Starting French 1 Unité 1
Unité 1 : Bonjour !
Communication
o greeting people
o using courtesy phrases
Grammar
o phrases voici, voilà
o about tu and vous
Culture
o the French language and “la Francophonie”
I. Vocabulaire
Bonjour ! Hello! / Good morning! / Good afternoon!
Salut ! Hi!
Comment ça va ? How are you?
(très) bien (very) well
ça va all right
merci (bien) thank you (very much)
merci beaucoup thanks a lot
s’il vous plait please
II. Dialogues
Dialogue 1
La secrétaire Bonjour, Monsieur.
L’étudiant Bonjour, Madame.
➢ la secrétaire the secretary (woman)
➢ l’étudiant the student
➢ Monsieur (literally) Sir
➢ Madame (literally) Madam
Dialogue 2
Robert Salut, Anne, comment ça va ?
Anne Très bien. Et toi ?
Robert Oh, ça va. Merci.
➢ et toi and you
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Starting French 1 Unité 1
Dialogue 3
Le boulanger Bonjour, Mademoiselle.
Claudia Bonjour, Monsieur.
Un pain, s’il vous plait.
➢ le boulanger the baker
➢ Mademoiselle Miss
➢ un pain a bread
III. Vocabulaire
Bonsoir ! Good evening (after 5p.m.)!
Vous allez bien ? Are you OK?
A tout à l’heure ! See you later!
Au revoir ! Goodbye!
De rien ! Not at all! / Don’t mention it!
Voici … Here is … / Here are …
Voilà … There is … / There are …
C’est … It is …
IV. Dialogues
Dialogue 4
Le garçon de café Bonsoir, Monsieur.
Paul Bonsoir.
Un café, s’il vous plait.
Le garçon de café Certainement, Monsieur.
…
Le garçon de café Voici votre café, Monsieur.
Paul Merci.
➢ le garçon de café the waiter
➢ un café / votre café a coffee / your coffee
➢ certainement certainly
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Dialogue 5
Jacques Bonjour, Madame.
La secrétaire Bonjour.
Jacques Le secrétariat, c’est où ?
La secrétaire C’est ici, jeune homme.
Jacques Ah. Merci bien.
La secrétaire De rien.
… …
Jacques Au revoir, Madame.
➢ le secrétariat the secretariat
➢ où / ici where / here
➢ jeune homme young man
Dialogue 6
Pierre Salut, les gars.
Jean et André Ah, Pierre. Bonjour.
Comment ça va ?
Pierre Bien.
André Tu prends un verre ?
Pierre Oui, pourquoi pas ?
Jean . Voilà ta bière.
Pierre Merci.
➢ les gars guys
➢ tu prends un verre do you have a drink (= you take a glass)
➢ oui, pourquoi pas yes, why not
➢ ta bière your beer
Dialogue 7
Le professeur Bonjour, Mademoiselle.
L’étudiante Bonjour, Monsieur.
Vous allez bien ?
Le professeur Je vais bien. Merci. Et vous ?
L’étudiante Très bien.
A tout à l’heure.
➢ le professeur the teacher, the lecturer
➢ l’étudiante the student (girl)
➢ Mademoiselle Miss
➢ je vais bien I am fine
➢ et vous and you
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V. Schémas
Salut, les gars ! … guys (colloquial)
les copains ! … friends
Bonjour, les amis ! … friends
les filles ! … girls
Bonsoir, les garçons ! … boys
Comment ça va ? Très bien ! Very well!
Ça va ? Bien ! Well!
Ça va ! All right!
Comment vas-tu ? Comme ci comme ça ! So-so!
Tu vas bien ? Pas trop ! Not very well
Mal ! Not well
Comment allez-vous ? Pas du tout ! Not at all!
Vous allez bien ? Je vais bien. I am fine.
VI. Concernant tu et vous (« you »)
Form of address
singulier • a friend, a fellow student Paul, comment vas-tu ?
• a person you are close with Anne, voici ton café.
• a superior, a lecturer Monsieur, comment allez-vous ?
• a person you do not know yet Madame, voici votre café.
pluriel • more than one person Paul et Anne, comment allez-vous ?
Madame, Monsieur, voici vos cafés
It is really important to keep to this distinction between tu and vous in French!
(Source : [Link])
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VII. Vocabulaire structuré
➢ Monsieur ! (literally) Sir!
➢ Madame ! (literally) Madam!
➢ Mademoiselle ! (literally) Miss!
➢ Mesdames, Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs ! Ladies and Gentlemen
➢ Messieurs-Dames ! Good morning/evening Ladies and Gentlemen!
➢ Jeune homme ! Young man!
