About This Lesson
Use Waiting in the right line to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
C'est la bonne file ?
seh lah BAWN FEEL? Is this the right line?
B
Elle va jusqu'à l'accueil.
el vah zhoos-KAH lah-KUR-y. It goes to the front desk.
A
L'accueil est plus loin ?
lah-KUR-y eh ploo LWAHN? Is the front desk up ahead?
B
On le voit d'ici.
ohn luh VWAH dee-SEE. We can see it from here.
A
Je dois me mettre derrière vous ?
zhuh DWAH muh MEHTR duh-RYEHR VOO? Should I stand behind you?
B
Restez près de moi ; il n'y a pas beaucoup de place.
reh-STAY preh duh MWAH; eel NYAH pah boh-KOO duh PLAHSS. Stay close; there isn't much space.
A
La file avance lentement.
lah FEEL ah-VAHNS lahnt-MAHN. The line is moving slowly.
B
On peut attendre encore un peu.
ohn PUH ah-TAHNDR ahn-KOR uhn PUH. We can wait a little longer.Word by Word
C'est
In "C'est la bonne file ?", this asks whether something is the correct line. It presents or identifies the line being checked; a reusable question pattern is "C'est ... ?".
la
"la" means "the" and marks the specific line in "la bonne file". The same form appears as "La" at the start of "La file avance lentement"; use it before a known feminine singular noun.
bonne
"bonne" means "right" or "correct" here, describing the line as the one the speaker should use. It agrees with "file", so "bonne" comes before that noun in "la bonne file".
file
"file" means a line or queue of people, as in "C'est la bonne file ?". It is useful when checking or describing which line to join.
Elle
"Elle" means "it" here and refers to "la file", not to a person. It is used as the subject before "va" in "Elle va jusqu'à l'accueil".
va
"va" says that the line goes or leads somewhere in "Elle va jusqu'à l'accueil". It is a form of "aller" used after the subject "Elle"; a reusable pattern is a subject followed by "va" and a destination.
jusqu'à
"jusqu'à" means "all the way to" and marks the endpoint of the line in "Elle va jusqu'à l'accueil". Use it before a destination when emphasizing where something reaches.
l'accueil
"l'accueil" means the front desk or reception area in this dialogue. It is the destination after "jusqu'à", so "jusqu'à l'accueil" means all the way to the front desk.
est
"est" means "is" in the question "L'accueil est plus loin ?". It links the front desk with its location, and it is a form of "être"; a reusable pattern is a subject followed by "est" and a location description.
plus
In "plus loin", "plus" contributes the sense of "farther" or "more", asking whether the front desk is farther ahead. Here it works together with "loin", rather than expressing the whole location by itself.
loin
In "L'accueil est plus loin ?", "loin" describes distance, with "plus loin" meaning farther ahead. Use "plus loin" after a form of "être" to ask or say that a place is farther away.
On
"On" means "we" in "On le voit d'ici" and "On peut attendre encore un peu". It is used as the subject before the verb in these conversational sentences.
le
"le" means "it" in "On le voit d'ici" and refers to the front desk. It is an object pronoun placed before the verb "voit".
voit
"voit" expresses seeing in "On le voit d'ici", meaning "we can see it from here". It is a form of "voir" used after "On"; a reusable pattern is "On le voit" followed by a place phrase.
d'ici
"d'ici" means "from here" and identifies the viewpoint in "On le voit d'ici". Use it to say where something can be seen or where an action starts.
Je
"Je" means "I" and is the subject of the question "Je dois me mettre derrière vous ?". It comes before the verb when the speaker asks about their own action.
dois
"dois" expresses "must" or "should" in "Je dois me mettre derrière vous ?", asking whether the speaker is expected to stand there. It is a form of "devoir" used with "Je" and followed by an infinitive.
me
"me" means "myself" in "Je dois me mettre derrière vous", because the speaker is positioning themself. It comes before the infinitive "mettre" in this reflexive construction.
mettre
In "me mettre", "mettre" expresses placing oneself, so the question asks whether the speaker should position themself behind someone. It is the infinitive after "dois"; a reusable pattern is "se mettre" or a matching pronoun plus "mettre" followed by a location.
derrière
"derrière" means "behind" in "derrière vous" and gives the position where the speaker would stand. Use it before a person or place that is behind the position being described.
vous
"vous" means "you" in "derrière vous". It can address one person politely or more than one person, and here it follows the preposition "derrière".
