French · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 4 of 12
Getting around
Se déplacer en ville
Ask where places are in a French town, understand simple directions and say what there is nearby with il y a.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Ask where a place is
- Understand left, right and straight on
- Ask questions with est-ce que and question words
- Say what there is nearby with il y a
Listen
Marc is visiting Bordeaux. He stops a woman in the street to ask the way. They don't know each other, so they use vous. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Marc
Excusez-moi, madame. Où est la gare, s'il vous plaît ?
Excuse me. Where is the station, please?
Nathalie
La gare ? Allez tout droit, puis tournez à gauche.
The station? Go straight on, then turn left.
Marc
Tout droit, puis à gauche. C'est loin ?
Straight on, then left. Is it far?
Nathalie
Non, c'est à dix minutes à pied.
No, it's a ten-minute walk.
Marc
Merci. Et est-ce qu'il y a une pharmacie près d'ici ?
Thank you. And is there a pharmacy near here?
Nathalie
Oui, il y a une pharmacie sur la place, là-bas, à droite.
Yes, there's a pharmacy on the square, over there, on the right.
Marc
Merci beaucoup, madame.
Thank you very much.
Nathalie
De rien. Bonne journée.
You're welcome. Have a good day.
Understand
Asking questions
The simplest way to ask a yes/no question is to say a normal sentence and let your voice rise at the end: You can also put (literally “is it that”) at the start. It doesn't change the meaning, it just shows that you're asking. Before a vowel, it becomes est-ce qu':
To ask for information, use a question word. Où est… ? means “where is…?”, and for more than one thing you say Où sont… ? (where are…?). The in (chapter 3) is (what) + .
(which, what) goes with a masculine noun and with a feminine one. Both sound the same:
| Question word | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| where | ||
| when | ||
| how | ||
| how much, how many | ||
| who | ||
| what | ||
| why | ||
| / | which, what |
Il y a, and more than one: les, des
means both “there is” and “there are”: It's often followed by , or, for more than one thing, (some). is the plural of both and .
For the plural, , and l' all become , and most nouns add an s. You can't hear this s: (the street) and end with exactly the same sound, so the article tells you it's plural. Before a vowel, and make a liaison: sounds like “lay-zuh-roh”.
| Meaning | one | more than one |
|---|---|---|
| the (masculine) | ||
| the (feminine) | ||
| the (before a vowel) | ||
| a, some (masculine) | ||
| a, some (feminine) |
- Où sont les toilettes ?Where are the toilets?
- Il y a des cafés près de la gare.There are some cafés near the station.
Giving directions
Directions use the polite form of the verb, without the word : (go), (turn), (take).
Don't mix up (straight on) and (on the right). In , the final t is silent: “drwah”. In , the e makes you pronounce the t: “drwat”. This is a general rule: a consonant followed by a final e is heard.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| on the left, left | |
| on the right, right | |
| straight on | |
| Go straight on. | |
| Turn right. | |
| Take the first street on the left. | |
| Take the second street on the right. |
More in the grammar: Articles: le, la, les, un, une, des, du · Asking questions · Être and avoir: to be and to have · Nouns: masculine, feminine and plural · The French alphabet and pronunciation · The imperative: giving instructions
New words
- excusez-moiexcuse me (polite)
- où est… ?where is…?
- la garerailway station
- allez tout droitgo straight on
- puisthen, next
- tournez à gaucheturn left
- loinfar · the opposite is (near): , near here
- à piedon foot
- il y athere is, there are
- la pharmaciepharmacy, chemist's
- sur la placeon the square · : on; : square (in a town)
- là-basover there
- merci beaucoupthank you very much · : a lot, very much
- de rienyou're welcome
Practise
1.Someone tells you Which way do you go?
2.You don't know if there's a pharmacy in this part of town. What do you ask?
3.Complete the question: “Where are the toilets?”
Where are the toilets?
4.Complete the sentence: “There's a café on the square.”
There's a café on the square.
5.Put the words in order to ask the way.
Tap the words below in the right order.Where is the station, 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
Excusez-moi, où est la gare, s'il vous plaît ?
Excuse me, where is the station, 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.