Understanding a speaker warranty | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Understanding a speaker warranty to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.

zhuh pahns ah-shuh-TAY set puh-TEET ahn-SAYNT I'm thinking about buying this small speaker.

Je peux vous expliquer la garantie avant que vous décidiez.

zhuh puh voo zeks-plee-KAY lah gah-rahn-TEE ah-VAHN kuh voo day-see-DYAY I can explain the warranty before you decide.

Que couvre la garantie ?

kuh KOOVR lah gah-rahn-TEE What does the warranty cover?

Elle couvre les défauts du produit en cas d'utilisation normale.

ell KOOVR lay day-FOH doo proh-DWEE ahn KAHZ dyoo-tee-lee-zah-SYON nor-MAHL It covers product faults during normal use.

Et les dommages accidentels ?

ay lay doh-MAHZH ahk-see-dahn-TELL What about accidental damage?

Ce ne serait pas couvert.

suh nuh suh-RAY pah koo-VAIR That would not be included.

Où dois-je aller si elle ne fonctionne plus ?

oo dwahzh ah-LAY see ell nuh fohnk-SYON ploo Where should I go if it stops working?

Apportez le ticket et la boîte au service client.

ah-por-TAY luh tee-KAY ay lah BWAHT oh sair-VEESS klee-AHN Bring the receipt and the box to customer service.

Ils peuvent la vérifier.

eel PUHV lah vay-ree-FYAY They can check it.

Word by Word

Je Here, “Je” means “I” and identifies the speaker in “Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.” It is the usual subject pronoun placed before the verb, for example in this sentence about a purchase.

pense Here, “pense” means “think” or “am considering,” as in “Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.” It is a form of the citation verb penser and is followed here by the infinitive acheter to name the action being considered. A useful pattern is “Je pense acheter...” when talking about a possible purchase or action.

acheter Here, “acheter” means “to buy” and names the action the speaker is considering in “Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.” It is the infinitive used after pense. Use an infinitive after pense to state the action being considered.

cette Here, “cette” means “this” and identifies one specific item in “cette petite enceinte.” It is placed before the noun phrase and its adjective. It is used before a feminine singular noun in this kind of expression.

petite Here, “petite” means “small” and describes the enceinte in “cette petite enceinte.” It is the feminine form related to the citation form petit and agrees with the noun it describes. In this phrase, the adjective comes before the noun.

enceinte Here, “enceinte” means “speaker,” specifically the small audio product the customer is considering. The meaning comes from the shop context and from “cette petite enceinte.” It is used as the noun for the product throughout the conversation when the item later stops working.

peux Here, “peux” means “can” in “Je peux vous expliquer la garantie,” offering to provide an explanation. It is a form of the citation verb pouvoir and is followed by the infinitive expliquer. A useful pattern is “Je peux...” when offering help or stating what you are able to do.

vous Here, “vous” means “you” and refers to the customer receiving the explanation in “vous expliquer la garantie.” It is placed before the infinitive as the person to whom something is explained. It can address one person politely or several people.

expliquer Here, “expliquer” means “to explain” in “vous expliquer la garantie.” It is an infinitive after peux, and the thing being explained follows it as “la garantie.” This pattern is useful when offering to explain something to someone.

la This exact form has two functions in the dialogue. In “la garantie,” “la” means “the” before a feminine noun; in “la vérifier,” it is the feminine object pronoun meaning “it,” referring to the speaker. Its position shows which function it has: before a noun as an article, or before an infinitive as an object pronoun.

garantie Here, “garantie” means “warranty,” the protection being discussed before the customer decides to buy. It appears in “expliquer la garantie” and is later the subject of “La garantie” in the question about coverage. In a shop, use it when asking what protection a product purchase includes.

avant Here, “avant” means “before” and places the explanation earlier than the customer’s decision in “avant que vous décidiez.” It introduces a time relationship and is followed here by que plus a clause. This pattern is useful for saying that one action happens before another.

que This form has two uses in the dialogue. In “Que couvre la garantie ?”, “Que” means “what” in a question; in “avant que vous décidiez,” “que” links the time expression to the clause about deciding. The surrounding words show whether it asks about an object or introduces the clause after avant.

décidiez Here, “décidiez” refers to the customer’s act of deciding in “avant que vous décidiez.” It is a form of the citation verb décider and appears in the clause introduced by avant que. The expression is useful when discussing something that happens before someone makes a decision.

couvre Here, “couvre” means “covers” in the question “Que couvre la garantie ?” and the answer “Elle couvre les défauts du produit.” It is a form of the citation verb couvrir, with the warranty as the subject and the covered matter as the object. A useful pattern is “couvrir” followed by the thing included in the warranty.

