he should listen to you - when you serve several hundred people a day, politeness counts, we have a go at people who are plain rude, le client n'est pas roi, c'est mon magasin, il est chez moi!!!
Hmm - those politesses are something that I have never learned to use properly and I'm uncomfortable with them - I can fumble a 'je vous en prie' but think il n'y a pas de quoi is probably more appropriate.
My hubby still has not got the idea that you can improve the manner in which you are served in a shop by saying a simple bonjour or messieurs, dames (and even au revoir ....)
Good that you have customers! I'm doing a Vide Grenier Brocante tomorrow and hope to have the same!
proof that I no longer have formal conversations :-( I don't think I've used inversion orally since I was teaching but would use it given the right situation. OH says I do still use est-ce que in questions but not often in the very familiar environment of our tabac. Noooo - I love the mix of de rien/il n'y a pas de quoi/je vous en prie, just like the mix used by our clients from un marlboro (not even a bonjour/svp/etc.) and j'aurais voulu un marlboro svp... ;-)
I use est-ce que & inversion & also intonation for questions depending on context. I'd never say 'je désole' for 'je suis désolée' though 'désolée' without the pronoun & verb works in informal conversation. I like the subtle differences between de rien/il n'y a pas de quoi/je vous en prie as a reply to merci but then I'm a fogey.
Quite right in spoken language, David, I got the wrong end of what you were saying although est-ce que isn't that out dated I must admit that I'll probably pose the question at least 100 times a day Vous voulez une poche ? without even thinking of using est-ce que, I just use intonation and do so for almost all questions when speaking. A bit like the Nous -v- On situation. I can't remember the last time I used nous, probably back at uni, and use pretty much exclusively on in spoken french but nous when writting, apart from sms and non-formal emails.
Sorry if this is disjointed, it's taken me half an hour to write between serving customers!
...and more thanks Andy
thanks Clare
Round here instead of est-ce que they seem to simply say, for example "Vous voulez manger du cake?" which is expressed in a rhetorical way, as originally the USA but now in the UK. 'specially the young. Same people who say "Je desole" rather than "Je suis desole"
bonne chance, Billy and est-ce que is quite normal, n'est pas ? at the end of phrases is dated, I think that's what David was referring to, if not just invert subject and verb; est-ce que vous avez... avez-vous... but that's more formal... ;-)
d'acc mais rien pour le moment, je les ai perdu de vu, ceux avec lesquels j'ai enseigné à droite et à gauche !
mdr = lol ;-)
:-D
My predictive text, because Iâm Nicholas with a âchâ, keeps wanting to call me Nichon - which is probably about right.
On pourrait faire ce groupe de discute - et que le but soit d'aider les Anglais à progressed en français.
C'est une trĂšs bonne idĂše.
Un peu de correction de la syntaxe Ă©crire, mais surtout il faudrait que ça serve Ă METTRE DES FRANĂAIS EN CONTACT AVEC DES ANGLAIS. Et ensuite: du tĂ©l ou du Skype: De l'ORAL!
Mdr!
Merci Helen pour le rire!
Pour les Englishes: "mdr" stands for "Mort de rire!".
Vous ĂȘtes originaire de quelle rĂ©gion, Jean-Yves? Je pose la question (indiscrĂšte peut-ĂȘtre) parce que vous avez des tournures de phrase qui ne sont pas les mĂȘmes que les miennes.
Me too, now that I logged and caught up; so far I learn about S&M or is it BDSM, the olde french a pimp uses for their prostitute, and how to be lucky in Dutch, but seriously I learnt the correct usage of male or female verb endings and how the incorrect pronunciation of some word can make a world of difference. Courage mes amis et bon chance avec ton francais. Finally David if not Est-ce que then what ?
ÂĄ Entendido !
Si tu connais des Anglais qui le font, tu peux me les envoyer: scolaire75@gmail.com
Can i just say that i have thoroughly enjoyed this thread today - havent laughed so much for ages - thanks everyone :-)