Basic requests and instructions | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic requests and instructions..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic requests and instructions to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Entrez, s'il vous plaît.

ahn-TRAY, seel voo PLAY. Please come inside.
B

Asseyez-vous ici, s'il vous plaît.

ah-say-YAY voo ee-SEE, seel voo PLAY. Please sit here.
A

Attendez ici, s'il vous plaît.

ah-tahn-DAY ee-SEE, seel voo PLAY. Please wait here.
B

Regardez ici, s'il vous plaît.

ruh-gar-DAY ee-SEE, seel voo PLAY. Please look here.
A

Écoutez attentivement, s'il vous plaît.

ay-koo-TAY ah-tahn-teev-MAHN, seel voo PLAY. Please listen carefully.
B

Parlez lentement, s'il vous plaît.

par-LAY lahn-tuh-MAHN, seel voo PLAY. Please speak slowly.

Word by Word

Entrez Entrez is used here to politely tell someone to come in. It is the instruction form of entrer used with one person addressed formally or with several people. A reusable pattern is Entrez + a place or direction.
s'il vous plaît s'il vous plaît means please in this request. The expression combines s'il, based on si and il, vous for you, and plaît from plaire, meaning pleases; together, the whole expression makes the request polite. Use s'il vous plaît after a request or instruction when speaking politely.
Asseyez-vous Asseyez-vous is used here to tell someone to sit down. The vous form is part of the instruction, and the hyphen joins the verb and the pronoun in this expression. A reusable pattern is Asseyez-vous + a place, as in the dialogue expression Asseyez-vous ici.
ici ici means here, referring to the place where the speaker wants the listener to be or direct attention. In the dialogue, it follows an instruction such as Entrez, Asseyez-vous, Attendez, or Regardez. Use the pattern instruction + ici when indicating the relevant place.
Attendez Attendez is used here to tell someone to wait. It is the instruction form used with one person addressed formally or with several people. A reusable pattern is Attendez + a place or duration, when telling someone where or how long to wait.
Regardez Regardez is used here to tell someone to look. It is an instruction for directing the listener’s attention, and in the dialogue the attention is directed with Regardez ici. Use Regardez before a place or thing that you want someone to look at.
Écoutez Écoutez is used here to tell someone to listen. It is an instruction used when directing another person’s attention to what is being said or heard. A reusable pattern is Écoutez + an adverb describing how to listen, as in Écoutez attentivement.
attentivement attentivement means carefully in the expression Écoutez attentivement, so it tells the listener how to listen. It modifies the instruction Écoutez rather than naming a separate action. Use attentivement after an action when you want to say that it should be done carefully.
Parlez Parlez is used here to tell someone to speak. It is an instruction directed at the listener, and in the dialogue it is followed by lentement to specify how to speak. A reusable pattern is Parlez + an adverb describing the manner of speaking.
lentement lentement means slowly in the expression Parlez lentement, so it asks the listener to speak at a slow pace. It modifies Parlez and explains how the speaking should happen. Use lentement after an action when asking for a slower pace.

Grammar Points

Impératif avec vous

Entrez, s'il vous plaît.

ahn-TRAY, seel voo PLAY.

Come in, please.

The vous imperative gives a polite or plural command. Many forms end in -ez, such as Entrez, Regardez, and Écoutez.

Verbe pronominal à l'impératif

Asseyez-vous ici.

ah-say-YAY VOO ee-SEE.

Sit down here.

In a positive imperative, the reflexive pronoun follows the verb and connects with a hyphen: asseyez-vous.

French Vocabulary

Asseyez-vous verb
ah-say-YAY VOO sit down

Asseyez-vous ici, s'il vous plaît.

Attendez verb
ah-tahn-DAY wait

Attendez ici, s'il vous plaît.

attentivement adv
ah-tahn-teev-MAHN carefully

Écoutez attentivement, s'il vous plaît.

Écoutez verb
ay-koo-TAY listen

Écoutez attentivement, s'il vous plaît.

Entrez verb
ahn-TRAY come in

Entrez, s'il vous plaît.

ici adv
ee-SEE here

Asseyez-vous ici, s'il vous plaît.

lentement adv
lahn-tuh-MAHN slowly

Parlez lentement, s'il vous plaît.

Parlez verb
par-LAY speak

Parlez lentement, s'il vous plaît.

Regardez verb
ruh-gar-DAY look

Regardez ici, s'il vous plaît.

s'il vous plaît phrase
seel voo PLAY please

Entrez, s'il vous plaît.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Please come inside.

Show AnswerEntrez, s'il vous plaît.

Please sit here.

Show AnswerAsseyez-vous ici, s'il vous plaît.

Please wait here.

Show AnswerAttendez ici, s'il vous plaît.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

look

Show AnswerRegardez

listen

Show AnswerÉcoutez

wait

Show AnswerAttendez

come in

Show AnswerEntrez