should use vous with new business contacts, new employees. You should use VU when there is a difference in hierarchy. For example, with your boss. Aha, that's good. I don't have one. With your teacher. Ah, bon? Oui, Jacques. Even teachers can choose to address their students using vous if they are adolescents. It's a sign of respect. So...
If I'm talking to you, I would say Vous êtes professeur de français. Vous êtes française. Exactement. And I will address you saying... Jacques, vous êtes Américain. Vous êtes restaurateur. Vous êtes en classe de français. OK. Nous sommes very polite. Valerie, vous êtes un bon professeur de français. Merci, Jacques. Vous êtes un bon étudiant. Try. Ils sont. Or. Excellent! You are chic also, Valerie. Et vous êtes gentil, Jacques.
¶ Learning the Expression À Bon!
Now, we move to a new segment. French expressions. If you want to speak as French do, Jacques, you have to use French expressions. I know. Lots of them. I know, I know. I spent a few months in Paris learning French cuisine and working on my restaurant idea. I know how frequently French people use them. It's like in my neighborhood.
in brooklyn new york where i grew up i swear we could throw out all the words and get away only with expressions get out of here yeah yeah that's it that's one of them well let's get started then The first French expression we will learn is à bon. À bon? Oui, à bon. It's most of the time translated, really? But... It can be translated in many other ways in English. Generally, we use it to express surprise, but also to acknowledge what someone just said.
In this case, it won't really sound like a question. Just like, really? It isn't always a question. Sometimes, it just means, I see. If you go to France, you will hear it a lot. Well, now that we have gone over the grammar lesson and the vocabulary words, do you think... I'm not sure. Je ne suis pas prêt. That's how you would say, I am not ready. Ah bon? Don't be shy. Just go with your story. Whatever you can say in French, say it in French.
Switch to English if you can't find words. Just don't stop. Well, let's try.
¶ Exploring Jack's Restaurant Concept
Très bien, Jacques. Couples would come on a first date and use the food, la cuisine, to tell about themselves. Le menu will feature items... to help them do just that. For example, par exemple, si un client est prêt to settle down and get married, he could order A classic plat principal, such as roast beef et purée de pomme de terre fait maison. Ah bon? Why would roast beef... send the message that he is ready to settle down. Ah bon? Isn't that obvious? Not to me. But gone.
Je suis hooked. Ah bon? No, I mean, really? Oui, oui. It's an orthodox idea. Je suis hooked. And je suis intrigued. Well, let me ask you this. If une cliente wants to warn a date that she likes... Le luxe. What could you order? In this case, caviar russe et blimmies est un bon choix. What if elle est... Temperamental? Maybe un dessert, les truffles au chocolat amer. Wow! You have a real food conversation going on in your restaurant?
That's the idea. It's better than sitting and feeling awkward on your first date. I agree. Let's continue. Si elle est passionée. Passionate? She can... Comment dit? Are you trying to describe someone in particular? Elle likes le luxe. Elle est temperamental. Elle est passionnée. Es-tu that client? Non, non, Jacques. Who pays l'addition in your restaurant? Le serveur or la serveuse can't allow la cliente.
¶ Conclusion of Act One
Ah bon? Je suis a little old-fashioned. Well, mes amis, my friends, this is the end of Act One. I hope you are as enthusiastic about learning French as our friend Jack, or, as Valérie calls him, Jacques. Study the lessons on our website. and then listen to the grammar and expressions dialogue. Do not neglect the grammar and pronunciation exercises either. The curtain is down. The intermission begins. We'll see you soon in Act 2. À bientôt!