Ce monsieur s'appelle Jérôme Laforge et cette dame est sa femme.
IPA/sə məsjø sapɛl ʒeʁom lafɔʁʒ e sɛt dam ɛ sa fam/
Assimil · French
ContentsCourse 09
À la mairie
At the Town Hall
A couple asks for a new identity card for their son and answers basic administrative questions at the town hall.
21 minAt a local town hall counter, an official checks a child's name, age, and home situation.
Dialogue
Ils sont à la mairie pour demander une nouvelle carte d'identité pour leur fils.
IPA/il sɔ̃.t‿a la mɛʁi puʁ dəmɑ̃de yn nuvɛl kaʁt didɑ̃tite puʁ lœʁ fis/
Quel âge a cet enfant ?
IPA/kɛl ɑʒ a sɛ.t‿ɑ̃fɑ̃/
Il a huit ans, monsieur.
IPA/il a ɥi.t‿ɑ̃ məsjø/
Et il s'appelle Laforge ? Est-ce que c'est votre enfant ?
IPA/e il sapɛl lafɔʁʒ ɛs kə sɛ vɔtʁ ɑ̃fɑ̃/
Oui, monsieur.
IPA/wi məsjø/
Bien. Et il habite chez vous ?
IPA/bjɛ̃ e il abit ʃe vu/
Mais évidemment, avec moi et sa mère !
IPA/mɛ.z‿evidamɑ̃ avɛk mwa e sa mɛʁ/
Vocabulary
la mairie
the town hall
un monsieur
a gentleman / man
s'appeler
to be called
une dame
a lady
une femme
a wife / woman
demander
to ask / to ask for
nouveau / nouvelle
new
une carte d'identité
an identity card
un fils
a son
quel âge ?
how old? / what age?
un enfant
a child
huit ans
eight years old
évidemment
obviously / of course
chez vous
at your place / with you
une mère
a mother
Exercises
Exercise 1
Translate from audio.
Prompt 1
How old is this child? - He is nine years old.
Hint: Use `Quel âge a`, then answer with `Il a neuf ans`.
Prompt 2
This gentleman is called Jérôme and this lady is called Marie.
Hint: Use `ce monsieur`, `cette dame`, and `s'appelle` for each person.
Prompt 3
I am living at a friend's in Lyon.
Hint: `Chez un ami` means at a friend's place.
Prompt 4
Is this your identity card?
Hint: Start with `Est-ce que`, then use `votre carte d'identité`.
Prompt 5
Yes, obviously!
Hint: Use the short answer `Oui`, then the adverb from the dialogue.
Exercise 2
Fill in the missing words.
Prompt 1
This gentleman, this lady and this child are Breton.
monsieur,
dame et
enfant sont bretons.
Hint: Choose the demonstrative form that fits each noun.
Prompt 2
Here is Henri and his wife. How are you?
Henri et
femme. Comment
?
Hint: Start with `Voici`, then use the familiar greeting question.
Prompt 3
How old is this woman? - She is twenty years old.
femme ? - Elle
vingt
.
Hint: Use the age question frame and `avoir` for the answer.
Prompt 4
I'm doing my job, that's all.
Je
, c'est tout.
Hint: Use the full phrase for doing my work.
Prompt 5
He lives with us.
Il
nous.
Hint: Use `chez` before the pronoun.
After the lesson
La mairie
La mairie, from the personal noun un maire, a mayor, is the equivalent of a town hall. In major cities, each arrondissement has its own mairie, and the principal administrative centre is called l'hôtel de ville. La mairie plays a vital part in community life: citizens register births, marriages and deaths there, and they also renew la carte nationale d'identité, or national identity card (see next lesson), which has to be produced for official purposes (voting, identity checks, etc.) and, sometimes, when picking up a registered letter or parcel, etc.