Checking a Bag | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Checking a Bag to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Tu peux m'aider à vérifier mon sac ?

tyoo puh may-DAY ah veh-ree-FYAY mohn sak Can you help me check my bag?

Je peux regarder dedans avec toi.

zhuh puh ruh-gar-DAY duh-DAHN ah-VEK twah I can look through it with you.

Tu vois quelque chose qui manque ?

tyoo VWAH kelk SHOHZ kee MAHNK Do you see anything missing?

Ton portefeuille et ton téléphone sont tous les deux là.

tohn por-tuh-FUH-y ay tohn tay-lay-FOHN sohn too lay DUH lah Your wallet and phone are both here.

Où est mon petit carnet ?

oo eh mohn puh-TEE kar-NAY Where is my small notebook?

Il est sous ta veste.

eel eh soo tah VEST It is under your jacket.

Alors, j'ai tout.

ah-LOR zhay TOO Then I have everything.

Tu peux fermer le sac maintenant.

tyoo puh fair-MAY luh sak meh(n)-tuh-NAHN You can close the bag now.

Word by Word

Tu “Tu” means “you” as the informal subject in “Tu peux m'aider” and “Tu vois”. It identifies the person being asked or addressed. This form is used when speaking directly to one familiar person.

peux “Peux” means “can” or “are able to” in “Tu peux m'aider” and “Tu peux fermer”. It is a form of pouvoir and is followed by an action in the infinitive. The pattern “Tu peux” is useful for asking whether someone can do something or saying they may do it.

m'aider “M'aider” means “help me” in “Tu peux m'aider à vérifier”. It combines “m'”, meaning “me”, with “aider”, the action “to help”; the shortened form “m'” appears before the vowel in “aider”. The reusable pattern is “m'aider à” followed by the action that needs help.

à “À” links “m'aider” to the action “vérifier” in “m'aider à vérifier”, giving the meaning “help me to check”. It introduces the action connected to helping. The pattern “aider à” is followed by an infinitive action.

vérifier “Vérifier” means “to check” in “vérifier mon sac”. It names the action of examining the bag to see whether everything is present. It can be used after “à” in “m'aider à vérifier” when someone helps with an action.

mon “Mon” means “my” before “sac” in “mon sac”. It shows that the bag belongs to or is associated with the speaker. The reusable pattern is a possessive word followed by the thing possessed, as in “mon sac”.

sac “Sac” means “bag” in “mon sac” and “fermer le sac”. It is the item being checked and later closed. It can be used after a possessive in “mon sac” or after “le” in “le sac”.

Je “Je” means “I” as the subject in “Je peux regarder”. It identifies the speaker who is offering to look inside the bag. It is used before an action that the speaker can or will do.

regarder “Regarder” means “to look” in “regarder dedans”. Here it describes examining the inside of the bag. After “Je peux”, it stays in the infinitive form, and the pattern “regarder dedans” expresses looking inside.

dedans “Dedans” means “inside” in “regarder dedans”. It indicates that the looking takes place inside the bag already mentioned. The reusable pattern “regarder dedans” means to look inside it.

avec “Avec” means “with” in “avec toi”. It shows that the speaker will do the checking together with the other person. It is followed here by the stressed pronoun “toi”.

toi “Toi” means “you” in “avec toi”. It is the form used after the preposition “avec” to identify the person accompanying the speaker. The pattern “avec toi” means “with you” when addressing one familiar person.

vois “Vois” means “see” or “notice” in “Tu vois quelque chose qui manque ?”. It is a form of voir used to ask whether the other person notices anything absent. The reusable pattern “Tu vois” can introduce something the listener is being asked to notice.

quelque “Quelque” contributes the meaning “some” or “any” in the expression “quelque chose”. Together, “quelque chose” refers to a thing, here something that may be missing. This expression is used in the question “Tu vois quelque chose qui manque ?”.

chose “Chose” means “thing” in “quelque chose”. Together with “quelque”, it forms the expression meaning “something” or “anything”, rather than naming a particular object. It is followed here by “qui manque”, which describes the possible thing.

qui “Qui” introduces the part “qui manque”, which describes “quelque chose” as the thing that is missing. In this dialogue, it links the noun phrase to information about its absence. The pattern “quelque chose qui manque” means “something that is missing”.

manque “Manque” means “is missing” in “quelque chose qui manque”. It describes an item that is absent from the bag. It comes after “qui” in the reusable pattern “quelque chose qui manque”.

