Assimil · French

Contents

Course 03

Présentations

Introductions

A compact lesson on naming yourself, introducing someone else, asking questions with inversion, and locating people by region.

22 minSophie introduces Loïc, and the conversation shifts to where each person comes from.

Dialogue

1

Je me présente : je m'appelle Sophie Mercier.

IPA/ʒə mə pʁezɑ̃t ʒə mapɛl sɔfi mɛʁsje/

2

Et voici mon ami Loïc Le Gall. Il est breton.

IPA/e vwasi mɔ̃n‿ami lɔik lə gal il ɛ bʁətɔ̃/

3

Et vous, êtes-vous bretonne aussi ?

IPA/e vu ɛt vu bʁətɔn osi/

4

Pas du tout, je suis de Nîmes, dans le Midi de la France.

IPA/pa dy tu ʒə sɥi də nim dɑ̃ lə midi də la fʁɑ̃s/

5

Mais maintenant nous sommes parisiens.

IPA/mɛ mɛ̃t(ə)nɑ̃ nu sɔm paʁizjɛ̃/

Vocabulary

je me présente

let me introduce myself

je m'appelle

my name is

voici

here is

mon ami

my friend

breton / bretonne

Breton (masculine / feminine)

pas du tout

not at all

je suis de...

I am from...

le Midi

the south of France

maintenant

now

Exercises

Exercise 1

Translate from audio.

Prompt 1

My name is Loïc.

Hint: Use the reflexive form from line 1.

Prompt 2

And here are my two friends.

Hint: Start with `Et voici...`

Prompt 3

Are you Parisian?

Hint: Use inversion with `être`.

Prompt 4

Not at all! I'm Breton.

Hint: Keep the emphatic opening phrase.

Prompt 5

He is from Nîmes too.

Hint: Use `de` for origin and keep `aussi` at the end.

Exercise 2

Fill in the missing words.

Prompt 1

I'm Breton and she's Breton, too.

Je suis
et elle est
.

Hint: Use the masculine form first, then the feminine form plus `aussi`.

Prompt 2

We are Parisians.

parisiens.

Hint: Use the `nous` form of `être`.

Prompt 3

Are you from Nîmes?

-vous
Nîmes ?

Hint: Use the inverted question form again.

Prompt 4

I'm called Sophie. And you?

Je
Sophie. Et vous ?

Hint: Use the standard naming formula.

Prompt 5

I'm now at the third lesson.

Je suis maintenant à la
leçon.

Hint: Use the feminine ordinal form to agree with `leçon`.

After the lesson

France is a huge country, the largest in western Europe, with an incredibly varied landscape ranging from the rugged granite cliffs of Bretagne, Brittany, to the lush olive groves of southern France. We will learn more about the French regions as we progress: today we've met a Breton and a woman from the area known as le Midi, another word for the south of France. If you arrive by train in the Belgian capital, Brussels, one of the two main stations is Bruxelles-Midi, so called because it is in the south of the city.