About This Lesson
Use Offering coffee during a break to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Vous voulez du café ?
voo voo-LAY dew kah-FAY? Do you want coffee?
B
Oui, s'il vous plaît. Juste une petite tasse.
wee, seel voo PLAY. zhoost oon puh-TEET tass. Yes, please. Just a small cup.
A
Voilà.
vwah-LAH. Here you are.
B
Ça sent bon.
sah sahn BOHN. It smells nice.
A
Vous avez besoin de sucre ?
voo zah-VAY buh-ZWAN duh SOO-kruh? Do you need sugar?
B
Non, juste du lait, s'il vous plaît.
NOHN, zhoost dew LEH, seel voo PLAY. No, just milk, please.
A
Pardon, il n'y a pas de lait.
par-DOHN, eel nee-YAH pah duh LEH. Sorry, there is no milk.
B
Ce n'est pas grave.
suh NAY pah GRAHV. That is okay.Word by Word
Vous
In "Vous voulez du café ?", "Vous" means “you” when addressing one person politely or more than one person. It is the person being offered coffee. It also appears in "s'il vous plaît" as the person addressed.
voulez
In "Vous voulez du café ?", "voulez" means “want” and asks whether the person would like coffee. It is the form used with "Vous" here. A useful reuse pattern is "Vous voulez + a food or drink" when making an offer.
du
In "du café" and "du lait", "du" indicates an unspecified amount of the drink, such as some coffee or some milk. It appears before these drink nouns when offering or requesting them. The exact patterns in this dialogue are "du café" and "du lait".
café
In "du café", "café" means “coffee”, the drink being offered. It is used with "du" to refer to some coffee rather than a specified cup. You can use "du café" when offering or requesting coffee.
Oui
"Oui" means “yes” and accepts the offer in "Oui, s'il vous plaît." It is a direct positive reply to a question such as "Vous voulez du café ?" Use it when agreeing to an offer or answering a yes-or-no question positively.
s'il vous plaît
"s'il vous plaît" is the complete polite expression meaning “please” in "Oui, s'il vous plaît" and "du lait, s'il vous plaît." Inside the expression, "s'il" introduces the conditional wording, "vous" refers to the person addressed, and "plaît" contributes the idea of pleasing; together, the expression politely marks a request. Use it after a requested item or at the end of a polite request.
Juste
In "Juste une petite tasse", "Juste" means “just” or “only” and limits the request to a small cup. It emphasizes that the requested amount is limited. Use "Juste" before the item or amount you want to specify.
une
In "une petite tasse", "une" means “a” or “one” before the feminine noun "tasse". It introduces one cup in this request. Use it before a singular feminine noun when referring to one unspecified item.
petite
In "une petite tasse", "petite" means “small” and describes the cup as limited in size. This exact form agrees with the feminine noun "tasse". Use it before a noun when requesting or describing a small feminine item.
tasse
In "une petite tasse", "tasse" means “cup”, here a cup for the coffee. It is the item being requested after "Juste une petite". You can use "une tasse" when asking for or serving a cup of a drink.
Voilà
"Voilà" means “here you are” when the speaker hands over or presents something, here the coffee. It is a practical expression used at the moment an item is offered to someone. Use it when giving someone an object or showing them something.
Ça
In "Ça sent bon", "Ça" means “it” or “that” and refers here to the coffee or the thing being smelled. It is the subject of the comment about the smell. Use "Ça" to refer to something already understood while commenting on it.
sent
In "Ça sent bon", "sent" expresses that something gives off a smell. Here, it says that the coffee smells pleasant. The exact pattern "Ça sent bon" is useful when commenting positively on a smell.
bon
In "Ça sent bon", "bon" describes the smell as pleasant or nice. It completes the comment about how the coffee smells. Use it in "Ça sent bon" when saying that something smells nice.
avez
In "Vous avez besoin de sucre ?", "avez" means “have” as part of the expression asking whether someone needs sugar. It is the form used with "Vous" here. A useful reuse pattern is "Vous avez besoin de + an item" when asking what someone needs.
besoin
In "Vous avez besoin de sucre ?", "besoin" means “need” as part of the expression "avoir besoin de". The expression asks whether sugar is needed. Use "avoir besoin de" before the person’s needed item.
de
"de" introduces what is needed in "avoir besoin de sucre", so the expression asks about the need for sugar. It also appears in "pas de lait" after the negative wording to say that there is no milk. The dialogue provides the reusable patterns "besoin de + item" and "pas de + item".
sucre
In "besoin de sucre", "sucre" means “sugar”, the ingredient being offered. It is introduced by "de" after "avoir besoin". Use "du sucre" or "de sucre" only according to the surrounding construction; in this dialogue, the exact request is "besoin de sucre".