Elle Here, “Elle” means “it” and refers to the warranty in “Elle couvre les défauts du produit.” The same pronoun appears as lowercase “elle” in “si elle ne fonctionne plus,” where it refers to the speaker. It is the feminine singular subject pronoun used before the verb.

les Here, “les” means “the” before plural nouns in “les défauts du produit” and “les dommages accidentels.” It marks the nouns as plural and identifies the faults and damage being discussed. Use it before a plural noun phrase when referring to specific items or categories.

défauts Here, “défauts” means “faults” or “defects,” specifically product problems covered by the warranty in “les défauts du produit.” It is the plural form of the citation noun défaut. In this context, it is used for problems that occur during normal use.

du Here, “du” means “of the” in “les défauts du produit” and links the defects to the product. It is the contraction of de and le. This form is used before the masculine singular noun produit in this relationship.

produit Here, “produit” means “product,” referring to the item whose faults may be covered. It appears in “les défauts du produit,” where it identifies what the defects belong to. In a warranty discussion, it can specify the item associated with a fault or defect.

en Here, “en” is part of the expression “en cas d'utilisation normale,” which means “in the case of normal use.” The whole expression states the condition under which product faults are covered, so en should be understood together with cas. This pattern is useful for describing a condition or circumstance.

cas Here, “cas” means “case” within the expression “en cas d'utilisation normale,” meaning “in the case of normal use.” The expression identifies the circumstance in which the warranty applies. Use it in this kind of phrase when specifying a situation or condition.

d'utilisation Here, “d'utilisation” means “of use” in “en cas d'utilisation normale.” The apostrophe joins de to utilisation before the vowel sound, and utilisation names the use of the product. The full phrase is useful when describing the conditions under which a product is used.

normale Here, “normale” means “normal” and describes the use in “d'utilisation normale.” It is the feminine form related to the citation form normal and agrees with utilisation. In this phrase, it distinguishes ordinary use as the relevant warranty condition.

Et Here, “Et” introduces an additional question meaning “what about” in “Et les dommages accidentels ?” It brings up another type of damage after the question about product faults. This is a useful way to ask about another item or situation in a conversation.

dommages Here, “dommages” means “damage,” referring to accidental damage in “les dommages accidentels.” It is the plural form of the citation noun dommage. In this conversation, it names a possible problem whose warranty coverage is being checked.

accidentels Here, “accidentels” means “accidental” and describes the damage in “les dommages accidentels.” It is the plural form of the citation adjective accidentel and agrees with dommages. It is useful when distinguishing damage caused by an accident from product faults during normal use.

Ce Here, “Ce” means “that” and points to the accidental damage just mentioned in “Ce ne serait pas couvert.” It is the subject of the response about whether that matter is included. This form is useful for referring back to an immediately discussed situation.

serait Here, “serait” means “would be” in “Ce ne serait pas couvert,” giving the reply a hypothetical or qualified meaning about coverage. It is a form of the citation verb être. It appears between the subject Ce and the negative phrase ne...pas couvert.

pas Here, “pas” contributes the meaning “not” in the negative expression “ne serait pas couvert.” It works together with ne rather than expressing the complete negation by itself. In this sentence, it comes after serait and before couvert.

couvert Here, “couvert” means “covered,” meaning included under the warranty in “Ce ne serait pas couvert.” It is the form related to the citation verb couvrir and follows serait in the statement about accidental damage. This expression is useful for saying whether a cost or problem is included in a warranty.

Où Here, “Où” means “where” and asks for the place to go if the speaker stops working. It begins the question “Où dois-je aller si elle ne fonctionne plus ?” A useful pattern is to place Où at the start when asking for a destination or location.

dois-je Here, “dois-je” means “should I” in “Où dois-je aller...?”, asking what action or destination is expected. It is an inverted question form built from a form of the citation verb devoir and the subject pronoun je, joined by a hyphen. It is useful in questions about what the speaker should do.

aller Here, “aller” means “to go” and names the action in “Où dois-je aller...?” It is the infinitive used after dois-je. Together with Où, it asks for the place the customer should go to receive help.

