Checking a bag before leaving | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: Before leaving, two adults check that a bag has the needed phone, keys, and water bottle..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Checking a bag before leaving to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

On vérifie que mon sac est prêt ?

ohn vay-ree-FYAY kuh mohn sahk eh PRAY? Can we make sure my bag is ready?
B

Mets d'abord les choses importantes sur la table.

meh dah-BOR lay SHOZ an-por-TAHNT soor lah TAH-bluh. Put the important things on the table first.
A

Mon téléphone est dans la poche avant.

mohn tay-lay-FOHN eh dahn lah POSH ah-VAHN. My phone is in the front pocket.
B

Où as-tu mis tes clés ?

oo ah-TOO mee tay CLAY? Where did you put your keys?
A

Elles sont à côté de mon téléphone.

el sohn tah koh-TAY duh mohn tay-lay-FOHN. They are next to my phone.
B

Tu as aussi besoin de ta bouteille d'eau ?

too ah oh-SEE buh-ZWAN duh tah boo-TAY DOH? Do you also need your water bottle?
A

Oui, elle est déjà dans la poche principale.

wee, el eh day-ZHAH dahn lah POSH prahn-see-PAHL. Yes, it is already in the main pocket.
B

Alors, tu as ce qu'il te faut.

ah-LOR, too ah suh keel tuh FOH. Then you have what you need.