Non
"Non" means “no” and rejects the offer of sugar in "Non, juste du lait, s'il vous plaît." It is a direct negative reply to the question about sugar. Use it when declining an offer or answering a yes-or-no question negatively.
lait
In "du lait" and "de lait", "lait" means “milk”, the drink addition requested and then reported as unavailable. The exact forms are "du lait" in the request and "pas de lait" in the explanation. Use "du lait" when asking for some milk with a drink.
Pardon
"Pardon" means “sorry” or “excuse me” in "Pardon, il n'y a pas de lait." It politely introduces the apology or explanation that milk is unavailable. Use it when apologizing for an inconvenience or politely getting someone’s attention.
il
In "il n'y a pas de lait", "il" is the fixed subject used in the expression that says whether something is present. Here, it does not refer to the milk; the whole expression says that no milk is available. Keep it as part of "il n'y a pas de lait" when explaining an absence.
n'y
In "il n'y a pas de lait", "n'y" combines the negative beginning with "y", referring to the place or situation where something would be present. Together with "a" and "pas", it helps say that there is no milk. Use it as part of the exact absence expression rather than as an independent word.
a
In "il n'y a pas de lait", "a" is the verb form used between "il n'y" and "pas" in the expression for saying that something is or is not present. Here, the complete wording says that milk is not available. Its useful reuse is inside the same "il n'y a pas de + item" construction.
pas
In "il n'y a pas de lait", "pas" marks the negative meaning “not” and helps state that no milk is present. It works together with the surrounding words rather than carrying the whole absence meaning alone. Use it in the negative wording "il n'y a pas de lait".
Ce
In "Ce n'est pas grave", "Ce" means “that” or “it” and refers to the situation that there is no milk. It introduces the speaker’s evaluation of that situation. Use "Ce" in this expression when reassuring someone that a situation is not serious.
n'est
In "Ce n'est pas grave", "n'est" is the negative form containing "ne" and the form "est" meaning “is”; with "pas", it says “is not”. It negates the description "grave" in the reassurance about the missing milk. The exact reusable expression is "Ce n'est pas grave".
grave
In "Ce n'est pas grave", "grave" means “serious” or “a problem”. With the negative wording, the whole expression reassures the other person that the missing milk is okay. Use "Ce n'est pas grave" when responding calmly to a small inconvenience or apology.
Grammar Points
du + nom
Vous voulez du café ?
voo voo-LAY dew kah-FAY?Do you want some coffee?
Use du before a masculine noun to express an unspecified amount, like “some coffee” or “some milk”.
ne...pas de + nom
Il n'y a pas de lait.
eel nee-YAH pah duh LEH.There is no milk.
After pas in a negative sentence, du changes to de: du lait becomes pas de lait.
French Vocabulary
bon
adj
BOHN
good; nice
Ça sent bon.
ça
pron
sah
it; that
Ça sent bon.
du café
noun
dew kah-FAY
some coffee
Vous voulez du café ?
juste
adv
zhoost
just; only
Juste une petite tasse.
oui
intj
wee
yes
Oui, s'il vous plaît.
petite
adj
puh-TEET
small
Juste une petite tasse.
s'il vous plaît
phrase
seel voo PLAY
please
Oui, s'il vous plaît.
sent
verb
sahn
smells
Ça sent bon.
tasse
noun
tass
cup
Juste une petite tasse.
voilà
intj
vwah-LAH
here you are
Voilà.
voulez
verb
voo-LAY
want
Vous voulez du café ?
vous
pron
voo
you
Vous voulez du café ?
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Do you want coffee?
Show Answer
Vous voulez du café ?It smells nice.
Show Answer
Ça sent bon.Do you need sugar?
Show Answer
Vous avez besoin de sucre ?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
cup
Show Answer
tassejust; only
Show Answer
justeyou
Show Answer
voushere you are