Arriving at city hall by bike | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: At a city hall entrance, two adults talk about arriving by bike and going inside to find the right counter..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Arriving at city hall by bike to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Je n'ai encore jamais été dans cette mairie.

zhuh neh ahn-KOR zhah-MAY ay-TAY dahn set mah-REE I have never been inside this city hall before.
B

Le bâtiment est plus beau que je ne le pensais.

luh bah-tee-MAHN eh plew boh kuh zhuh nuh luh pahn-SAY The building is nicer than I expected.
A

L'entrée est à côté du parking à vélos.

lahn-TRAY eh ah koh-TAY dew par-KEENG ah vay-LOH The entrance is beside the bicycle parking area.
B

Beaucoup de gens sont venus à vélo.

boh-KOO duh ZHAHN sohn vuh-NOO ah vay-LOH A lot of people came by bike.
A

C'est logique.

seh loh-ZHEEK That makes sense.
A

C'est plus facile que d'attendre le bus.

seh plew fah-SEEL kuh dah-TAHND luh bews It is easier than waiting for the bus.
B

La prochaine fois, on pourrait aussi venir à vélo.

lah proh-SHEN fwah, ohn poo-RAY oh-SEE vuh-NEER ah vay-LOH Next time, we could ride here too.
A

Alors, on peut laisser les vélos près de l'entrée.

ah-LOR, ohn puh leh-SAY lay vay-LOH preh duh lahn-TRAY Then we can leave the bikes close to the entrance.
B

Pour l'instant, entrons et trouvons le bon guichet.

poor lahn-STAHN, ahn-TRON ay troo-VOHN luh bohn gee-SHAY For now, let's go inside and find the right counter.

