The French language can be a headache, especially for beginners. So, here you are, you have launched yourself into your French learning journey. Although, one question comes in mind…Where should you start?
The answer is actually quite simple… the basics! Learning how to speak French and being able to converse with French people requires you to master the basics of dialogues. What would be the first thing that comes to your mind when you meet someone new? You greet them and you introduce yourself.
So let us now take a look at those basics.
Greetings
“How do I introduce myself to French speakers?”
Well… first of all, let’s take a look at this short dialog:
«Bonjour!
– Bonjour, comment allez-vous?
– Je vais bien, merci, et vous?
– Je vais bien, merci! »
Have you noticed anything in particular? Which words do you already know? “Bonjour” (hello) and “merci” (thank you) ? Probably. If not, there you go! Could you guess what this short dialogue was about?
Greetings, yes.
Even though you don’t speak French yet, you probably have guessed the meaning of this dialogue. One of the most important tips that I can give you during your French learning journey, is that you should NOT translate every word one by one, in a sentence. Why is that?
Because French and English (or your native language) are different languages. Of course, some words are similar or even identical (restaurant, office, important…), but they may not mean the same thing. And if they do mean the same thing, well, there’s almost no chance for you to get the exact sentence correctly if you ever happen to translate it word per word. Languages, even similar languages, have different structures that you need learn first.
How do you do it, then? Just take a step back. Look at the sentence or the paragraph. Try to find the words that you already know or recognize and take a guess. If you still don’t have a clue about what you’re reading, THEN, you can take a look into your dictionary.
But let’s go back to our greetings. “Bonjour” means “hello”. Here are other ways to say “hello” in French:
Salut = hi (informal)
Coucou = hey (informal)
Bonsoir = good evening
How are you?
Secondly, you may consider asking the person how they’re doing. There are several ways of asking someone how they’re doing, in French.
“Comment allez-vous?”
Lit. How are you going? But would mean How are you doing?
In a formal question.
“Comment vas-tu?”
Also means How are you going? (How are you doing?)
“Allez-vous” and “vas-tu” are both coming from the verb “aller” which means to go. Here’s how you should conjugate it:
Je vais (I go)
Tu vas (You go)
Il / Elle va (He / She goes)
Nous allons (We go)
Vous allez (You go, plural)
Ils / Elles vont (They (masculine) / They (feminine) go)
“Allez-vous” is basically “vous allez”, but inverted. Same thing for “vas-tu”. The inversion is how you ask a formal question in French. The difference between “comment allez-vous” and “comment vas-tu” lies on the pronoun used. “Vous” means “you”, in plural.
However, this particular pronoun is also used during formal situations, such as addressing someone you’ve just met, someone you don’t really know yet or simply someone higher in your hierarchy. This is called “le vouvoiement”, or the verb “vouvoyer”, which you can check out here in this article.
“Comment ça va?”
Lit. How is it going?
Less formal, you can hear and use this in everyday French.
“Ça va?”
Lit. Is it going?
Informal situations, everyday French.
Say your name
Thirdly, let’s take a look at how to really introduce yourself.
«Bonjour!
– Bonjour, comment allez-vous?
– Je vais bien, merci, et vous?
– Je vais bien, merci! Comment vous appelez-vous?
– Je m’appelle Louis, et vous?
– Enchanté, Louis! Je m’appelle Marc.
– Enchanté, Marc! »
To say your name in French, you will use :
Je m’appelle …
This literally means : I call myself.
In French, to say your name, you will have to say “I call myself” + your name. Unlike in English, it’s not very common to hear “mon nom est” (my name is) during introductions in French, which brings me to my first point: never translate word per word. Furthermore, here’s how you should conjugate the verb “s’appeler” (to call oneself) at the present tense :
Je m’appelle (I call myself)
Tu t’appelles (You call yourself)
Il / Elle s’appelle (He / She calls himself / herself)
Nous nous appelons (We call ourselves)
Vous vous appelez (You call yourselves OR formal You call yourself)
Ils / Elles s’appellent (They call themselves)
Side note:
Have you noticed the extra pronoun between the subject and the verb?
Je m’appelle
Tu t’appelles…
Those are called reflexive pronouns and they apply to reflexive verbs in French, but we will go further into that matter in another lesson. In addition, you’ve guessed it, “s’appeler” is called a reflexive verb.
To ask for somebody’s name, you have different possibilities:
“Comment vous appelez-vous?” (How do you call yourself? – formal)
“Comment t’appelles-tu?” (Same, but informal situations)
“Comment tu t’appelles?” (How do you call yourself? – very informal)
“Quel est votre nom?” (What is your name?)
“Quel est ton nom?” (What is your name?- informal)
Some extra vocabulary : enchanté = nice to meet you.
Lit. “thrilled” (to meet you).
Saying goodbye
Finally, the last element that you need to master is saying goodbye. There is always a goodbye.
« Je suis enchanté de faire votre connaissance, Marc.
– Moi aussi !
– Passez une bonne journée, au revoir!
– Au revoir et bonne journée! »
Translation (by context, not literal translation):
” It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marc.”
” The same goes for me! ”
” Have a nice day, goodbye! “
“Goodbye, have a nice day! “
Would you care to take a look at the vocabulary?
Passez une bonne journée / bonne journée = Have a nice day
Au revoir = goodbye
Of course, here are other ways of parting ways with somebody:
Bon après-midi = Have a nice afternoon
Bonne soirée = Have a nice evening
Bonne nuit = Good night
Ciao = bye (informal)
Your turn!
Bravo! You should now be able to say hello, introduce yourself and say goodbye in French. If you ever feel like sharing your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment down below and join the discussion! Until then, au revoir et passez une bonne journée!
