Keeping valuables safe in a bag | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: Before leaving, two adults decide where to keep a wallet and phone safely in a bag..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Keeping valuables safe in a bag to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Où dois-je mettre mon portefeuille ?

oo DWAHZH MEHTR moh(n) por-tuh-FUH-y Where should I put my wallet?
B

Garde-le dans la poche intérieure.

GAHRD-luh dah(n) la POSH an-tay-ree-YUHR Keep it in the inside pocket.
A

Est-ce que la poche avant est sûre ?

ess-kuh la POSH ah-VAHN eh SYUR Is the front pocket safe?
B

La poche intérieure est plus sûre.

la POSH an-tay-ree-YUHR eh ploo SYUR The inside one is safer.
A

Je peux fermer la fermeture éclair.

zhuh puh fehr-MAY la fehr-muh-TYOOR ay-KLEHR I can close the zipper.
B

Ça devrait le garder en sécurité.

sah duh-VRAY luh gahr-DAY ah(n) say-koo-ree-TAY That should keep it secure.
A

Mon téléphone est aussi dans cette poche.

moh(n) tay-lay-FON eh oh-SEE dah(n) set POSH My phone is in there too.
B

Vérifie la poche avant de partir.

vay-ree-FEE la POSH ah-VAHN duh par-TEER Check the pocket before you go.

Word by Word

Où “Où” asks where something should be placed in “Où dois-je mettre mon portefeuille ?”. It is useful when asking about a location or destination.
dois In “Où dois-je mettre”, “dois” expresses should or must and is the form of devoir used with je. It appears before “je” because this question uses inversion; devoir + infinitive is a common pattern for expressing obligation or necessity.
je In “dois-je”, “je” means I and identifies the person who will put the wallet somewhere. In this question, it follows “dois” in the inverted word order.
mettre “Mettre” means to put or place in “mettre mon portefeuille”. It is an infinitive after “dois”, and a useful pattern is mettre + object + dans + place.
mon “Mon” means my in “mon portefeuille” and “Mon téléphone”. It is the possessive form used before each of these nouns to show that the wallet and phone belong to the speaker.
portefeuille “Portefeuille” means wallet and is the object being placed in “mettre mon portefeuille”. It is useful when talking about keeping a wallet in a particular place.
Garde “Garde-le” tells one person to keep the item somewhere, here in the inside pocket. “Garde” is the form of garder used for this direct instruction, and it can be used when telling someone where to keep an object.
le In “Garde-le”, “le” means it and refers to the wallet; in “le garder”, it refers to the item that should stay secure. It is an object pronoun placed before the verb in these expressions.
dans “Dans” means in and places the wallet inside “la poche intérieure”. A reliable pattern is dans + a place or container.
la “La” means the in “la poche intérieure”. It introduces the specific pocket being discussed.
poche “Poche” means pocket, specifically a pocket in the bag in this dialogue. It appears in “la poche intérieure”, “la poche avant”, and “cette poche”, so it is useful when identifying where an item is stored.
intérieure “Intérieure” means inside or inner in “la poche intérieure”, describing the pocket located inside the bag. It is the form of intérieur used with poche here, and “poche intérieure” is a reusable noun phrase for an inside pocket.
Est-ce que Together, “Est-ce que” forms a question frame in “Est-ce que la poche avant est sûre ?”. “Est” is the verb element, “ce” is part of the question frame, and “que” links the frame to the following clause; together they turn the statement about the pocket into a question.
avant In “la poche avant”, “avant” means front; in “avant de partir”, it means before. It is useful both in a noun phrase such as poche avant and in the pattern avant de + infinitive.
sûre “Sûre” means safe in “la poche avant est sûre” and “plus sûre”. It is the form of sûr used with poche here, describing whether the pocket protects the items safely.
est “Est” means is in “est sûre” and is the form of être used here with the pocket as the subject. It connects the pocket with its description, such as “sûre” or “plus sûre”.
plus “Plus” means more in “plus sûre”, making the inside pocket safer than the front pocket. A useful pattern is plus + adjective when comparing qualities.
peux “Peux” means can in “Je peux fermer la fermeture éclair” and is the form of pouvoir used with je. The pattern pouvoir + infinitive expresses what the speaker is able to do.
fermer “Fermer” means to close and describes the action applied to “la fermeture éclair”. It is an infinitive after “peux”, and fermer + object is a useful pattern for describing closing something.
fermeture éclair “Fermeture éclair” means zipper in “fermer la fermeture éclair”. “Fermeture” names a closure, while “éclair” completes the established expression for this type of closure; together they refer to the zipper.
Ça “Ça” means that or it in “Ça devrait le garder en sécurité” and refers to the preceding action of closing the zipper. It is used here as the subject of an expected result.
devrait “Devrait” expresses should in “Ça devrait le garder en sécurité”, describing an expected result. It is a form of devoir, and the reusable pattern devrait + infinitive presents what is expected to happen.
garder “Garder” means keep in “le garder en sécurité”, describing keeping the item secure. It is an infinitive after “devrait”; garder + object + en sécurité is a useful pattern for talking about protecting something.
en In “en sécurité”, “en” helps form the expression meaning safe or secure. The full expression is used after “garder” to describe the condition in which the item remains.
sécurité “Sécurité” means safety in the expression “en sécurité”. In “le garder en sécurité”, it describes the protected condition of the wallet or phone.
téléphone “Téléphone” means phone in “Mon téléphone”. It is another valuable item that is also stored in “cette poche”, and it is useful when talking about carrying or locating a phone.
aussi “Aussi” means also or too in “Mon téléphone est aussi dans cette poche”. It adds the phone as another item located in the pocket, after the wallet has already been discussed.
cette “Cette” means this in “cette poche” and identifies the particular pocket being discussed. It is used directly before the noun poche in this phrase.
Vérifie “Vérifie” means check in “Vérifie la poche avant de partir”. It is the form of vérifier used for a direct instruction to one person, and Vérifie + object is a useful pattern for telling someone what to check.
de In “avant de partir”, “de” links “avant” to the infinitive “partir”, giving the meaning before leaving. A reliable pattern is avant de + infinitive.
partir “Partir” means leave or go in “avant de partir”. It is an infinitive after “de” in the pattern avant de + infinitive, used when referring to an action that happens before departure.

