French · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 7 of 12
Clothes and shopping
Les vêtements
Buy clothes: say your size, ask to try things on, point with ce, cette, ces and replace nouns with le, la, les.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say your size and ask to try something on
- Point to things with ce, cet, cette and ces
- Replace a noun with le, la, l' or les
Listen
Sébastien is looking for a winter jacket in a clothes shop in Nancy. A shop assistant helps him. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Assistant
Bonjour, monsieur. Je peux vous aider ?
Hello. Can I help you?
Sébastien
Oui, je cherche une veste pour l'hiver.
Yes, I'm looking for a winter jacket.
Assistant
Nous avons ces vestes, en bleu, en noir ou en gris. Vous faites quelle taille ?
We have these jackets, in blue, black or grey. What size are you?
Sébastien
Je fais du 50. Je peux essayer cette veste bleue ?
I'm a 50. Can I try on this blue jacket?
Assistant
Bien sûr. La cabine est là-bas, à gauche.
Of course. The changing room is over there, on the left.
Sébastien
Elle est un peu petite. Vous l'avez en 52 ?
It's a bit small. Do you have it in a 52?
Assistant
Oui, je vais la chercher… Voilà.
Yes, I'll go and get it… Here you are.
Sébastien
Ah, elle est parfaite. Elle coûte combien ?
Ah, it's perfect. How much is it?
Assistant
Cent vingt euros. Et ce pull gris, vous voulez l'essayer ? Il est en soldes.
A hundred and twenty euros. And this grey jumper, would you like to try it on? It's in the sale.
Sébastien
Non, merci, je ne le prends pas. Mais la veste, je la prends. Je peux payer par carte ?
No, thank you, I won't take it. But I'll take the jacket. Can I pay by card?
Assistant
Oui, bien sûr.
Yes, of course.
Understand
This and these: ce, cet, cette, ces
To point to something, use before a masculine noun, before a feminine noun and in the plural. Before a masculine noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h, becomes : , . and sound the same.
can mean “this jumper” or “that jumper”. To make the difference clear, add -ci (here) or -là (there) after the noun: , .
| Noun | this / that, these / those | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ||
| masculine, before a vowel | ||
| feminine | ||
| plural |
It and them: le, la, l', les
To avoid repeating a noun, replace it with (masculine), (feminine) or (plural). Before a vowel, and become l'. These object pronouns can mean “it”, “him”, “her” or “them”:
The pronoun goes before the verb, not after it as in English: (I'll take it). In the negative, comes before the pronoun: . When there's an infinitive, the pronoun goes just before it: ,
- Le pull ? Je le prends.The jumper? I'll take it.
- Les chaussures ? Je les essaie.The shoes? I'll try them on.
- Vous l'avez en 52 ?Do you have it in a 52?
- Je ne la prends pas.I won't take it.
Sizes and trying on
To give your size, use + number: For shoes, the size is : To ask for a colour or a size, use :
If something doesn't fit, say (it's too big) or (it's too small). If it looks good, the assistant may say (It suits you).
| French | English |
|---|---|
| shirt | |
| trousers | |
| skirt | |
| dress | |
| T-shirt | |
| shoes |
More in the grammar: Object pronouns: le, la, les, lui, leur
New words
- je peux vous aider ?can I help you?
- chercherto look for · : I'll go and get it
- la vestejacket
- en bleuin blue
- ouor · , with an accent, means “where”
- la taillesize
- je fais du 50I'm a (size) 50
- essayerto try, to try on
- la cabinechanging room
- un peua bit, a little
- le pulljumper
- en soldesin the sale, reduced
- payer par carteto pay by card
Practise
1.Which word goes with (masculine, silent h)?
2.Complete with , , or .
Can I try on these shoes?
3.Replace with a pronoun: “I'll take it.”
The jacket? I'll take it.
4.The shop assistant asks What does she want to know?
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.I won't take it.
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
Je peux essayer cette veste ?
Can I try on this jacket?
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.