➢ un secrétaire, une secrétaire a secretary (man, woman)
➢ un étudiant, une étudiante a student (boy, girl)
➢ un ami, une amie a friend (man, woman)
➢ un copain, une copine a friend (boy, girl)
➢ un homme a man
➢ une femme a woman
➢ un monsieur a man, a gentleman
➢ une dame a lady
➢ une demoiselle a young lady
➢ un jeune homme a young man
➢ une jeune fille a young girl
➢ un garçon 1 a boy
2 a waiter
➢ une fille a girl
➢ une bière a (glass of) beer
➢ un café 1 a (cup of) coffee
2 a café
(Source: [Link])
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VIII. Exercices
1. Find the right translation!
1. Voici votre professeur. ✓ There is your coffee.
2. Voilà ton verre. ✓ There is your secretary.
3. Voilà votre café. ✓ Here is your lecturer.
4. Voici votre bière. ✓ Here is your beer.
5. Voilà ta secrétaire. ✓ There is your glass.
2. Fill in the gaps with the correct words!
Dialogue 1 très – Bonjour – bien – merci – Madame
Le secrétaire Bonjour, ______.
Madame Dupont _______, Monsieur.
Le secrétaire Vous allez ____ ?
Madame Dupont Oui, ____ bien, _____ !
Dialogue 2 prends – pourquoi pas – comment – Et toi
Aziz Salut, Thibault, _______ ça va ?
Thibault Ça va. __ ___ ?
Aziz Très bien.
Thibault Tu ______ un café ?
Aziz Oui, ________ ___.
Dialogue 3 De rien – beaucoup – jeune homme – C’est ici – Le secrétariat
Madame Legrand Bonjour, _____ _____.
Julien Bonjour, Madame.
Madame Legrand __ ___________, c’est où ?
Julien _’___ ___, Madame.
Madame Legrand Merci ________, jeune homme.
Julien __ ____, Madame.
Dialogue 4 Merci bien – s’il vous plait – Voici – Mademoiselle – Monsieur
Le garçon de café Bonsoir, ____________.
Sophie Bonsoir, ________.
Un thé, _’__ ____ _____.
…
Le garçon de café Pardon, Mademoiselle. _____ votre thé.
Sophie Ah oui. _____ ____, Monsieur.
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3. Now see if you can translate these sentences into French!
1. How are you?
2. Very well!
3. Thanks a lot!
4. Hello guys!
5. A coffee, please!
6. Certainly, sir!
7. Do you have a drink?
8. It is a woman.
9. Where is the secretariat?
10. There is the waiter.
11. Are you ok, madam?
12. See you later, Thibault!
13. Don’t mention it!
14. Here is a bread.
15. The lecturer and a student.
It might be a good idea to write these sentences into a Word document using the
French spelling checker (le correcteur orthographique de Word)!
4. Make up some dialogues with your neighbour(s)!
• You and the waiter. You would like a coffee or a beer. Be polite!
• You and your lecturer. Greet each other!
• You and your fellow student Marc. Greet him and ask how he is doing!
• You and “Madame Durand”. Ask here were the secretariat is! Thank her!
• You are with a friend and there is your fellow student Monique. Greet each other!
X. Culture : le français et la francophonie
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by most people from France, French-
speaking Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, and the regions of Quebec
and Acadia in Canada, as well as minorities elsewhere. Second language speakers of French
are distributed throughout many parts of the world, the largest numbers of which reside in
Francophone Africa, and the highest proportions being situated in Gabon (80%), Mauritius
(72.7%) and Côte d'Ivoire (70%). French is estimated as having 110 million native speakers
and 190 million second language speakers. Additionally, French is studied as a foreign language
by some 200 million people, making it the second-most studied foreign language in the world,
after English.
French is an official language in 30 countries, most of which form what is called, in French, La
Francophonie, the community of French-speaking countries. It is an official language of all
United Nations agencies and a large number of international organizations. According to the
European Union, 129 million (or 26% of the Union's total population), in 27 member states
speak French, of which 65 million are native speakers and 69 million claim to speak French
either as a second language or as a foreign language, making it the third-most spoken second
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Starting French 1 Unité 1
language in the European Union, after English and German. Twenty percent of non-
Francophone Europeans know how to speak French, totalling roughly 145.6 million people.
From the 17th century to the mid-20th century, French served as the pre-eminent international
language of diplomacy and international affairs, as well as a lingua franca among the educated
classes of Europe. The dominant position of the French language has only recently been
overshadowed by English. As a result of extensive colonial ambitions of France and Belgium
(at that time governed by a French-speaking elite), between the 17th and 20th centuries, French
was introduced to the Americas, Africa, Polynesia, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.
(Source : [Link]
(Source : [Link])
