Buying bread and looking for orange juice | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Buying bread and looking for orange juice to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Combien de tranches de pain devons-nous acheter ?

kom-BYEN duh TRAHNSH duh PAN duh-VON-noo za-shuh-TAY? How many slices of bread should we buy?

Quatre tranches en tout.

KATR TRAHNSH ahn-TOO. Four slices in total.

Deux pour moi et deux pour toi.

DUH poor MWAH ay DUH poor TWAH. Two for me and two for you.

Ça devrait suffire. Il nous faut encore du jus d’orange.

sah duh-VRAY soo-FEER. eel noo FOH ahn-KOR duh zhoo dor-AHNZH. That should be enough. We still need orange juice.

Tu peux trouver le jus d’orange ?

too puh troo-VAY luh zhoo dor-AHNZH? Can you find the orange juice?

Pas encore. Regardons l’étagère suivante.

pahz ahn-KOR. ruh-gar-DOHN lay-tah-ZHAIR swee-VAHNT. Not yet. Let's check the next shelf.

Demandons à quelqu’un qui travaille ici.

duh-mahn-DOHN ah kel-KUN kee trah-VY ee-SEE. Let's ask someone who works here.

Word by Word

Combien “Combien” asks for a number in “Combien de tranches de pain”, so it means “how many” here. Use “Combien de” before the thing whose quantity you are asking about. You could use it when asking how many items to buy in a shop.

de In “Combien de tranches de pain”, the first “de” connects “Combien” to the quantity being asked about. The second “de” connects the slices to what they are made of: bread. “Combien de” is a useful pattern for asking about quantities.

tranches “Tranches” means slices in “tranches de pain”, referring to separate pieces of bread. It is used with the thing being sliced, as in “tranches de pain”. You would use it when asking for or counting slices in a shop or at a table.

pain “Pain” means bread in “tranches de pain”. It identifies what the slices are slices of. You can use “pain” when buying or discussing bread for a meal.

devons “Devons” expresses what we should or must do in “devons-nous acheter”, asking what we are expected to buy. Its citation form is “devoir”; “devons” is the form used with “nous” here. The pattern “devons-nous” is useful when deciding together what to do.

nous In “devons-nous acheter”, “nous” means “we” and names the people who should buy something. In “Il nous faut encore du jus d’orange”, it means “us” and identifies the people who need something. It can therefore appear as the subject after a verb in a question or as the people affected by a need.

acheter “Acheter” means “to buy” in “devons-nous acheter”. It follows “devons” and names the action being considered. You would use it when talking about buying food or other items.

en In “en tout”, “en” is part of the expression meaning “in total” or “altogether”. The full expression gives the total number of slices. Use “en tout” when stating the combined amount of items.

tout In “en tout”, “tout” contributes the idea of the complete amount, so the expression means “in total”. It is used after a quantity statement such as “Quatre tranches”. You can use “en tout” when adding separate amounts together.

pour “Pour” means “for” in “pour moi” and “pour toi”, marking who receives or is assigned something. The reusable pattern is “pour” followed by the person concerned. Here it is used to divide the slices between two people.

moi “Moi” means “me” in “pour moi”, identifying the person who receives two slices. It appears after the preposition “pour”. You would use “pour moi” when saying that something is intended for you.

et “Et” means “and” and joins the two allocations in “pour moi et deux pour toi”. It connects related words or phrases to add information. Here it helps state the distribution clearly.

toi “Toi” means “you” in “pour toi”, identifying the person who receives the other two slices. It appears after the preposition “pour”. You would use “pour toi” when saying that something is intended for another person you address directly.

Ça “Ça” refers to the quantity just discussed in “Ça devrait suffire”, so it means “that” or “it” here. It points to the four slices as the thing being judged sufficient. You can use “Ça” to refer to a situation or thing already understood in the conversation.

devrait “Devrait” expresses an expectation in “Ça devrait suffire”: the amount is expected to be enough. Its citation form is “devoir”; “devrait” is the form used with “Ça” here. The pattern “Ça devrait” is useful when making a cautious judgment about whether something will be sufficient.

suffire “Suffire” means “to be enough” in “devrait suffire”. It names the result expected from the quantity being discussed. You can use “devrait suffire” when estimating whether an amount will meet a need.

