french expressions i

8/12/2019 French Expressions I

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InvitationsFrench Expressions

There are a number of different ways to extend, accept, and refuse invitations in French,

both formally and informally.

Extending an invitation

In the following phrases, ... must be filled in with an infinitive in French, whereas theEnglish might take the infinitive or the gerund, depending on the sentence.

Informal Formal

Je t'invite ... I invite youto...

Je vous invite ... I invite you to...

Tu es libre ? Are you free? tes-vous libre ? Are you free?

Tu as enviede...?

Do you feellike...?

Avez-vous envie de... Do you want to...?

Viens donc... Come onand...

Venez donc... Come and...

Cela te diraitde...?

How does...sound?

Nous serions trs heureux devous y accueillir (chez nous).

We would be veryhappy to welcome you(to our home).

Et si on(mange, voitun film, etc.)?

How about(eating, seeinga movie, etc.)?

Vous nous feriez trs plaisirsi vous pouviez nousconsacrer une soire.

We would be delightedif you could spend anevening with us.

Accepting an invitation

D'accord. OK. Je vous remercie. Thank you.

Bonne ide ! Good idea! J'accepte avec plaisir. I'm glad to accept.

Oui, je suislibre.

Yes, I'm free. Cela me ferait grand plaisir. I would be delighted.

a va tresympa !

That'll be nice! C'est gentil (de votre part). That's kind (of you).

a va tregnial !

That'll be cool! Je viendrai avec plaisir. I will be glad to come.

Declining an invitation

Dsol, mais... I'm sorry,but...

Je suis pris. I'm otherwise engaged.

C'estdommage,mais...

It's too bad,but...

C'est gentil, mais... That's kind, but...

Je ne suis paslibre.

I'm not free Je ne peux pas me librer. I'm unavoidably busy.

Je suis occup. I'm busy. J'ai quelque chose de prvu. I have somethingplanned.

Je ne peux pas. I can't. Je me vois malheureusementoblig de refuser.

Unfortunately, I'mobliged to decline.


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French vocabulary related to invitations

inviter to invite

accepter (avec plaisir) to (gladly) accept

refuser to declineaccueillir to welcome

une invitation Invitation


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Obligation and NecessityFrench Expressions

There are many French words and expressions related to obligation and necessity.

Expressions followed by the infinitive

avoir besoin de to have to

avoir le (triste) devoir de* to have the (sad) duty of, (to regret to)

Devoir must, to have to, to be supposed to

tre cens to be meant/supposed to

tre forc to have to

tre oblig de, se trouver oblig de to have to, to be obliged to

tre de son devoir de to be one's duty to

Il est indispensible de It's indispensible to

Il est ncessaire de It's necessary to

Il est obligatoire de It's mandatory to

Il me faut I need to

Il m'incombe de* It falls to me to

Il revient moi de It falls to me to

mettre qn dans l'obligation/la ncessit de

faire

to compel s.o. to do s.t.

ne pas pouvoir faire autrement que de to have no choice but to

obliger qqun to require s.o. to

se voir contraint de* to be compelled to

se voir dans l'obligation de* to be obliged to

* These expressions are very formal and are usually written, not spoken

Expressions followed by the subjunctive

demander que to ask that

exiger que to insist that

il est obligatoire que it's mandatory that

il est ncessaire que it's necessary that

il est indispensible que it's essential that

il faut que it is necessary that


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Adjectives related to obligation and necessity

Absolument absolutely, really

au pis allerworst-case scenario, if worst comes toworst

bon gr, mal gr whether you like it or not

en aucun cas(with a negative statement) no matter what happens

en tout cas in any case, whatever happens

Imprativement imperatively, really

Surtout above all

Vraiment really


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Opinions

French Expressions

If you want to have a debate in French or discuss your opinions, you need to know the

relevant vocabulary and expressions. This page offers suggestions for offering,supporting, asking for, and avoiding opinions in French.

Offering an opinion

mon avis In my opinion

C'est du moins mon opinion. At least, that's my opinion.

