Talking about a sore throat | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: At home, one adult has a sore throat while another makes warm tea and suggests resting the voice..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Talking about a sore throat to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ma gorge me fait un peu mal.

mah GORZH muh feh uhn PUH MAHL My throat feels a little sore.
B

Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud.

eh-SAY duh BWAHR kel-kuh SHOHZ duh SHOH Try drinking something warm.
A

Tu peux me faire du thé ?

tyoo PUH muh FEHR dyu TAY Could you make me some tea?
B

Je vais en faire maintenant.

zhuh VEH ahn FEHR man-tuh-NAHN I'll make some now.
A

Ma voix est bizarre aujourd'hui.

mah VWAH eh bee-ZAHR oh-zhoor-DWEE My voice sounds strange today.
B

Essaie de parler moins pour le moment.

eh-SAY duh par-LAY MWAHN poor luh moh-MAHN Try to speak less for now.
A

Je vais me reposer après l'avoir bu.

zhuh VEH muh ruh-poh-ZAY ah-PRAY lah-VWAHR byu I'll rest after I drink it.
B

Ça devrait faire du bien à ta gorge.

sah duh-VREH FEHR dyu BYEHN ah tah GORZH That should help your throat.

Word by Word

Ma In Ma gorge, Ma means “my” and shows that the throat belongs to the speaker. It agrees with the feminine singular noun gorge. Use Ma + a feminine singular noun when describing something belonging to you, especially a body part.
gorge In Ma gorge me fait un peu mal, gorge means “throat.” It names the body part that is painful in this dialogue. Use it with a possessive such as Ma gorge when describing your throat.
me In Ma gorge me fait un peu mal, me identifies the person experiencing the pain: the speaker. It appears before fait as the affected person. Use this object pronoun when describing how something affects you.
fait Fait is a form of faire used in me fait un peu mal. The full expression says that the throat causes the speaker pain; fait supplies the idea of causing or making, while mal supplies the pain. Use this verb in a construction where a body part causes pain to someone.
un In un peu, un helps form the small-quantity expression meaning “a little” or “a bit.” Together, un peu shows that the soreness is mild rather than strong. Use un peu to soften the amount or degree of something.
peu In un peu, peu means “little” or “a bit.” The full expression un peu limits the degree of the soreness in this dialogue. Use un peu when describing a small amount or a mild symptom.
mal In me fait un peu mal, mal refers to pain or soreness. The full expression says that the speaker’s throat hurts a little, rather than mal alone expressing the whole sentence. Use it in a description of a painful body part.
Essaie Essaie is the singular informal imperative of essayer, meaning “try,” and gives advice to one person. It appears in Essaie de boire and Essaie de parler. Use Essaie de + an infinitive when telling someone informally to try an action.
de In Essaie de boire, de links the advice Essaie to the action boire. It is part of the “try to” construction here, not a separate object meaning. Reuse Essaie de + an infinitive for similar advice.
boire In Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud, boire is the infinitive meaning “drink.” It names the action being suggested. Use it after de in Essaie de boire when advising someone to try drinking something.
quelque chose Together, quelque chose means “something”: quelque leaves the identity unspecified, and chose contributes the idea of a thing. In quelque chose de chaud, it refers to an unspecified warm drink or item. Use boire quelque chose when the exact thing being consumed is not specified.
chaud In quelque chose de chaud, chaud means “warm” or “hot” and describes the unspecified thing. It gives the suggested drink its temperature. Use quelque chose de chaud when recommending something warm to consume.
Tu In Tu peux me faire du thé ?, Tu means informal singular “you” and is the subject of the request. It addresses one person directly. Use Tu peux + an infinitive when asking that person whether they can do something.
peux Peux is a form of pouvoir used with Tu, meaning “can” or “could” in Tu peux me faire du thé ?. It frames the sentence as a request about the other person’s ability or willingness. Reuse Tu peux + an infinitive for a similar request.
faire Faire is the infinitive of faire and means “make” or “prepare” in Tu peux me faire du thé ?. The full expression asks the other person to prepare tea for the speaker. Use Tu peux me faire + an item when asking someone to prepare something for you.
du In du thé, du introduces some tea, an unspecified amount of the drink. It works with thé to express the requested quantity. Use du before a suitable singular mass noun when asking for some of it.
thé In du thé, thé means “tea.” It names the warm drink that one person asks the other to prepare. Use it with du when referring to some tea.
Je In Je vais en faire maintenant, Je means “I” and is the subject of the reply. It identifies the person who will prepare the tea. Use Je vais + an infinitive to state your own immediate intention.
vais Vais is a form of aller used with Je in Je vais en faire maintenant. Together with the following infinitive, it means “am going to” and signals an intended action. Reuse Je vais + an infinitive for an action you plan to do.
en In en faire, en refers back to the tea mentioned in du thé and avoids repeating it. It contributes the idea of making some or making it, while faire supplies the action. Use en before a verb when referring back to a previously mentioned amount or item.
maintenant Maintenant means “now” in Je vais en faire maintenant. It shows that the tea will be prepared immediately or at the present time. Use it with a verb when specifying that an action is happening now.
voix In Ma voix est bizarre aujourd'hui, voix means “voice.” It names the voice whose condition sounds unusual. Use it with a possessive such as Ma voix when describing your own voice.
est Est is a form of être used with the singular subject Ma voix in Ma voix est bizarre aujourd'hui. It links the voice to the description bizarre. Use a noun + est + an adjective to describe something.
bizarre In Ma voix est bizarre aujourd'hui, bizarre means “strange” or “unusual.” It describes how the speaker’s voice is today. Use est bizarre when saying that something seems unusual.
aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui means “today” in Ma voix est bizarre aujourd'hui. It limits the description to the current day. Use it at the end of a sentence to specify that a condition applies today.
parler In Essaie de parler moins, parler is the infinitive meaning “speak” or “talk.” It names the action that the listener is advised to reduce. Use Essaie de parler when suggesting that someone try speaking.
moins In parler moins, moins means “less” and reduces the amount of speaking. The full phrase advises the listener not to speak as much for the moment. Use a verb + moins when asking for a smaller amount of an activity.
pour In pour le moment, pour introduces the time period covered by the advice. Together, pour le moment means “for now” or “for the moment.” Use pour le moment when a recommendation is temporary.
le In le moment, le is the definite article before the noun moment. It helps form the specific time expression pour le moment. Reuse le with moment in this expression when referring to the current period.
moment In pour le moment, moment means “moment” or “current period.” The full expression means “for now,” referring to the present temporary situation. Use pour le moment when saying that something applies only at present.
reposer Reposer is the infinitive used with me in me reposer, meaning “rest.” The full expression me reposer means that the speaker will rest, with me showing who rests. Its citation form is se reposer; use me reposer after Je vais when saying that you are going to rest.
après In après l'avoir bu, après means “after” and places the resting later than the drinking. It introduces the action that happens first in the time relationship. Use après + an action or time expression when describing what happens later.
l'avoir In l'avoir bu, l' refers back to the tea, and avoir is the infinitive that helps form the meaning “to have drunk it.” Together with bu, the phrase means “after having drunk it.” Reuse après l'avoir + a past participle when referring to an action that has already been completed.
bu Bu is the past participle of boire, meaning “drunk.” In l'avoir bu, it says that the tea has been drunk before the speaker rests. Use avoir + bu when referring to having drunk something.
Ça In Ça devrait faire du bien à ta gorge, Ça means “that” or “it” and points back to the helpful action just mentioned. It is the subject of the reassurance. Use Ça + a verb when referring to something already under discussion.
devrait Devrait is a conditional form of devoir, meaning “should” in Ça devrait faire du bien à ta gorge. It expresses an expected benefit without presenting it as certain. Reuse Ça devrait + an infinitive when making a gentle prediction about an outcome.
bien In faire du bien à ta gorge, bien contributes the idea of benefit or well-being. The full expression means that something should help the throat; bien alone does not carry the whole meaning. Use faire du bien à + a person or body part when saying that something is beneficial.
à In faire du bien à ta gorge, à marks the body part that benefits from the action. It links the benefit to ta gorge. Reuse faire du bien à + a person or body part when explaining what something helps.
ta In ta gorge, ta means “your” and refers to the person addressed with Tu. It agrees with the feminine singular noun gorge. Use ta + a feminine singular noun when describing something belonging to the person you are addressing informally.

