Planning lunch at a restaurant | Learn French in English

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Use Planning lunch at a restaurant to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Tu veux déjeuner ensemble ?

tyoo vuh day-zhuh-NAY ahn-SAHM-bluh Would you like to have lunch together?

Ça a l'air bien. Où allons-nous ?

sah ah LEHR byan. oo ah-lohn-NOO? That sounds nice. Where should we go?

Peut-être le petit restaurant près d'ici.

puh-TETR luh puh-TEE res-toh-RAHN preh duh dee-SEE. Maybe the small restaurant near here.

Allons-y s'il n'y a pas trop de monde.

ah-LOHN-zee seel NYAH pah troh duh MOHND. Let's go there if it isn't busy.

On se retrouve devant la porte d'entrée ?

ohn suh ruh-TROOV duh-VAHN lah PORT dahn-TRAY? Should we meet by the front door?

Je t'attendrai là où tu peux me voir.

zhuh tah-tahn-DRAY lah oo tyoo puh muh VWAHR. I'll wait where you can see me.

Alors, je viendrai te trouver.

ah-LOR, zhuh vyan-DRAY tuh troo-VAY. Then I'll come find you.

Après cela, nous pourrons demander une table.

ah-PRAY suh-LAH, noo poor-RON duh-mahn-DAY uhn TAH-bluh. After that, we can ask for a table.

Word by Word

Tu Tu means “you” in the invitation Tu veux déjeuner ensemble ? It addresses one person directly and informally. Use it as the subject when speaking to one person you know or address informally.

veux Veux means “want” in Tu veux déjeuner ensemble ? and is the form of vouloir used with tu. It is followed here by the infinitive déjeuner to ask about someone’s wish. This is useful when inviting someone to do something.

déjeuner Déjeuner means “to have lunch” in Tu veux déjeuner ensemble ? It is an infinitive following veux and names the planned activity. Use it after a verb expressing a wish or plan when talking about having lunch.

ensemble Ensemble means “together” in Tu veux déjeuner ensemble ? It shows that the speaker wants to have lunch with the other person. It commonly comes after the activity or verb to show shared action, as in this invitation.

Ça Ça means “that” or “it” in Ça a l'air bien and refers to the suggested lunch plan. With the rest of the expression, it gives a positive reaction to the suggestion. Use it as the subject when commenting on an idea, situation, or thing already understood.

a In Ça a l'air bien, a is the form of avoir used in the expression meaning that something seems or looks a certain way. The full expression, not a alone, says that the suggestion seems good. It is reused before a description when giving an impression or evaluation.

l'air In Ça a l'air bien, l'air contributes the idea of appearance or impression. Together with a, the expression says that something seems or looks good here. Use this expression when giving an impression of a plan, place, or situation.

bien Bien means “well” or, here, “good” in Ça a l'air bien. It completes the expression and gives a positive evaluation of the restaurant idea. Use it after an expression of appearance or impression when the evaluation is favorable.

Où Où means “where” in Où allons-nous ? It asks for the place the speakers should go to. Use it at the beginning of a question about a destination or location.

allons Allons has two functions in this dialogue. In Où allons-nous ?, it is the form of aller used with nous and asks where the speakers are going; in Allons-y, it is an invitation meaning “let’s go,” with y referring to the restaurant. Use the first pattern to ask about a shared destination and the second to propose moving there.

nous Nous means “we” in Où allons-nous ? and nous pourrons demander une table. It identifies the speakers as the group performing the action. Use it as the subject when describing an action done by the speaker and at least one other person.

Peut-être Peut-être means “maybe” in Peut-être le petit restaurant près d'ici. It makes the restaurant suggestion tentative rather than definite. Use it when offering one possible choice without presenting it as certain.

le Le means “the” before restaurant in le petit restaurant. It introduces a specific restaurant that the speakers can identify as their possible choice. Use it before a specific masculine singular noun.

petit Petit means “small” in le petit restaurant and describes the restaurant’s size. Here it appears directly with the noun it describes. Use it when identifying a small place or object by its size.

restaurant Restaurant means “restaurant” in le petit restaurant. It names the possible place where the speakers plan to have lunch. Use it as the place noun after a determiner and, when needed, a description such as small.

près Près means “near” in près d'ici and expresses closeness to the speakers’ current location. With d'ici, the phrase identifies the restaurant as nearby. Use it with a location complement when saying that a place is close.

d'ici D'ici means “from here” and, in près d'ici, helps mean “near here.” It anchors the restaurant’s location to where the speakers are now. Use it after a distance or location expression when the reference point is the current place.

y Y means “there” in Allons-y and refers to the restaurant just mentioned. With Allons, the phrase means “let’s go there.” Use it with a movement expression when referring back to a previously identified place.

s'il S'il means “if it” at the start of s'il n'y a pas trop de monde. It introduces the condition under which the speakers will go to the restaurant. Use it to begin a conditional statement before the situation being checked.

n'y N'y is the written sequence used in n'y a pas, the negative part of the expression for saying that there is or are not something. Here it helps express that the restaurant does not have too many people. Use this negative existence pattern when checking whether something is present or available.

pas Pas is the negative marker in n'y a pas trop de monde. Together with the preceding n', it makes the statement negative and says that the condition is not the case. Use it after the verb in this type of negative construction.

trop Trop means “too many” in trop de monde. It marks an excessive amount of people, which is the condition being checked before going to the restaurant. Use it before de and a quantity noun when saying that there is more than is suitable.

de In trop de monde, de links the quantity word trop to the people being counted or considered. The full phrase means “too many people,” rather than giving de a separate meaning here. Use it after a quantity expression before the noun that describes the amount.

monde Monde means “people” or “crowd” in trop de monde, not “world” in this context. The phrase describes whether the restaurant is too crowded. Use it after a quantity expression when referring collectively to people in a place.

