Cleaning Up a Coffee Spill | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: In a daily life situation, two adults handle coffee spilled on documents and decide how to dry or replace the damaged page..

EN → FR / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Cleaning Up a Coffee Spill to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

J'ai renversé du café sur ces documents.

zhay rahn-vair-SAY dew kah-FAY syur say doh-kyoo-MAHN I spilled coffee on these documents.
B

Éloigne-les de la tasse avant que la tache ne s'étende.

ay-LWAN-yuh lay duh lah TASS ah-VAHN kuh lah TASH nuh say-TAHND Move them away from the cup before the stain spreads.
A

La première page est déjà trempée.

lah pruh-MYAIR PAHZH ay day-ZHAH trahn-PAY The top page is already soaked.
B

Laisse-la sécher à plat avant de la manipuler.

LESS-lah say-SHAY ah PLAH ah-VAHN duh lah mah-nee-pyoo-LAY Let it dry flat before you handle it.
A

Est-ce que je dois imprimer une nouvelle copie de cette page ?

ESS kuh zhuh DWAH am-pree-MAY oon noo-VELL koh-PEE duh set PAHZH Should I print a clean copy of that page?
B

Ce serait plus sûr, car le texte risque de devenir flou.

suh suh-RAY ploo SYUR kar luh TEKST reesk duh duh-vuh-NEER FLOO That would be safer because the text may blur.
A

Je vais séparer les pages sèches pendant que celle-ci sèche.

zhuh vay say-pah-RAY lay PAHZH SESS puh-DAHN kuh sell-SEE SESS I will separate the dry pages while this one dries.
B

La prochaine fois, garde les boissons sur une autre table.

lah proh-SHEN fwah, GARD lay bwah-SON syur ewn OH-truh TAHBL Keep the drinks on another table next time.

