Basic messages and asking for help | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Répétez-le, s'il vous plaît.

   Please say it again.

   Répétez

   repeat

   le

   it

   s'il vous plaît

   please

   More detail

   Répétez means “repeat” here. It is the imperative form of répéter (“to repeat”) for vous, used either for more than one person or as the polite form addressed to one person. The ending differs from the informal singular imperative: Répète ! means “Repeat!” to one familiar person. Example: Répétez la phrase. — “Repeat the sentence.” le is a direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. It is masculine singular in form; the fixed sentence does not identify the specific thing being repeated. In another context, la is the corresponding feminine singular form, while les is plural. Example: Je le répète. — “I repeat it.” s'il vous plaît is the fixed French politeness expression “please.” Literally, it contains vous, but as a whole it is used to make a request politely. The same expression also appears in the supplied related sentence Écrivez-le, s'il vous plaît. (“Please write it down.”), where it politely modifies a different imperative. Together, Répétez-le means “Repeat it,” and adding s'il vous plaît makes the request polite: “Please say it again.” The imperative supplies the request, le identifies the direct object as “it,” and the final expression marks politeness.

2. Écrivez-le, s'il vous plaît.

   Please write it down.

   Écrivez

   write

   le

   it

   s'il vous plaît

   please

   More detail

   Écrivez comes from écrire, “to write.” Here it is the affirmative imperative with vous, so it can address one person formally or several people. Compare écris (informal singular command) and écrivez (formal singular or plural command). Example: Écrivez votre nom. — “Write your name.” le is a direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. It is the masculine singular form when it refers to a masculine singular noun; it can also represent a specified thing or idea without repeating it. The fixed sentence does not identify the referent. In an ordinary French clause, this pronoun normally comes before the conjugated verb: Je le lis. — “I read it.” In Écrivez-le, however, le follows the affirmative imperative and is joined to the verb with a hyphen. This is the usual placement of object pronouns with an affirmative command. Example: Lisez-le. — “Read it.” s'il vous plaît is the standard polite expression “please.” Its vous form can address one person formally or more than one person; it does not itself establish how many people are present. Example: Attendez, s'il vous plaît. — “Please wait.” Together, Écrivez-le means “write it,” and s'il vous plaît makes the request polite, giving the fixed meaning “Please write it down.”

3. Montrez-le-moi, s'il vous plaît.

   Please show me.

   Montrez

   show

   le

   it

   moi

   me

   s'il vous plaît

   please

   More detail

   Montrez is the imperative of montrer (“to show”). The -ez form addresses one person formally or more than one person; it does not by itself identify which of those situations applies. In a polite request, the imperative can be followed by an object: Montrez le document. — “Show the document.” le is the direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. It refers to the thing to be shown, but the supplied sentence does not identify that thing. In this position, the pronoun comes before the verb in ordinary French, but affirmative imperatives use a different order: Montrez-le. — “Show it.” The hyphen is required in this affirmative imperative construction. moi is the stressed pronoun meaning “me” here. After an affirmative imperative, it follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen: Montrez-moi. — “Show me.” French uses moi in this position rather than the unstressed object form me, which appears before a non-imperative verb: Vous me montrez le document. — “You show me the document.” le and moi form the object sequence Montrez-le-moi: “Show it to me.” The first pronoun represents the thing shown, and the second identifies the recipient of the showing. In affirmative imperative clauses, these object pronouns follow the verb and are linked by hyphens. s'il vous plaît is the fixed polite expression “please.” It literally contains si (“if”), il (“it/he”), and vous plaît (“pleases you”), but it functions here as one conventional politeness formula. The vous form is also used when addressing one person formally or several people; it does not establish which case applies by itself. Together, Montrez-le-moi gives the request “Show it to me,” and s'il vous plaît makes it polite: “Please show me.” The sentence does not specify what “it” is.

4. Aidez-moi, s'il vous plaît.

   Please help me.

   Aidez-moi

   Help me

   s'il vous plaît

   please

   More detail

   Aidez-moi means “help me” here. Aidez is the affirmative imperative of aider for vous, used for a plural group or for one person addressed formally. The subject pronoun is normally omitted in this imperative. In the affirmative imperative, the object pronoun follows the verb and is linked with a hyphen: Aidez-moi. Moi is the stressed form of “me” used in this position. Compare the ordinary non-imperative placement: Vous m’aidez = “You help me.” Example: Aidez-nous, s’il vous plaît. — “Please help us.” Here nous replaces moi because the people receiving the help are plural. s'il vous plaît is the established polite expression “please.” It is used to make a request courteous; in this expression, vous is the form addressing one person formally or several people. The expression can appear after the request, as here, or before it: S’il vous plaît, aidez-moi. Together, Aidez-moi gives the request itself, and s’il vous plaît adds politeness: “Please help me.”

5. Comment puis-je vous aider ?

   How can I help?

   Comment

   how

   puis-je

   can I

   vous

   you

   aider

   help

   More detail

   Comment means “how” here: it asks about the manner or means of doing something. It is the usual question word for “how,” distinct from pourquoi (“why”) and quand (“when”). Example: Comment allez-vous ? — “How are you?” puis-je is the first-person singular question form meaning “can I?” It comes from pouvoir (“to be able to, can”) plus the subject pronoun je (“I”); in this inversion, pouvoir appears as the special form puis before je. The hyphen marks the inverted verb–subject order. In ordinary statements, use je peux (“I can”); puis-je ... ? is a standard, somewhat formal way to ask permission or offer help. Example: Puis-je entrer ? — “May I come in?” vous is the object pronoun “you” in this sentence: the speaker offers to help the addressee. It can refer to one person addressed formally or to multiple people; the fixed utterance does not identify which. As a subject pronoun, vous also means “you,” but its role changes with the construction: Vous pouvez aider. means “You can help,” whereas Je peux vous aider. means “I can help you.” aider is the infinitive “to help.” After a conjugated modal such as puis-je, French uses the infinitive: Je peux aider means “I can help.” The same infinitive can be used with other subjects after their conjugated forms, for example Vous pouvez aider — “You can help.” Together, Comment asks for the way or means, puis-je asks what the speaker is able or permitted to do, and vous aider identifies helping the addressee as that action. The whole utterance therefore means “How can I help?” It is a polite service or assistance question and can be reused with another infinitive, such as Comment puis-je vous contacter ? — “How can I contact you?”

6. Appelez-moi plus tard, s'il vous plaît.

   Please call me later.

   Appelez-moi

   Call me

   plus tard

   later

   s'il vous plaît

   please

   More detail

   Appelez-moi means “call me” here. Appelez is the imperative of appeler for vous, used either for one person addressed formally or for several people. In the imperative, the object pronoun follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen: Appelez-moi. Moi is the stressed form of “me”; compare the unstressed object form in ordinary placement, as in Vous m'appelez (“You call me”). The form appelez itself shows the vous imperative, not the singular informal appelle. Plus tard means “later.” Plus marks a later time in this time expression, while tard means “late.” Useful examples: Je reviendrai plus tard — “I will come back later”; Pas plus tard — “not later.” S'il vous plaît is the standard polite expression “please.” It is used as a fixed request formula; in this sentence it softens the imperative. The expression contains vous, the formal or plural “you” form, matching the formal/plural address already shown by appelez. Do not treat s'il vous plaît as part of the verb appeler; it is a separate politeness construction. Together, Appelez-moi + plus tard + s'il vous plaît produces: “Please call me later.” The request is directed to one formally addressed person or to multiple people, asks for a call at a later time, and politely places me as the person to be called.