Word by Word

Je “Je” means “I” here: it identifies the person speaking in “Je n'ai encore jamais été dans cette mairie.” It is used before the verb in a statement about the speaker’s own experience.
n'ai “n'ai” helps express the negative meaning “have not” in “Je n'ai encore jamais été dans cette mairie.” It combines the negation marker “ne” with the form “ai” used in this past-experience construction; a common pattern is “Je n'ai jamais …” for “I have never …”.
encore In “Je n'ai encore jamais été dans cette mairie”, “encore” contributes the idea of “yet” to the statement about an experience up to now. The expression “encore jamais” is useful when saying that something has never happened so far.
jamais “Jamais” means “ever” in the negative expression “Je n'ai encore jamais été dans cette mairie”, giving the overall meaning “I have never been inside this city hall before.” A common reuse pattern is “ne … jamais” for saying that something never happens or has never happened.
été “Été” means “been” in “Je n'ai encore jamais été dans cette mairie.” It is the past form used with “ai” to describe being somewhere before; the related citation form is “être”.
dans “Dans” means “in” or “inside” in “été dans cette mairie”, showing the place where the speaker has been. It commonly comes before a place or container, as in “dans cette mairie” for “inside this city hall”.
cette “Cette” means “this” before “mairie” in “cette mairie”, pointing to the particular city hall being discussed. It is used directly before the noun in this expression.
mairie “Mairie” means “city hall” in “cette mairie.” It names the public building the speakers are entering; a useful pattern is “à la mairie” for “at or to city hall.”
Le “Le” means “the” before “bâtiment” in “Le bâtiment est plus beau que je ne le pensais.” It is the definite article used with this noun in the dialogue.
bâtiment “Bâtiment” means “building” in “Le bâtiment.” It identifies the city hall building whose appearance is being evaluated, and it can follow “le” when referring to a specific building.
est “Est” means “is” in “Le bâtiment est plus beau que je ne le pensais.” It links the building with the description “plus beau”; the related citation form is “être”.
plus “Plus” marks the comparison in “plus beau que je ne le pensais”, meaning that the building is nicer or more beautiful than expected. A reusable pattern is “plus + adjective + que” for comparing two things.
beau “Beau” describes the building as nice or beautiful in “Le bâtiment est plus beau que je ne le pensais.” Here it follows “plus” in the comparison pattern “plus beau que”.
que “Que” introduces the comparison in “plus beau que je ne le pensais”, meaning “than I thought.” It commonly follows a comparative expression such as “plus … que”.
ne In “que je ne le pensais”, “ne” appears in the comparison clause after “que.” Here it is a formal marker used in this comparative expression and does not make the speaker’s thought negative.
pensais “Pensais” refers to what the speaker thought in “que je ne le pensais”, meaning “than I expected.” The related citation form is “penser”; this form is used for the thought held at that time.
L'entrée “L'entrée” means “the entrance” in “L'entrée est à côté du parking à vélos.” The initial “l'” is used before the vowel sound of “entrée”; the related noun form is “entrée”.
à In “à côté du parking à vélos”, “à” is part of the expression meaning “beside” or “next to.” The reusable construction is “à côté de + place or thing” to locate something nearby.
côté “Côté” means “side” in the location expression “à côté du parking à vélos”, which means “beside the bicycle parking area.” It is normally used here with “à” and “de” as “à côté de”.
du “Du” means “of the” in “à côté du parking à vélos.” It is the contracted form of “de” and “le”, and it comes before the specific place being used as a reference point.
parking “Parking” means “parking area” in “du parking à vélos.” It names the area beside the entrance; a useful pattern is “parking à + type of vehicle” when describing a parking area.
vélos “Vélos” means “bikes” in “parking à vélos”, identifying the vehicles for which the parking area is intended. It is used after “à” in this noun expression.
Beaucoup “Beaucoup” means “a lot” or “many” in “Beaucoup de gens sont venus à vélo.” It is followed by “de” before the noun, as in the common pattern “beaucoup de + people or things.”
de In “Beaucoup de gens”, “de” connects “beaucoup” with the noun and means “of” in the quantity expression. The pattern is “beaucoup de + noun” for “a lot of” or “many.”
gens “Gens” means “people” in “Beaucoup de gens sont venus à vélo.” It refers to the people who arrived, and it commonly follows quantity expressions such as “beaucoup de.”
sont “Sont” helps form “sont venus”, meaning “came” in “Beaucoup de gens sont venus à vélo.” It is the form of “être” used here with the plural subject “gens.”
venus “Venus” means “came” in “sont venus à vélo.” It is the past form used with “sont” to describe the people’s arrival; the related citation form is “venir.”
vélo In “à vélo”, “vélo” means “bike” and the whole expression means “by bike” or “on a bicycle.” A common pattern is “venir à vélo” for arriving by bike.
C'est “C'est” means “that is” or “it is” in “C'est logique”, which corresponds to “That makes sense.” It is used to introduce a judgment or description.
logique “Logique” means “logical” in “C'est logique”, expressing that the fact just mentioned makes sense. It can follow “C'est” to give a brief evaluation of an idea or situation.
facile “Facile” means “easy” in “C'est plus facile que d'attendre le bus.” It describes the bike option in a comparison, and a useful pattern is “C'est facile de + infinitive” for saying that an action is easy.
d'attendre “D'attendre” means “to wait” in “plus facile que d'attendre le bus.” The initial “d'” is the shortened form of “de” before the vowel of “attendre”; after “que”, this infinitive names the activity being compared.
bus “Bus” means “bus” in “d'attendre le bus”, the vehicle that someone might wait for. A common pattern is “attendre le bus” for “wait for the bus.”
La “La” means “the” before “prochaine fois” in “La prochaine fois.” It is the definite article used with this expression for a future occasion.
prochaine “Prochaine” means “next” in “La prochaine fois”, referring to the following occasion. It comes directly before “fois” in this common time expression.
fois “Fois” means “time” as an occasion in “La prochaine fois”, which means “next time.” The full expression is used when referring to a future occasion.
on “On” means “we” in “on pourrait aussi venir à vélo” and “on peut laisser les vélos”, referring to the speaker and the other person together. It is commonly used as the subject when making a suggestion or stating a shared possibility.
pourrait “Pourrait” means “could” in “on pourrait aussi venir à vélo”, presenting riding here as a possible plan for next time. It is used before an infinitive, here “venir”; the related citation form is “pouvoir.”
aussi “Aussi” means “also” or “too” in “on pourrait aussi venir à vélo”, adding this possibility to the earlier ways of arriving. It commonly appears before the infinitive or other part of the action being added.
venir “Venir” means “come” in “venir à vélo”, describing coming to this place by bike. It is an infinitive after “pourrait”; a reusable pattern is “venir à + means of transport.”
Alors “Alors” means “then” in “Alors, on peut laisser les vélos près de l'entrée.” It connects the previous idea with the practical consequence or next step.
peut “Peut” means “can” in “on peut laisser les vélos près de l'entrée”, expressing that leaving the bikes there is possible. It is followed by the infinitive “laisser”; the related citation form is “pouvoir.”
laisser “Laisser” means “leave” in “laisser les vélos près de l'entrée”, describing what can be done with the bikes. It follows “peut” and takes “les vélos” as the thing being left.
les “Les” means “the” before “vélos” in “les vélos”, referring to the bikes already under discussion. It is used before this plural noun.
près “Près” means “near” in “près de l'entrée”, locating the bikes close to the entrance. It is normally used with “de” before the place or thing that serves as the reference point.
Pour In “Pour l'instant”, “Pour” contributes the meaning “for” in the time expression “for now.” The full expression is used to describe what applies at the present moment.
l'instant “L'instant” means “the moment” in “Pour l'instant”, which as a whole means “for now.” It refers to the current time in this expression.
entrons “Entrons” means “let's go inside” in “entrons et trouvons le bon guichet.” It is a first-person plural command or suggestion used to propose entering together; the related citation form is “entrer.”
et “Et” means “and” in “entrons et trouvons”, connecting two actions that are proposed together. It links “entrons” with “trouvons” in the same suggestion.
trouvons “Trouvons” means “let's find” in “trouvons le bon guichet.” It proposes finding the appropriate counter together and is used before the object “le bon guichet”; the related citation form is “trouver.”
bon “Bon” means “right” or “suitable” in “le bon guichet”, identifying the counter they need. It comes directly before the noun in this expression.
guichet “Guichet” means “counter” or “service desk” in “le bon guichet.” It refers to the place inside the city hall where they need to go, and it can follow “le bon” when identifying the correct counter.

