Here’s a very short video from the SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) warning of the dangers of sending textos au volant, text messages while driving. (Le volant is the steering wheel.)
There’s little spoken word in the video, but you’ll still review a few things from colloquial language. This video has been added to the Listen to Québécois French section.
T’es là?
Are you there?
Oui
Ça va?
Yes
How are you?
m’ennuie
t’es où?
bored
where are you?
pas loin
j’arrive
not far
almost there
Quand t’es là…
When you’re here (eyes on phone)…
… t’es pas là.
… you’re not there (eyes on road).
es-tu là?!?
are you there?!?
T’es là? is an informal equivalent of es-tu là? Remember that tu es generally contracts to t’es in informal language, which sounds like té. You’ll hear the speaker say t’es when he says quand t’es là…
The texted message m’ennuie is short for je m’ennuie.
T’es où? is an informal equivalent of où es-tu? Informal language avoids the inversion after question words like où, comment, pourquoi, etc., so you’re much more likely to hear t’es où? in spoken language than où es-tu?
Listen to the vowel sound used in là and pas when the speaker says quand t’es là, t’es pas là. We’ve heard this vowel sound in a few different videos lately, including this one where Korine Côté says Montréal, je suis là! and this one where the speaker says on a pas d’chat.
At the end, the texted message es-tu là? can also be heard in spoken language as t’es-tu là? (Both are possible in spoken language.) In es-tu là?, tu is the second-person singular tu meaning you. But in t’es-tu là?, the second person singular isn’t tu but t’. Tu in t’es-tu là? is an informal yes-no question marker.
Es-tu là?
Are you there?
T’es-tu là?
You’re-(yes/no) there?
All three of these questions ask “are you there?”:
Es-tu là?
T’es là?
T’es-tu là?
“Where are you?” in informal language is:
T’es où?
