you like to…?
| Tu veux aller te baigner? | Would you like to go for a swim? |
| Tu veux te reposer un peu? | Would you like to have a little rest? |
| Est-ce que tu veux prendre le volant? | Would you like to drive? |
| Vous voulez y aller à pied? | Would you like to walk there? |
| Est-ce que vous voulez qu’on s’arrête ici? | Would you like to stop here? |
Another way of making suggestions in French is to ask Pourquoi ne pas…? (Why don’t…?), which is often shortened to Pourquoi pas…? in spoken French.
Why don’t…?
| Pourquoi ne pas louer une voiture? | Why don’t we hire a car? |
| Pourquoi ne pas prendre le métro? | Why don’t we take the underground? |
| Pourquoi pas demander au chauffeur? | Why don’t we ask the driver? |
How about…?
| Et si on prenait par la petite route? | How about taking the B road? |
| Et si on prenait le bateau pour y aller? | How about going there by boat? |
| Et si on passait par Biarritz? | How about going via Biarritz? |
When you are travelling around in a French-speaking country or city, you will often need to find out some information to help you get to where you want to go. When you are asking for information you may need to get someone’s attention in order to ask them a question. To do this you can use either excusez-moi or pardon.
I’m looking for…
| Excusez-moi, je cherche la gare maritime, s’il vous plaît. | Excuse me, I’m looking for the harbour station. |
| Excusez-moi, je cherche l’écomusée du Beaujolais, s’il vous plaît. | Excuse me, I’m looking for the Beaujolais heritage centre. |
| Pardon, le bureau des réclamations, s’il vous plaît? | Excuse me, I’m looking for the complaints office. |
BON À SAVOIR!
Remember to say merci or merci beaucoup when you get the information. If someone hasn’t been able to help you, you can still thank them by saying merci quand même (thanks all the same).
If you want to ask a general question in French, you can use C’est…? or Est-ce que c’est…? (Is it…?).
Is it…?
| C’est par là? | Is it this way? |
| C’est près d’ici? | Is it near here? |
| Est-ce que c’est loin, s’il vous plaît? | Is it far? |
| Est-ce que c’est le train pour Angoulême? | Is this the train for Angoulême? |
| Est-ce que c’est le bon arrêt pour le musée, s’il vous plaît? | Is this the right stop for the museum? |
| Est-ce que cette place est libre? | Is this seat free? |
Is there…?
| Il y a une station-service près d’ici, s’il vous plaît? | Is there a petrol station near here, please? |
| Il y a une station de métro près d’ici? | Is there an underground station near here? |
| Il y a des restaurants près d’ici? | Are there any restaurants around here? |
| Est-ce qu’il y a des tarifs étudiants? | Is there a student discount? |
BON À SAVOIR!
You can see that both there is and there are are il y a in French.
In order to get more specific information, you may want to ask, for example, Où…? (Where…?), Quel…? (Which…?), or À quelle heure…? (What time…?).
Where…?
| Où est la consigne? | Where’s the left-luggage office? |
| Où est la station de taxis la plus proche, s’il vous plaît? | Where’s the nearest taxi rank, please? |
| Où sont les toilettes? | Where are the public toilets? |
Which…?
| Je dois prendre quelle ligne, s’il vous plaît? | Which line do I take, please? |
| Quels bus vont en centre-ville? | Which buses go to the town centre? |
| De quel quai part le train pour Sarlat? | Which platform does the train for Sarlat leave from? |
| Excusez-moi, c’est quelle direction pour Brest, s’il vous plaît? | Excuse me, which way do I go for Brest, please? |
| C’est quelle direction pour aller au Stade de France, s’il vous plaît? | Which way is it to the Stade de France, please? |
What time…?
| On embarque à quelle heure? | What time are we boarding? |
| Le train part à quelle heure? | What time does the train leave? |
| À quelle heure est-ce qu’on arrive à Bruxelles? | What time do we get to Brussels? |
| Le départ est bien à sept heures? | The departure is at seven, isn’t it? |
| Le bus arrive bien à neuf heures trente? | The bus arrives at nine thirty, doesn’t it? |
BON À SAVOIR!
When you’re not sure about something, you can ask for confirmation by adding bien after the verb in your question.
If you want to ask how often something happens, how long it takes or how much it costs, you can use a phrase with combien.
How often…?
| Il y a un bus pour Genève tous les combien? | How often is there a bus for Geneva? |
| Il y a un vol pour Londres tous les combien? | How often is there a flight to London? |
| Il faut faire le plein tous les combien de kilomètres? | How often do you have to fill up the tank? |
How long…?
| Ça prend combien de temps? | How long does it take? |
| Ça prend combien de temps pour aller à la gare? | How long does it take to get to the railway station? |
| Ça prend combien de temps pour aller de
|