Grammar Points

beaucoup de + nom

beaucoup de gens

boh-KOO duh ZHAHN

a lot of people

Before a noun, beaucoup is followed by de, not the English-style “a lot of” directly.

à côté de / près de + nom

à côté de la mairie

ah koh-TAY duh lah mah-REE

next to city hall

These location expressions are followed by de before the place or thing being located.

French Vocabulary

bâtiment noun
bah-tee-MAHN building

Le bâtiment

beaucoup adv
boh-KOO a lot

Beaucoup de gens

encore adv
ahn-KOR still; yet

n'ai encore jamais été

entrée noun
ahn-TRAY entrance

L'entrée

facile adj
fah-SEEL easy

C'est plus facile

gens noun
ZHAHN people

Beaucoup de gens

guichet noun
gee-SHAY counter

le bon guichet

jamais adv
zhah-MAY ever; never

n'ai encore jamais été

logique adj
loh-ZHEEK logical; that makes sense

C'est logique

mairie noun
mah-REE city hall

cette mairie

parking noun
par-KEENG parking area

le parking à vélos

vélo noun
vay-LOH bike

à vélo

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

That makes sense.

Show AnswerC'est logique.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

a lot

Show Answerbeaucoup

people

Show Answergens

entrance

Show Answerentrée

parking area

Show Answerparking