Il In “Il nous faut encore du jus d’orange”, “Il” is the fixed opening of the expression used to say that something is needed. It does not refer to a particular person here. The pattern “Il nous faut” introduces something that we need.

faut “Faut” signals necessity in “Il nous faut encore du jus d’orange”. Its citation form is “falloir”; “faut” is the form used in this expression. The complete pattern “Il nous faut” means that we need the item that follows.

encore “Encore” means “still” or “yet” in “encore du jus d’orange”, showing that orange juice is an additional item still needed. It adds the idea that the shopping is not complete. You can use “encore” when something remains to be obtained or done.

du “Du” indicates some or an unspecified amount in “du jus d’orange”. It is used here because the speaker needs a quantity of juice rather than a particular number of separate pieces. You can use “du” before a food or drink when referring to some of it.

jus “Jus” means “juice” in “jus d’orange”. It names the drink that is still needed and that the other person is asked to find. You would use it when shopping for or talking about a drink.

d’orange “D’orange” identifies the type of juice in “jus d’orange”: it is orange juice. It is joined to “jus” to specify the fruit associated with the drink. You can use “jus d’orange” when asking for or locating orange juice.

Tu “Tu” means “you” as the person being addressed in “Tu peux trouver le jus d’orange ?”. It is the subject of the question. You can use “Tu” at the beginning of a direct question addressed to one person.

peux “Peux” means “can” in “Tu peux trouver”, asking whether the person is able or willing to find something. Its citation form is “pouvoir”; “peux” is the form used with “Tu” here. The pattern “Tu peux” followed by an action is useful when asking someone for help.

trouver “Trouver” means “to find” in “trouver le jus d’orange”. It names the action requested after “peux”. The reusable pattern is “trouver” followed by the item being looked for.

le “Le” means “the” in “le jus d’orange”, pointing to the specific orange juice being sought in the shop. It comes before the noun it identifies. You can use “le” before a specific masculine noun when referring to a known item.

Pas “Pas” contributes the negation in “Pas encore”, and the full expression means “not yet”. It answers the question by saying that the orange juice has not been found at this point. You can use “Pas encore” when something has not happened or been completed yet.

Regardons “Regardons” means “let’s check” or “let’s look at” in “Regardons l’étagère suivante”, proposing a joint action. Its citation form is “regarder”; “Regardons” is the form used to invite the group to act together. You can use “Regardons” before a place or object you want to inspect.

l’étagère “L’étagère” means “the shelf” in “l’étagère suivante”, referring to the shelf the speakers plan to inspect. The form begins with “l’” before this noun. You would use it when directing someone to a shelf in a shop or room.

suivante “Suivante” means “next” or “following” in “l’étagère suivante”, identifying which shelf to check. It specifies that the shelf comes after the one currently being considered. You can use “l’étagère suivante” when continuing a search along the shelves.

Demandons “Demandons” means “let’s ask” in “Demandons à quelqu’un”, proposing that the speakers ask another person for help. Its citation form is “demander”; “Demandons” is the form used for a joint suggestion. You can use “Demandons à” before the person you want to ask.

à In “Demandons à quelqu’un”, “à” introduces the person being asked, so the pattern means “ask someone”. It connects “Demandons” to the person who may provide information. You can reuse “demander à” followed by the person you want to address.

quelqu’un “Quelqu’un” means “someone” in “à quelqu’un qui travaille ici”, referring to an unspecified person in the shop. The following words identify that person as someone who works there. You can use “quelqu’un qui” before a description of an unspecified person.

qui “Qui” means “who” in “qui travaille ici” and introduces information about “quelqu’un”. It connects the person to the action or description that follows. The pattern “quelqu’un qui” is useful when identifying an unspecified person by what they do.

travaille “Travaille” means “works” in “qui travaille ici”, describing what the person does at this place. Its citation form is “travailler”; “travaille” is the form used in this dialogue. You can use “travaille ici” when identifying someone who works at the place where you are.

ici “Ici” means “here” in “travaille ici”, referring to the shop where the speakers are. It gives the location of the person’s work. You can use “ici” after an action or description to specify that it happens in the current place.

Grammar Points

pas encore

Pas encore.

pahz ahn-KOR.

Not yet.

pas encore is a fixed expression used to say that something has not happened up to now.

quelqu’un + verbe

Quelqu’un travaille ici.

kel-KUN trah-VY ee-SEE.

Someone works here.

quelqu’un is an indefinite pronoun meaning an unspecified person; the verb agrees with it in the singular.

French Vocabulary

acheter verb

ah-shuh-TAY to buy

combien adv

kom-BYEN how many

en tout phrase

ahn-TOO in total

encore adv

ahn-KOR still; yet

jus d’orange phrase

zhoo dor-AHNZH orange juice

moi pron

MWAH me

pain noun

PAN bread

pour prep

POOR for

quatre num

KATR four

suffire verb

soo-FEER to be enough

toi pron

TWAH you

tranche noun

TRAHNSH slice tranches

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Four slices in total.

Show Answer

Quatre tranches en tout.

Not yet. Let's check the next shelf.

Show Answer

Pas encore. Regardons l’étagère suivante.

Let's ask someone who works here.

Show Answer

Demandons à quelqu’un qui travaille ici.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

for

Show Answer

pour

slice

Show Answer

tranches

bread

Show Answer

pain

how many

Show Answer

combien