Grammar Points

Où dois-je + infinitif ?

Où dois-je mettre le portefeuille ?

oo DWAHZH MEHTR luh por-tuh-FUH-y

Where should I put the wallet?

Dans une question avec inversion, le pronom sujet se place après le verbe : dois-je.

Impératif + pronom objet

Garde-le dans la poche intérieure.

GAHRD-luh dah(n) la POSH an-tay-ree-YUHR

Keep it in the inside pocket.

À l’impératif affirmatif, le pronom objet suit le verbe et s’y rattache avec un trait d’union.

French Vocabulary

avant adj
ah-VAHN front

la poche avant

dois verb
DWAH should; must

Où dois-je mettre mon portefeuille ?

fermer verb
fehr-MAY to close

Je peux fermer la fermeture éclair.

fermeture éclair noun
fehr-muh-TYOOR ay-KLEHR zipper

la fermeture éclair

garde-le phrase
GAHRD-luh keep it

Garde-le dans la poche intérieure.

intérieure adj
an-tay-ree-YUHR inside; inner

la poche intérieure

mettre verb
MEHTR to put

Où dois-je mettre mon portefeuille ?

où adv
oo where

Où dois-je mettre mon portefeuille ?

plus sûre adj
ploo SYUR safer

La poche intérieure est plus sûre.

poche noun
POSH pocket

dans la poche intérieure

portefeuille noun
por-tuh-FUH-y wallet

mon portefeuille

sûre adj
SYUR safe

La poche avant est sûre ?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Where should I put my wallet?

Show AnswerOù dois-je mettre mon portefeuille ?

Keep it in the inside pocket.

Show AnswerGarde-le dans la poche intérieure.

The inside one is safer.

Show AnswerLa poche intérieure est plus sûre.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

front

Show Answeravant

inside; inner

Show Answerintérieure

safe

Show Answersûre

wallet

Show Answerportefeuille