Word by Word

On In On vérifie, On means “we” and refers to the two people checking the bag together. This form is useful for a shared action when the speaker includes another person, as in On vérifie que mon sac est prêt ?.
vérifie vérifie means “checks” or “makes sure” in On vérifie que mon sac est prêt ?. It is the form of vérifier used with On; the pattern vérifier que + clause introduces what is being checked, and it suits a practical check before leaving.
que que introduces the information being checked in On vérifie que mon sac est prêt ?, meaning “that my bag is ready.” The pattern vérifier que + clause is useful when confirming a situation, such as whether an item is ready.
mon mon means “my” before sac in mon sac. It marks the bag as belonging to the speaker, and the pattern mon + noun is useful when identifying one person’s belongings.
sac sac means “bag” in mon sac and refers to the bag being checked before leaving. It can be reused after a possessive such as mon sac when talking about where personal items are kept.
est est means “is” in mon sac est prêt, describing the bag as ready. It is a form of être, and the pattern noun + est + description is useful for checking a person or object’s current state.
prêt prêt means “ready” in mon sac est prêt. It describes the condition needed before leaving, and it can be reused after être to say that something is ready for an action.
Mets Mets means “put” in the direct instruction Mets d'abord les choses importantes sur la table. It is the command form of mettre for addressing one person, and Mets + object + place gives a practical instruction about where to put something.
d'abord d'abord means “first” in Mets d'abord les choses importantes sur la table. It places this action before the other actions in the bag check, and it is useful for ordering steps in an instruction.
les les means “the” before the plural noun choses in les choses importantes. It identifies specific things in the situation, and les + plural noun is useful when referring to several known items.
choses choses means “things” in les choses importantes and refers to the items that should be placed on the table. It is the plural form of chose, and les choses + description is a reusable way to refer to several items.
importantes importantes means “important” in les choses importantes, describing which things should be put on the table. It is the form of important used with choses here, and noun + adjective is useful for selecting particular items.
sur sur means “on” in sur la table and shows that the things should be placed on the table’s surface. The pattern mettre quelque chose sur + place is useful for giving the destination of an object.
la la means “the” before table in la table. It identifies the specific table in the scene, and la + singular noun is used for a known feminine noun such as table.
table table means “table” in sur la table, the place where the important things should be put. It can be reused after a location word such as sur when specifying where an object belongs.
téléphone téléphone means “phone” in Mon téléphone and mon téléphone. It identifies the phone being located in the bag, and it can be reused with a possessive when talking about a personal device.
dans dans means “in” in dans la poche avant and shows that the phone is inside the front pocket. The pattern être dans + container or place is useful for saying where an object is located.
poche poche means “pocket” in la poche avant, identifying the compartment where the phone is. It can be reused after dans when describing the location of a small object inside a bag or item of clothing.
avant avant means “front” in la poche avant, specifying which pocket is meant. Here it describes the pocket’s position rather than meaning “before,” and poche avant is a useful phrase for identifying a compartment.
Où Où means “where” at the start of Où as-tu mis tes clés ?. It asks for the location of the keys, and Où + question structure is useful when asking where someone put an object.
as-tu as-tu means “did you” in Où as-tu mis tes clés ?, asking about the act of putting the keys somewhere. It combines as, a form of avoir, with tu in a question pattern; Où as-tu mis + object is useful for asking where an item was placed.
mis mis means “put” in as-tu mis tes clés and refers to placing the keys somewhere. It is the past-participle form of mettre, and the pattern as-tu mis + object is useful when asking about a completed placement.
tes tes means “your” before the plural noun clés in tes clés. It identifies keys belonging to the person being addressed, and tes + plural noun is useful when referring to several belongings of one person.
clés clés means “keys” in tes clés and refers to the keys being located in the bag. It is the plural form of clé, and it can be reused with a possessive when checking whether someone has their keys.
Elles Elles means “they” in Elles sont à côté de mon téléphone and refers to the feminine plural clés. This pronoun avoids repeating the noun, and Elles sont + location is useful for saying where several feminine items are.
sont sont means “are” in Elles sont à côté de mon téléphone, describing where the keys are. It is a form of être, and the pattern plural subject + sont + location is useful for locating several objects.
à à helps form the location expression à côté de in à côté de mon téléphone. It contributes to the meaning “next to,” and à côté de + noun is useful for describing one object’s position relative to another.
côté côté means “side” inside the expression à côté de mon téléphone, which means “next to my phone.” The complete pattern à côté de + noun gives a nearby position, such as the keys being beside the phone.
de de links côté to the reference object in à côté de mon téléphone. Together, à côté de means “next to,” and this expression is reused before the object that serves as the position reference.
Tu Tu means “you” in Tu as aussi besoin de ta bouteille d'eau and addresses one person informally. It is useful as the subject in a direct question about whether that person needs another item.
as as means “have” inside as besoin de, which expresses “need” in Tu as aussi besoin de ta bouteille d'eau ?. It is a form of avoir, and the reusable pattern avoir besoin de + object is used to say that someone needs something.
aussi aussi means “also” in Tu as aussi besoin de ta bouteille d'eau ?, adding the water bottle to the items already being checked. It is useful before the rest of the need expression when asking whether another item is needed too.
besoin besoin means “need” in avoir besoin de ta bouteille d'eau. Together with avoir and de, it forms the expression avoir besoin de + object; this is useful for asking about or stating a required item.
ta ta means “your” before the singular noun bouteille in ta bouteille d'eau. It identifies one water bottle belonging to the person addressed, and ta + singular noun is useful for referring to that person’s item.
bouteille bouteille means “bottle” in ta bouteille d'eau and refers to the water bottle needed for leaving. It can be reused with de + liquid or substance to specify what the bottle contains.
d'eau d'eau means “of water” in ta bouteille d'eau, specifying that the bottle contains water. It is the contracted form of de + eau, and bouteille d'eau is a useful expression for a water bottle.
Oui Oui means “yes” at the start of Oui, elle est déjà dans la poche principale and confirms that the water bottle is present. It is useful as a direct reply before adding information about an item.
elle elle means “it” in elle est déjà dans la poche principale and refers back to the feminine noun bouteille. It is useful for referring to one feminine item without repeating the noun, followed here by its location.
déjà déjà means “already” in elle est déjà dans la poche principale, showing that the bottle is there before the final check. It is useful for indicating that an expected action or condition has happened by this point.
principale principale means “main” in la poche principale, identifying the bag’s main pocket. It is the feminine form of principal used with poche, and noun + principale is useful for distinguishing the main part from other compartments.
Alors Alors means “then” in Alors, tu as ce qu'il te faut and marks the conclusion drawn from the bag check. It is useful at the start of a sentence when a result follows from information just established.
ce ce points to the thing in ce qu'il te faut, meaning “what you need” in the complete expression. The pattern ce que + clause is useful for referring to an unspecified thing described by the following words.
qu'il qu'il is the contracted form of que + il in ce qu'il te faut. In this exact expression, it introduces il te faut, and the contraction is useful before il when que is followed by that pronoun.
te te means “to you” in il te faut and identifies the person for whom something is needed. The pattern il te faut + thing expresses that the thing is needed by you.
faut faut means “is needed” in il te faut and contributes to the meaning “you need” in ce qu'il te faut. It is the form of falloir used in this impersonal expression, and il te faut + object is useful for stating what someone needs.

Grammar Points

Mets + complément

Mets d'abord les choses importantes.

meh dah-BOR lay SHOZ an-por-TAHNT

Put the important things first.

In a command, the subject is omitted. “Mets” is the imperative form of mettre for tu.

ce qu'il te faut

Vérifie ce qu'il te faut.

vay-ree-FYAY suh keel tuh FOH

Check what you need.

“Ce qu'il te faut” is a fixed expression meaning “what you need”; qu' introduces the object of the verb.

French Vocabulary

choses noun
SHOZ things
d'abord adv
dah-BOR first
importantes adj
an-por-TAHNT important
mets verb
meh put
mis verb
mee put
où adv
oo where
poche avant phrase
POSH ah-VAHN front pocket
prêt adj
PRAY ready
sac noun
sahk bag
table noun
TAH-bluh table
téléphone noun
tay-lay-FOHN phone
vérifie verb
vay-ree-FYAY checks; makes sure

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Where did you put your keys?

Show AnswerOù as-tu mis tes clés ?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

table

Show Answertable

phone

Show Answertéléphone

put

Show Answermets

checks; makes sure

Show Answervérifie