D'aprs moi In my view

En ce qui me concerne As far as I'm concerned

Il est / C'est certain que It's certain

Il est / C'est clair que It's clear

Il est / C'est vident que It's obvious

Il est / C'est impossible que It's impossible

Il est / C'est injuste que It's unfair

Il est / C'est juste que It's fair

Il est / C'est possible que It's possible

Il est / C'est probable que It's probable

Il est / C'est sr que It's surelyIl est / C'est vrai que It's true

Il me semble que It seems to me

J'ai l'ide que I have the impression

J'ai l'impression que I have a feeling

Je considre que I feel

Je crains qu'il ne soit I fear that it is

Je crois que I believe

Je dois dire que I must say

J'estime que I consider it

J'imagine que I imagine

Je pense que I think (that)

Je suppose que I suppose

Je ne pense pas. I don't think so.

Je ne peux pas m'empcher de penser que I can't help thinking

Je suis certain que I'm certain thatJe suis convaincu que I'm convinced that


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Je suis d'avis que I'm of the opinion

Je suis persuad que I'm convinced that

Je suis sr que I'm sure

Je trouve que I find, I feel

Moi, je... As for me, I...

Personnellement Personally

Pour ma part For my part

Pour moi In my view

Quant moi As for me

Sans vouloir vous contredire Without meaning to contradict you

Selon moi In my view

Si vous voulez mon opinion/avis If you want my opinionTelle est mon opinion sur That's my view of

Supporting an opinion

J'ai entendu dire que + dependent clause I heard that

J'ai entendu parl de + noun I heard about

Je sais / Nous savons que I / We know that

On dit que One says, They say

Par exemple For example

Asking for an opinion

Avez-vous une opinion sur Do you have an opinion about

votre avis In your opinion

Comment percevez-vous How do you view

J'aimeraisJe voudrais

connatreavoir

I'd like (to know) your reaction to

Pourriez-vousme

donnerfaire savoir

votre raction face Could you give me your reaction to


savoir ce que vous pensez deI'd like to know what you thinkabout


connatreavoir

I'd like (to know) your opinionon/about

Pourriez-vousme

donnerfaire savoir

votre avis/opinionsur Could you give me your opinion

about

Pourriez-vous me dire ce que vous pensez de

Could you tell me what you think

aboutQuelle est votre attitude l'gard de What is your attitude toward/to


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Quelle est votre opinion/avis sur What is your opinion about

Que pensez-vous de What do you think about

Selon vous In your opinion

Avoiding expressing an opinion

Cela dpend de That depends on

C'est une question de point de vue. It all depends on your point of view.

Il est / C'est difficile de It's hard to

Il m'est impossible de donner un avis (dfinitif) surI can't express a (definite) opinionon

Je n'ai jamais vraiment rflchi I have never really thought about

Je n'ai pas d'opinion bien prcise / arrte surI don't have strong feelings on,about

Je ne me le suis jamais demand. I've never wondered about it.

Je ne me suis jamais vraiment pos la question.I've never asked myself thatquestion.

Je ne suis pas mme de dire si I'm not in a position to say whether

Je prfrerais ne pas (avoir ) me prononcer sur I'd rather not comment

Je prfrerais ne pas m'engager I'd rather not commit myself

J'ignore tout de I know nothing about

Tout dpend de It all depends on


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GratitudeFrench Expressions of Thanks

There are many different ways to express gratitude in French, from a simple thank youto

ultra-polite expressions of appreciation.

Simple thank you

Merci Thank you

Merci beaucoup Thank you very much

Merci mille fois, Mille fois merci Thanks a million

Merci bienThanks a lot (can be sincere orsarcastic)

Expressing thanks in general

Je te/vous remercie. I thank you.

Je tiens vous exprimer notre gratitude. I wish to express our gratitude toyou.

C'est (vraiment) gentil de ta part. It's (very) kind of you.

Je vous remercie de tout coeur. I thank you from the bottom of myheart.

Je ne sais pas comment vous remercier. I don't know how to thank you.

Je vous adresse mes plus vifsremerciements.

I send you my most sincere thanks.

Nous vous sommes extrmementreconnaissants.

We are very grateful to you.

Avec tous mes remerciements. With thanks.

Remerciez-le de ma part. Thank him for me.

Transmettez mes remerciements Jean. Pass on my thanks to Jean.