Restez
"Restez" means "stay" or "remain" in the instruction "Restez près de moi". It is used as a direct instruction to someone addressed as "vous"; a reusable pattern is "Restez" followed by a location phrase.
près
"près" means "near" or "close" in "près de moi". Use it with "de" before the person or place that serves as the reference point.
de
In "près de moi", "de" links "près" to the reference person, giving the meaning "close to me". The reusable pattern is "près de" followed by a person or place.
moi
"moi" means "me" in "près de moi". It is the stressed pronoun used after the preposition "de" in this expression.
il
In "il n'y a pas beaucoup de place", "il" is the fixed subject element of the expression meaning "there is not". It does not refer to a person here; the complete expression is used to say that something is or is not available.
n'y
"n'y" is part of "il n'y a pas", the negative expression for "there is not" or "there are not". It combines the negative element "ne" with "y" before "a"; use it with "pas" in this construction.
a
In "il n'y a pas beaucoup de place", "a" helps form the expression "there is not much space". It is a form of "avoir" in "il y a"; the reusable pattern is "il y a" or its negative form "il n'y a pas" followed by what exists.
pas
"pas" completes the negation in "il n'y a pas beaucoup de place", giving "there is not much space". It works with the negative element in "n'y"; a common reusable pattern is "ne ... pas".
beaucoup
"beaucoup" means "much" or "a lot" in "pas beaucoup de place". The pattern "beaucoup de" expresses a large quantity before a noun, while the negation here makes it "not much".
place
"place" means available space or room in "il n'y a pas beaucoup de place". Use it in this physical sense when describing how much room there is for people or objects.
avance
"avance" says that the line moves forward in "La file avance lentement". It is a form of "avancer" used with "La file"; a reusable pattern is a subject followed by "avance" and an adverb describing how it moves.
lentement
"lentement" means "slowly" and describes how the line moves in "La file avance lentement". It is placed after the verb to describe the speed of the action.
peut
"peut" means "can" in "On peut attendre encore un peu", expressing the possibility of waiting. It is a form of "pouvoir" used with "On" and followed by an infinitive.
attendre
"attendre" means "wait" in "On peut attendre encore un peu". It is the infinitive after "peut"; a reusable pattern is "On peut" followed by an infinitive.
encore
In "encore un peu", "encore" means "a little longer" or indicates continuation beyond now. It is placed before the small amount in this expression when saying that the waiting can continue.
un
In "un peu", "un" helps form the quantity expression meaning "a little". Use "un peu" after a verb to express a small amount or a short additional period.
peu
In "encore un peu", "peu" means a small amount, giving the meaning "a little longer". The reusable expression is "un peu", often used to soften or limit a quantity.
Grammar Points
devoir + infinitif
Vous devez rester près de l'accueil.
voo duh-VAY reh-STAY preh duh lah-KUR-y.You must stay near the reception desk.
After devoir, use the infinitive to express obligation. The verb after it does not change for the subject.
beaucoup de + nom
Il y a beaucoup de place.
eel yah boh-KOO duh PLAHSS.There is a lot of space.
After beaucoup, use de before a noun, whether the noun is singular or plural.
French Vocabulary
accueil
noun
ah-KUR-y
reception desk; front desk
l'accueil
aller
verb
ah-LAY
to go
va
Elle va jusqu'à l'accueil.
bon
adj
BAWN
right; correct
bonne
la bonne file
d'ici
phrase
dee-SEE
from here
On le voit d'ici.
derrière
prep
duh-RYEHR
behind
derrière vous
devoir
verb
duh-VWAHR
should; must
dois
Je dois me mettre derrière vous ?
file
noun
FEEL
line; queue
la bonne file
jusqu'à
prep
zhoos-KAH
up to; as far as
jusqu'à l'accueil
plus loin
adv
ploo LWAHN
farther ahead; further away
L'accueil est plus loin ?
rester
verb
reh-STAY
to stay
Restez
Restez près de moi.
se mettre
verb
suh MEHTR
to position oneself; to stand
me mettre
me mettre derrière vous
voir
verb
VWAHR
to see
voit
On le voit d'ici.
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Is this the right line?
Show Answer
C'est la bonne file ?It goes to the front desk.
Show Answer
Elle va jusqu'à l'accueil.Is the front desk up ahead?
Show Answer
L'accueil est plus loin ?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
reception desk; front desk
Show Answer
accueilshould; must
Show Answer
doisto see
Show Answer
voitline; queue