Ton “Ton” means “your” before “portefeuille” in “Ton portefeuille”. It shows that the wallet belongs to or is associated with the person being addressed. The related possessive form “ta” appears before “veste” in “ta veste”.

portefeuille “Portefeuille” means “wallet” in “Ton portefeuille”. It is one of the two personal items confirmed to be in the bag. It can be used after the possessive “Ton” to say whose wallet it is.

et “Et” means “and” in “Ton portefeuille et ton téléphone”. It joins the wallet and the phone as two items that are both present. It is used between the two connected items.

téléphone “Téléphone” means “phone” in “ton téléphone”. It is the second personal item confirmed to be in the bag. It is joined to “portefeuille” by “et” in the list of items.

sont “Sont” means “are” in “Ton portefeuille et ton téléphone sont tous les deux là”. It is a form of être used because the sentence refers to the wallet and the phone together. It connects the two items with their location, “là”.

tous “Tous” contributes the meaning “both” in the expression “tous les deux”. It emphasizes that the statement applies to each of the two items, not just one. The complete pattern “tous les deux” means “both” when referring to two things.

les “Les” is part of the expression “tous les deux” in this dialogue. Together, “tous les deux” means “both” and refers to the wallet and the phone. Here it should be learned as part of that expression rather than translated alone as “the”.

deux “Deux” means “two” in “tous les deux”. It identifies the number of items that are both present: the wallet and the phone. The pattern “tous les deux” is used to refer to both members of a pair.

là “Là” means “there” or “here” in “sont tous les deux là”. It points to the place where the wallet and phone are found. It is used here after the verb to state their location.

Où “Où” means “where” in “Où est mon petit carnet ?”. It asks for the location of the notebook. It is used at the beginning of a question about where something is.

est “Est” means “is” in “Où est mon petit carnet ?” and “Il est sous ta veste”. It is a form of être used with the notebook, which is one item. It links the item to a location.

petit “Petit” means “small” or “little” in “mon petit carnet”. It describes the size of the notebook. It comes before “carnet” in this noun phrase.

carnet “Carnet” means “notebook” in “mon petit carnet”. It is the item whose location is being asked about and then identified as being under the jacket. It can be described with “petit” in “petit carnet”.

Il “Il” means “it” in “Il est sous ta veste”. It refers back to “mon petit carnet”, not to a person. It is used as the subject when giving the notebook’s location.

sous “Sous” means “under” in “sous ta veste”. It describes the notebook’s position beneath the jacket. It is followed by the item that is above it, here “ta veste”.

ta “Ta” means “your” before “veste” in “ta veste”. It shows that the jacket belongs to or is associated with the person being addressed. It is the possessive form used here before “veste”, while “ton” appears before “portefeuille”.

veste “Veste” means “jacket” in “ta veste”. It is the item under which the notebook is found. It appears after the possessive “ta” in this phrase.

Alors “Alors” means “then” or “so” in “Alors, j'ai tout”. It marks the conclusion that follows from finding the notebook and confirming the other items. It can introduce a result or conclusion in a conversation.

j'ai “J'ai” means “I have” in “j'ai tout”. It combines “je” with “ai”, a form of avoir, and states that the speaker now has all the needed items. The reusable pattern “j'ai tout” means that nothing else is missing.

tout “Tout” means “everything” or “all” in “j'ai tout”. It refers collectively to all the items being checked in the bag. With “j'ai”, the expression “j'ai tout” says that the speaker has everything.

fermer “Fermer” means “to close” in “Tu peux fermer le sac”. It names the next action after the bag has been checked. After “Tu peux”, it appears in the infinitive and is followed by the object “le sac”.

maintenant “Maintenant” means “now” in “fermer le sac maintenant”. It indicates that closing the bag can happen at this time, after the check is complete. It can be placed with an action to specify when that action should happen.

Grammar Points

pouvoir + infinitif

Peux-tu m'aider à vérifier le sac ?

puh-tyoo may-DAY ah veh-ree-FYAY luh sak

Can you help me check the bag?

After pouvoir, use the infinitive: peux-tu m'aider. The pronoun m' comes before the infinitive aider.

regarder dedans

Je peux regarder dedans ?

zhuh puh ruh-gar-DAY duh-DAHN

Can I look inside?

French uses the adverb dedans after the verb to mean “inside”; it does not need a preposition here.

French Vocabulary

aider verb

ay-DAY to help m'aider

Tu peux m'aider

avec prep

ah-VEK with

avec toi

dedans adv

duh-DAHN inside

regarder dedans

manquer verb

mahn-KAY to be missing manque

qui manque

portefeuille noun

por-tuh-FUH-y wallet

Ton portefeuille

pouvoir verb

poo-VWAHR can; to be able to peux

Tu peux m'aider

quelque chose pron

kelk SHOHZ something; anything

quelque chose qui manque

regarder dedans phrase

ruh-gar-DAY duh-DAHN to look inside

regarder dedans avec toi

sac noun

sak bag

mon sac

téléphone noun

tay-lay-FOHN phone

ton téléphone

vérifier verb

veh-ree-FYAY to check

à vérifier mon sac

voir verb

VWAHR to see vois

Tu vois

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I can look through it with you.

Show Answer

Je peux regarder dedans avec toi.

Where is my small notebook?

Show Answer

Où est mon petit carnet ?

It is under your jacket.

Show Answer

Il est sous ta veste.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

with

Show Answer

avec

inside

Show Answer

dedans

to see

Show Answer

vois

to check

Show Answer

vérifier