Expressing thanks for something

You can use most of the expressions above to name the thing that you are thankful forbut, depending on what the thing actually is, you must choose between two prepositions.

1. To thank someone for doing something(expressed with the French past infinitive)or for something abstract, use de.

2. To thank someone for something tangible, use pour.

Merci de m'avoir corrig. Thank you for correcting me.

Merci beaucoup pour les livres. Thank you very much for the books.

Merci bien de votre aide. Thank you for your help.


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Je vous remercie de l'avoir trouv. Thank you for finding it.

Je te remercie pour le dner. Thank you for dinner.

Je tiens vous exprimer notre gratitude pourvotre gentillesse.

I wish to express our gratitude foryour kindness.

C'est gentil de votre part d'tre venu. It's kind of you to come.

Remerciez-le de ma part pour les oranges. Thank him for me for the oranges.

Merci mille fois de nous avoir aids. Thanks a million for helping us.

etc.

Expressing future thanks

There are two expressions commonly used in French business letters to make a verypolite request.

Je vous serais reconnaissant de (bienvouloir) ...

I would be grateful to you (to be sokind as to) ...

Je vous serais trs oblig de (bien vouloir) ... I would be obliged if you could (be sokind as to) ...

Vocabulary

merci d'avance thanks in advance

remercier (quelqu'un) to thank (someone)

dire merci (quelqu'un) to say thank you to (someone)remerciements (m plural noun) thanks

grce thanks to

reconnaissant (adj) thankful

...tre reconnaissant de + verb to be thankful for + presentparticiple

...tre reconnaissant de + noun to be thankful for something

...tre reconnaissant envers + person to be thankful to/for + person

avec reconnaissance gratefullyla gratitude thankfulness

la reconnaissance thankfulness

ingrat (adj) thankless


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French Impersonal Expressions ~ ExpressionsimpersonnellesGeneral information about French impersonal expressions and a list of the most

common ones

Impersonal expressions are those which do not have a specific subject. In grammaticalterms, "impersonal" does not mean cold, but rather invariable by grammatical person.There are a few things you need to know about French impersonal expressions:

1. The French impersonal subject is either ilor ce, whereas the English impersonalsubject is it.

2. French impersonal expressions can begin with il estor c'estwith no difference inmeaning; however, c'estis slightly less formal than il est.

3. Impersonal expressions can be followed by(a) + infinitive (because infinitive is used intransitively / as a passive infinitive)(b) de+ infinitive + direct object (infinitive is used transitively)(c1) que+ subject + indicative o r(c2) que+ subject + subjunctive(depending on the meaning of the impersonalexpression).

Examples

(a) Il est difficile dire- It's hard to say.C'est difficile dire en franais- It's hard to say in French.

(b) Il est difficile de la dire- It's hard to say it.Il est difficile de dire la vrit- It's hard to tell the truth.

(c1) Il est probable que David le fait - It's probable that David is doing it.

(c2) Il est possible que David le fasse - It's possible that David is doing it.

French Impersonal Expressions

Il est souhaiter It's to be hopedIl est bizarre It's odd

Il est bon It's good

Il est certain It's certain

Il est clair It's clear/obvious

Il est convenable It's proper/fitting

Il est difficile It's difficult

Il est dommage It's too bad

Il est douteux It's doubtful


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Il est essentiel It's essential

Il est tonnant It's amazing

Il est trange It's strange

Il est vident It's obvious

Il est facile It's easy

Il est faux It's false

Il est heureux It's fortunate

Il est honteux It's shameful

Il est important It's important

Il est impossible It's impossible

Il est improbable It's improbable

Il est indispensible It's essentialIl est injuste It's unfair

Il est inutile It's useless

Il est juste It's right/fair

Il est naturel It's natural

Il est ncessaire It's necessary

Il est normal It's normal

Il est obligatoire It's necessary

Il est peu probable It's not likely

Il est possible It's possible

Il est probable It's probable

Il est rare It's rare

Il est regrettable It's regrettable

Il est sr It's sure/certain

Il est surprenant It's surprising

Il est temps It's timeIl est triste It's sad

Il est urgent It's urgent

Il est utile It's useful

Il est vrai It's true

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