si Here, “si” means “if” and introduces the condition “si elle ne fonctionne plus.” It connects the possible device problem with the question about where to go. This pattern is useful for asking what to do when a condition occurs.

ne Here, “ne” is the first part of the negative expression “ne fonctionne plus.” Together with plus, it means that the speaker no longer works. It appears before the verb fonctionne in this conditional clause.

fonctionne Here, “fonctionne” means “works” or “functions” in “si elle ne fonctionne plus,” referring to whether the speaker operates. It is a form of the citation verb fonctionner and appears inside the negative expression ne...plus. This wording is useful when describing whether a device is operating.

plus Here, “plus” means “anymore” or “no longer” in the expression “ne fonctionne plus.” Together with ne, it says that the speaker has stopped working. This pattern is useful for describing a device that used to work but does not work now.

Apportez Here, “Apportez” means “bring” and gives the customer an instruction in “Apportez le ticket et la boîte au service client.” It is a form of the citation verb apporter used to tell the listener what to bring. It is followed by the objects le ticket et la boîte and the destination au service client.

le Here, “le” means “the” before “ticket” in “le ticket.” It identifies the specific receipt connected with the purchase. It is placed directly before the noun it determines.

ticket Here, “ticket” means “receipt” in the shop context, specifically the proof of purchase to bring for warranty service. It is the first object after Apportez in “Apportez le ticket et la boîte...” Use it here when referring to the purchase document needed by customer service.

boîte Here, “boîte” means “box,” referring to the product packaging in “la boîte.” It is the second item the customer is asked to bring to customer service. In this context, it is coordinated with the receipt as another item to bring.

au Here, “au” means “to the” in “au service client” and marks the destination of the items. It is the contraction of à and le. This form is used before the destination noun phrase service client.

service Here, “service” is part of “service client,” the customer-service department where the receipt and box should be taken. The full phrase identifies the department that handles the customer’s request. In the dialogue, it follows au to express the destination.

client Here, “client” means “customer” within the phrase “service client.” It identifies the service as one intended for customers rather than naming the destination by itself. It follows service in this fixed noun phrase.

Ils Here, “Ils” means “they” and refers to the people at customer service in “Ils peuvent la vérifier.” It is the plural subject pronoun placed before peuvent. It is useful when referring to several staff members who can handle the item.

peuvent Here, “peuvent” means “can” and says that the customer-service staff are able to check the speaker in “Ils peuvent la vérifier.” It is a form of the citation verb pouvoir and is followed by the infinitive vérifier. A useful pattern is a subject plus peuvent plus an infinitive to describe what people are able to do.

vérifier Here, “vérifier” means “to check” or “to verify” in “Ils peuvent la vérifier.” It is an infinitive after peuvent, and la is the object being checked. This expression is useful when customer service examines a product to determine its condition.

Grammar Points

avant que + subjonctif

avant que vous décidiez

ah-VAHN kuh voo day-see-DYAY

before you decide

After « avant que », use the subjunctive; « décidiez » is the subjunctive form of « décider ».

ne ... plus

Le produit ne fonctionne plus.

luh proh-DWEE nuh fohnk-SYON ploo

The product no longer works.

« ne ... plus » surrounds the verb to express that something does not happen anymore.

French Vocabulary

acheter verb

ah-shuh-TAY to buy

Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.

avant que conj

ah-VAHN kuh before

avant que vous décidiez

couvrir verb

koo-VREER to cover couvre

Que couvre la garantie ?

décider verb

day-see-DAY to decide décidiez

avant que vous décidiez

défaut noun

day-FOH fault; defect défauts

les défauts du produit

en cas de prep

ahn KAH duh in the event of; in case of

en cas d'utilisation normale

enceinte noun

ahn-SAYNT speaker

cette petite enceinte

expliquer verb

eks-plee-KAY to explain

Je peux vous expliquer la garantie.

garantie noun

gah-rahn-TEE warranty

la garantie

penser verb

pahn-SAY to think pense

Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.

petit adj

puh-TEE small petite

cette petite enceinte

produit noun

proh-DWEE product

du produit

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I'm thinking about buying this small speaker.

Show Answer

Je pense acheter cette petite enceinte.

What does the warranty cover?

Show Answer

Que couvre la garantie ?

What about accidental damage?

Show Answer

Et les dommages accidentels ?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

warranty

Show Answer

garantie

to explain

Show Answer

expliquer

to decide

Show Answer

décidiez

speaker

Show Answer

enceinte