Grammar Points

faire mal à quelqu’un

Ma gorge me fait un peu mal.

mah GORZH muh feh uhn PUH MAHL

My throat hurts a little.

French uses an indirect object pronoun such as me with faire mal to show who feels the pain.

essayer de + infinitif

Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud.

eh-SAY duh BWAHR kel-kuh SHOHZ duh SHOH

Try to drink something warm.

After essayer, use de followed by the infinitive form of the next verb.

French Vocabulary

boire verb
BWAHR to drink

Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud.

chaud adj
SHOH warm

Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud.

en pron
ahn some; of it

Je vais en faire maintenant.

essayer verb
eh-say-YAY to try Essaie

Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud.

faire verb
FEHR to make; to do

Tu peux me faire du thé ?

faire mal phrase
FEHR MAHL to hurt me fait ... mal

Ma gorge me fait un peu mal.

gorge noun
GORZH throat

Ma gorge me fait un peu mal.

maintenant adv
man-tuh-NAHN now

Je vais en faire maintenant.

pouvoir verb
poo-VWAHR can; to be able to peux

Tu peux me faire du thé ?

quelque chose pron
kel-kuh SHOHZ something

Essaie de boire quelque chose de chaud.

thé noun
TAY tea

Tu peux me faire du thé ?

un peu adv
uhn PUH a little

Ma gorge me fait un peu mal.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I'll make some now.

Show AnswerJe vais en faire maintenant.

My voice sounds strange today.

Show AnswerMa voix est bizarre aujourd'hui.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

throat

Show Answergorge

to make; to do

Show Answerfaire

can; to be able to

Show Answerpeux

to try

Show AnswerEssaie