On On means “we” in On se retrouve devant la porte d'entrée ? It makes a suggestion about the two speakers meeting up. Use it for an informal proposal involving the speaker and another person or group.

se Se is part of On se retrouve and helps express the shared action of meeting up. The whole expression asks whether the speakers should meet at the entrance door. It is placed before the verb in this type of pronominal meeting expression.

retrouve Retrouve is the form of retrouver used with on in On se retrouve devant la porte d'entrée ? and means “meet up” here. It describes the speakers arranging to meet at a particular place. Use this meeting expression when agreeing on where people will meet.

devant Devant means “in front of” in devant la porte d'entrée. It specifies the position of the meeting point relative to the door. Use it before a place or object when giving a location in front of it.

la La means “the” before porte in la porte d'entrée. It introduces the specific entrance door that both speakers can identify. Use it before a specific feminine singular noun.

porte Porte means “door” in la porte d'entrée. It names the object used to identify the meeting point. Use it with a location expression when describing where someone should wait or meet.

d'entrée D'entrée means “of entrance” in porte d'entrée and identifies the door as the entrance door. It narrows the meaning of porte to the door people use to enter. Use this kind of noun-plus-description combination when distinguishing one door from others.

Je Je means “I” in Je t'attendrai là où tu peux me voir. It identifies the speaker as the person who will wait. Use it as the subject when stating your own action or plan.

t'attendrai T'attendrai means “will wait for you” in Je t'attendrai là où tu peux me voir. It combines t', meaning “you” as the object, with attendrai, the future form of attendre used with je. Use this form when telling someone that you will wait for them at an agreed place.

là Là means “there” in là où tu peux me voir and points to the place where the speaker will wait. With où, it introduces the location connected to the other person’s ability to see the speaker. Use it to point to a place that is understood or identified in the conversation.

peux Peux means “can” in tu peux me voir and is the form of pouvoir used with tu. It expresses the other person’s ability to see the speaker. Use it before an infinitive when saying what someone can do.

me Me means “me” in me voir and is the person being seen. It comes before the infinitive voir as the object pronoun. Use it in this position when another person performs an action toward the speaker.

voir Voir means “see” in tu peux me voir. It is the infinitive that follows peux and names the action the other person is able to perform. Use it after a verb such as pouvoir when describing an ability to see someone or something.

Alors Alors means “then” in Alors, je viendrai te trouver. It links the next planned action to the preceding arrangement. Use it at the beginning of a response when one action follows logically from what was just said.

viendrai Viendrai means “will come” in je viendrai te trouver and is the future form of venir used with je. Here it describes a planned movement toward the other person. Use it before an infinitive when saying that you will come to carry out another action.

te Te means “you” in te trouver and is the person whom the speaker will find. It comes before the infinitive trouver as the object pronoun. Use it in this position when saying that an action will be done to or for the person addressed.

trouver Trouver means “find” in viendrai te trouver. Together with viendrai, it says that the speaker will come and find the other person, not merely come. Use an infinitive after a movement verb when explaining the purpose of coming.

Après Après means “after” in Après cela. It places the next action later than an earlier event or step in the plan. Use it before a reference to an earlier action or event when organizing actions in time.

cela Cela means “that” in Après cela and refers back to the preceding meeting and finding arrangement. The phrase means “after that” and introduces the next restaurant action. Use it after a time expression when pointing to an event already mentioned.

pourrons Pourrons means “will be able to” in nous pourrons demander une table and is the future form of pouvoir used with nous. It presents asking for a table as a later possibility after the other steps. Use it before an infinitive when describing what the group will be able to do.

demander Demander means “ask for” in demander une table. It is the infinitive after pourrons and names the request the speakers plan to make at the restaurant. Use it with the requested object when asking for something such as a table.

une Une means “a” in une table and introduces one non-specific table. It presents the requested table as something the speakers have not selected yet. Use it before a singular noun when referring to one item without identifying a particular one.

table Table means “table” in demander une table and refers to seating at the restaurant. It is the object of the request the speakers plan to make. Use it after a verb meaning “ask for” when requesting a table at a restaurant.

Grammar Points

avoir l'air + adjectif

Tu as l'air petit.

tyoo ah LEHR puh-TEE

You look small.

« avoir l'air + adjectif » signifie « sembler »; l'adjectif décrit le sujet, comme « petit » ici.

aller + y à l'impératif

Allons-y !

ah-LOHN-zee

Let's go there!

« -y » remplace un lieu déjà mentionné; « allons » est l'impératif de « aller » pour « nous ».

French Vocabulary

aller verb

ah-LAY to go allons

avoir l'air phrase

ah-VWAHR LEHR to seem; to look a l'air

bien adv

byan well; nicely

déjeuner verb

day-zhuh-NAY to have lunch

ensemble adv

ahn-SAHM-bluh together

où adv

oo where

petit adj

puh-TEE small

peut-être adv

puh-TETR maybe

près de prep

preh duh near

restaurant noun

res-toh-RAHN restaurant

tu pron

tyoo you

vouloir verb

voo-LWAHR to want veux

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Would you like to have lunch together?

Show Answer

Tu veux déjeuner ensemble ?

Maybe the small restaurant near here.

Show Answer

Peut-être le petit restaurant près d'ici.

Then I'll come find you.

Show Answer

Alors, je viendrai te trouver.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

together

Show Answer

ensemble

well; nicely

Show Answer

bien

to have lunch

Show Answer

déjeuner

to go

Show Answer

allons