French · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 3 of 12
At the café
Au café
Order a drink and a croissant in a French café, ask for the bill, and learn when to say tu and when to say vous.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Order food and drink politely
- Ask for the price and the bill
- Choose between tu and vous
- Use un, une, le, la and l' with nouns
Listen
Léa stops at a café in Paris in the morning. Then her friend Hugo arrives. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Waiter
Bonjour. Qu'est-ce que vous prenez ?
Hello. What will you have?
Léa
Un café crème, s'il vous plaît.
A coffee with milk, please.
Waiter
Autre chose ?
Anything else?
Léa
Non, merci. C'est combien ?
No, thanks. How much is it?
Waiter
Trois euros cinquante.
Three euros fifty.
Hugo
Salut, Léa. Ça va ?
Hi, Léa. How are you?
Léa
Salut, Hugo. Ça va, et toi ? Tu prends un café ?
Hi, Hugo. Fine, and you? Are you having a coffee?
Hugo
Non, un thé et un croissant.
No, a tea and a croissant.
Léa
Monsieur, un thé et un croissant, s'il vous plaît. Et l'addition.
Excuse me, a tea and a croissant, please. And the bill.
Waiter
Très bien.
Certainly.
Understand
Tu or vous?
You met the two words for “you” in chapter 1. Use with one friend, a family member or a child. Use with strangers, staff and older people: it's the polite form.
is also the only way to say “you” to a group of people, even your closest friends. If you're not sure, use : nobody will be offended.
That's why Léa says to the waiter () and to Hugo (, ). The verb changes too: , but (see below).
| In English | (friendly) | (polite or plural) |
|---|---|---|
| Use it with | one friend, family, a child | strangers, staff, older people, any group |
| What will you have? | ||
| And you? | ||
| Please |
Masculine or feminine: un, une, le, la, l'
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, even things like coffee or water. Masculine nouns take (a) and (the). Feminine nouns take and .
Before a vowel or a silent h, both and become l': , . You can't hear the gender any more, so learn these nouns with or : .
Listen for the difference: is a nasal vowel with no clear n, while ends with a clear n sound.
| Meaning | masculine | feminine |
|---|---|---|
| a, an | ||
| the | ||
| the, before a vowel | () | () |
Prendre: to take, to have
In a café, (to take) means “to have”: (I'll have a coffee). You met in chapter 2. is irregular, so learn its forms by heart.
, and all sound the same: “pra(n)”, with a nasal vowel. In you hear the n: “pren”. (to understand) works the same way: , .
| Subject | (to take, to have) |
|---|---|
| I | |
| you (to a friend) | |
| he / she / we () | / / |
| we | |
| you (polite or plural) | |
| they | / |
- Qu'est-ce que vous prenez ?What will you have? (polite)
- On prend un café ?Shall we have a coffee?
More in the grammar: Articles: le, la, les, un, une, des, du · Nouns: masculine, feminine and plural · Subject pronouns: je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles · The French alphabet and pronunciation
New words
- qu'est-ce que vous prenez ?what will you have? (polite)
- le cafécoffee · also “café”, the place
- le café crèmecoffee with hot frothy milk
- s'il vous plaîtplease (polite) · sounds like “seel voo pleh”; to a friend:
- autre chose ?anything else?
- tu prends… ?are you having…? (to a friend)
- et toi ?and you? (to a friend)
- le thétea
- le croissantcroissant · sounds like “krwah-sa(n)”
- l'additionthe bill · feminine:
- l'eauwater · feminine: , a mineral water
- la tartineslice of bread with butter or jam
- le chocolat chaudhot chocolate
- le serveur / la serveusewaiter / waitress
Practise
1.You're talking to two friends at once. Which “you” do you use?
2.You're talking to your friend Hugo. How do you ask what he's having?
3.Ask the waiter for the bill politely.
The bill, please.
4.Write the word for “a”: or ?
I'll have a slice of bread and butter.
5.Put the words in order to order a coffee.
Tap the words below in the right order.A coffee with milk, please.
6.Match the French with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Un café crème, s'il vous plaît.
A coffee with milk, please.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.