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8 questions cashiers in Québec might ask you in French (#1123)
When paying the cashier in a store or restaurant, you’ll probably be asked a question or two. Here are 8 typical questions often heard in Québec, to help you be better prepared. 1. Avez-vous la carte...
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How might you say “a whole bunch of people” in French? (#1124)
I came across an article in the Montréal edition of the 24 Heures newspaper about an event called la Chasse-Balcon. Every Friday, a group of musicians come together on the balcony of a different...
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How might you talk about playing the guitar in French without using the verb...
In the last post, we looked at the expression un paquet de gens, used in an article in the Montréal edition of 24 Heures. There’s more language to look at from that same edition of the newspaper. A...
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“Hurry up! What’re ya doing?” Can you guess how a guy said this in French to...
A guy in his late 20s, in Montréal, was waiting for his girlfriend to get out of the car. When he couldn’t wait any longer, he went over to her window and said an equivalent of this in French: “Hurry...
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How might you say “to bum a smoke” in French? (#1127)
In #1124 (un paquet de gens) and #1125 (gratter la guitare, starter), we looked at some French taken from an edition of the Montréal newspaper 24 Heures. In fact, there’s one more bit of language from...
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“Not really.” How might you say this in French without using PAS VRAIMENT?...
During a conversation, a man said in French an equivalent of “I’m not really bothered by it.” (For example, imagine you’d just bought a shirt or some other item and there was a small defect in it, but...
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Dialogue in French: The melancholic guitarist (#1129)
I went through the last dozen posts on OffQc, pulled out key expressions and vocabulary, then rearranged it all into this dialogue for review. (If you squint your eyes and plug your nose, it almost...
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“There’s no answer.” Do you know how someone said this in French? (#1130)
A woman who was making a phone call hung up when there was no answer on the other end. In French, she an equivalent of: “There’s no answer. Is this the right number?” To say that there wasn’t any...
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How ACHÈTE-LUI was pronounced during a conversation in French (#1131)
During a conversation that took place in Montréal, a woman said in French an equivalent of this: “Buy him some chocolate; he likes that.” Here’s how she said it: Achètes-y du chocolat ; y’aime ça. Buy...
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How might you say “how do you say” and “how do you spell” in French? (#1132)
One of the first things you might’ve learned in French was how to say “how do you say X in French?” I’m guessing you probably learned to say it as comment dit-on X en français? This is correct, of...
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How can you say “things like that” in French without using CHOSES or COMME...
A man in Montréal said an equivalent of this while speaking with a friend: They’ve got no business saying things like that! He didn’t use the French word choses to say things. Can you think of another...
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“What time is it?” How a man asked this in French (clue: it’s not QUELLE...
A man in the street approached me to ask for the time. Although you’ve almost certainly learned quelle heure est-il?, that’s not what he said. Here’s what he did say: Quelle heure qu’y’est, monsieur?...
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Do you know where the expression S’ÉQUIPER POUR VEILLER TARD on this sign...
When paying for an item in a store in Montréal, I asked the cashier if they accepted my credit card. He said yes, and that they accepted all credit cards. Then he said: On est équipés pour veiller...
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How do you talk in French about being in a relationship? (#1136)
The keyword to learn to talk about being in a relationship is the masculine noun couple. For example, to say that you’re in a relationship with someone, you can use the expression être en couple. Ils...
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“The thing is… It’s just that…” Do you know how to say this during a French...
A few posts ago in #1133, we looked at the word affaires, where it appeared twice in this sentence said by a man in Montréal: On a pas d’affaires à dire des affaires d’même! They’ve got no business...
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So how do you say UGLY in French anyway? (#1138)
If you look up ugly in an English-French dictionary, you’ll find (amongst a few other adjectives): laid (m.) and laide (f.). As an approximation, the feminine form laide sounds like the English word...
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Transform two French sentences step-by-step into colloquial language (#1139)
Let’s take a regular French sentence as it would be written in codified French (i.e., the standardised form of language taught in French classes, used mostly in writing, described in grammar books,...
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“I’m not in a rush.” How someone said this in French during a conversation...
During a French conversation in Montréal, one guy asked another if he had time to accompany him somewhere. His friend said yes because he wasn’t in a rush. Let’s look at how he said in French I’m not...
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“How old are you? Guess…” One way to invite someone to guess your age in...
Let’s take a look at a general French expression (not limited to Québec), useful in conversations: d’après moi (d’après toi, etc.). We’ll look at two ways you can use this. The first way it can be used...
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What’s the difference between these two French terms for a garage sale? (#1142)
While shopping in an office supplies store in Montréal, I came across two signs for sale: one reads vente de garage, and the other vente-débarras. Both terms refer to what’s known in English as a...
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