French · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 2
MerciThank you
The words that smooth every conversation: merci and de rien, s'il vous plaît, and two ways to apologise — pardon (a small bump) and excusez-moi (more polite, to get attention). We add ça va, the everyday all-purpose phrase.
Dialogue
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Merci— Saying Thanks
- LucasUn café, s'il te plaît.A coffee, please.
- CamilleOui, voilà !Yes, here you go!
- LucasMerci, Camille !Thank you, Camille!
- CamilleDe rien, Lucas.You're welcome, Lucas.
Dialogue
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Pardon, ça va ?— Sorry, how are you?
- LucasExcusez-moi ! Pardon. Ça va ?Excuse me! Sorry. Are you all right?
- CamilleOui, ça va !Yes, I'm fine!
- LucasMerci ! À bientôt.Thanks! See you soon.
- CamilleÀ bientôt ! Au revoir.See you soon! Goodbye.
Vocabulary
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- merci
interjectionthank you
- de rien
interjectionyou're welcome
- s'il vous plaît
phraseplease (formal)
- pardon
interjectionsorry, excuse me
- excusez-moi
phraseexcuse me
- bienvenue
interjectionwelcome
- ça va
phrasehow's it going / I'm fine
- bien
adverbwell, good
Grammar
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S'il te plaît, s'il vous plaît
Explanation
The polite formula comes in two versions, and it is not that one is more polite than the other: the person in front of you decides. French has two ways of addressing someone. To a friend, to family, to anyone you would say salut to, it is te: s'il te plaît. To a stranger, to someone older, to a shopkeeper — or to several people at once — it is vous: s'il vous plaît. Lucas says s'il te plaît to Camille because they are friends; at a café counter the same request becomes s'il vous plaît. For now, keep both formulas as they are; the full system comes later. And when someone thanks you, the ordinary reply is de rien: the favour doesn't count, say no more about it.
Examples
- S'il te plaît, Camille. (à une amie)S'il te plaît, Camille. (to a friend)
- S'il vous plaît ! (à un inconnu, ou à plusieurs personnes)S'il vous plaît! (to a stranger, or to several people)
- Merci, Camille ! — De rien, Lucas.Merci, Camille! — De rien, Lucas.
Grammar
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Excusez-moi, pardon, ça va?
Explanation
To approach someone, French has two words, and they do different jobs. Excusez-moi stops the person: you say it before asking a stranger for something. Pardon is for a small collision — you bump into someone, you squeeze past them — and also, on its own, to ask someone to repeat. Lucas uses both at the top of the dialogue: he hails her, then apologises. Then comes ça va, the everyday all-purpose phrase. The same two words serve as the question and as the answer, and nothing moves between them: only the voice changes, exactly as with "D'accord ?". Ça va ? rises at the end; Ça va ! falls. To say a little more, add bien: Ça va bien.
Examples
- Excusez-moi ! (pour interpeller un inconnu)Excusez-moi! (to get a stranger's attention)
- Pardon. (un petit accroc, ou pour faire répéter)Pardon. (a small bump, or to ask someone to repeat)
- Ça va ? — Oui, ça va bien, merci !Ça va? — Oui, ça va bien, merci!
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