Word by Word

J'ai J'ai means “I have” here and, with renversé, helps say that the speaker spilled the coffee. It is a form of avoir. Reuse J'ai + a past action when reporting something you have done.
renversé Renversé means “spilled” in J'ai renversé du café. It is the form of renverser used with J'ai for this completed action. Reuse J'ai renversé + something when saying that you spilled something.
du Du introduces an unspecified amount of coffee in du café, meaning “some coffee.” It is used here before a drink treated as an uncountable substance. Reuse du + a masculine food or drink when referring to some of it.
café Café means “coffee” in du café. Here it is the substance that was spilled. Reuse café when naming the drink itself or the coffee involved in an everyday situation.
sur Sur means “on” and shows the surface affected by the spill in sur ces documents. Reuse sur + a surface or object to say where something is or lands. It is useful when describing where a liquid or mark has gone.
ces Ces means “these” in ces documents and points to the documents being discussed. It comes directly before the noun it identifies. Reuse ces + a plural noun when indicating particular things nearby or already under discussion.
documents Documents means “documents” and names the papers affected by the coffee. In ces documents, it identifies the object after sur. Reuse documents when talking about written papers, files, or official material.
Éloigne Éloigne tells someone to move something away in Éloigne-les de la tasse. It is a command form related to éloigner. Reuse Éloigne + object + de + thing when telling someone to create distance from something.
les Les means “them” in Éloigne-les and refers back to the documents. Here it is attached to the command with a hyphen rather than placed before the verb. Reuse a command + les when telling someone to act on several previously mentioned things.
de De means “from” in Éloigne-les de la tasse and marks the thing the documents should be moved away from. It belongs to the pattern éloigner quelque chose de quelque chose. Reuse de after a movement-away expression to identify the starting reference.
la La means “the” in la tasse and La première page. It identifies a feminine singular noun in both phrases. Reuse la + a feminine singular noun when referring to a specific item.
tasse Tasse means “cup” in la tasse and identifies the object near the documents. It is the reference point after de in the movement instruction. Reuse tasse when talking about a cup in a practical everyday situation.
avant Avant means “before” and introduces the action that must happen first in avant que la tache ne s'étende. Reuse avant + a noun or avant que + a clause to order two events. It is useful when giving a precaution or deadline.
que Que links the time expression avant to the clause la tache ne s'étende in avant que la tache ne s'étende. Together, avant que means “before.” Reuse avant que + a clause when one event must happen before another.
tache Tache means “stain” in la tache and names the mark that may spread. It is the subject of la tache ne s'étende. Reuse tache when describing a mark caused by a spill or dirt.
ne Ne appears in la tache ne s'étende after avant que. Here it does not make the clause negative; it is used in this type of expression before the stain spreads. Reuse avant que + ne + a verb when describing something that should happen before a possible event.
s'étende S'étende means “spreads” in la tache ne s'étende and describes the stain becoming wider. It is a form related to s'étendre. Reuse s'étendre for a stain, liquid, or other thing that gradually covers a larger area.
première Première means “first” in La première page; here it identifies the top page in the stack. It is the feminine form related to premier. Reuse première + a feminine noun when identifying the first item in an order.
page Page means “page” in La première page and names the sheet that is soaked. It is also referred to later in cette page. Reuse page when talking about one sheet or one part of a document.
est Est means “is” in La première page est déjà trempée and connects the page with its condition. It is a form of être. Reuse a subject + est + description to state the condition or identity of one thing.
déjà Déjà means “already” and shows that the page is soaked by this point in the situation. It appears before the description in est déjà trempée. Reuse déjà when saying that something has happened or become true sooner than the current moment.
trempée Trempée means “soaked” in La première page est déjà trempée and describes the page as saturated with liquid. It describes the condition of page after est. Reuse est + trempée to describe a feminine object that has become soaked.
Laisse Laisse tells someone to let or leave something in Laisse-la sécher à plat. It is a command form related to laisser and introduces what should be allowed to happen. Reuse Laisse + object + infinitive when telling someone to let an object do something or remain in a condition.
sécher Sécher means “to dry” in Laisse-la sécher à plat and names the action the page should undergo. It follows Laisse-la in this instruction. Reuse laisser + object + sécher when telling someone to let something dry.
à À contributes the position or manner meaning in à plat, which means “flat.” Here it tells how the page should be left while it dries. Reuse sécher à plat when giving instructions for drying a sheet or similar flat object.
plat Plat means “flat” in à plat and describes the position in which the page should dry. The full expression à plat, not plat alone, gives the instruction about the page’s position. Reuse à plat when telling someone to keep a flat object level.
manipuler Manipuler means “handle” in avant de la manipuler and refers to touching or handling the page. It follows avant de in the instruction about waiting until the page is dry. Reuse avant de + infinitive when saying that one action should happen before another.
Est-ce que Est-ce que introduces the yes-or-no question Est-ce que je dois imprimer une nouvelle copie de cette page ? Together, Est-ce and que form the question marker before the statement being asked about. Reuse Est-ce que + subject + verb to ask a direct yes-or-no question.
je Je means “I” in je dois imprimer and identifies the speaker as the person considering the action. It normally comes before the verb. Reuse je + verb when talking about your own action or intention.
dois Dois expresses “should” or “need to” in Est-ce que je dois imprimer...? It is a form of devoir and asks whether the action is necessary or advisable. Reuse je dois + infinitive when asking or stating whether you need to do something.
imprimer Imprimer means “print” and names the proposed action in je dois imprimer une nouvelle copie. It follows dois as an infinitive. Reuse imprimer + a document, page, or copy when talking about producing a paper version.
une Une introduces one non-specific copy in une nouvelle copie, meaning “a” or “one.” It comes directly before the noun phrase. Reuse une + a feminine singular noun when referring to one item that has not been specified as a particular one.
nouvelle Nouvelle means “new” in une nouvelle copie and distinguishes the proposed copy from the damaged page. It is the feminine form related to nouveau. Reuse nouvelle + a feminine noun when describing a replacement or recently made item.
copie Copie means “copy” in une nouvelle copie and names the replacement version to be printed. It is the object of imprimer. Reuse copie when referring to another version of a document or page.
cette Cette means “this” or “that” in cette page and points to the particular page already being discussed. It comes directly before page. Reuse cette + a feminine singular noun when identifying a specific item.
Ce Ce means “that” or “it” in Ce serait plus sûr and refers to the proposed action of printing a new copy. Here it is the subject of the evaluation. Reuse Ce serait + description when evaluating a proposed action.
serait Serait means “would be” in Ce serait plus sûr and presents the recommendation as an evaluation of a possible action. It is a form of être. Reuse Ce serait + adjective when saying how a proposed choice would be.
plus Plus means “more” in plus sûr and makes the description comparative, giving “safer.” It shows that printing a new copy is safer than continuing with the damaged page. Reuse plus + adjective when comparing the degree of a quality.
sûr Sûr means “safe” in plus sûr, which means “safer” in this context. It describes the proposed replacement copy as the less risky option. Reuse être plus sûr when recommending one choice as safer than another.
car Car means “because” and introduces the reason for the recommendation in car le texte risque de devenir flou. It connects the evaluation with its explanation. Reuse car + a clause when giving a direct reason.
le Le means “the” in le texte and identifies the specific text on the page. It comes before the masculine singular noun texte. Reuse le + a masculine singular noun when referring to a particular thing.
texte Texte means “text” in le texte and refers to the writing on the page. It is the subject of risque de devenir flou. Reuse texte when talking about written words or content on a document.
risque Risque means “is at risk of” or “may” in le texte risque de devenir flou. It warns that the text may become blurred. Reuse a subject + risque de + infinitive to describe a possible undesirable result.
devenir Devenir means “become” in risque de devenir flou and describes a change into a new condition. It follows risque de as an infinitive. Reuse devenir + adjective when saying that something changes state.
flou Flou means “blurred” in devenir flou and describes the possible condition of the text. It follows devenir. Reuse devenir flou when something written or visible may lose its clarity.
vais Vais means “am going to” in Je vais séparer les pages sèches and expresses the speaker’s intended next action. It is a form of aller. Reuse je vais + infinitive when announcing an action you intend to do.
séparer Séparer means “separate” in Je vais séparer les pages sèches and names the action of keeping the dry pages apart. It follows vais as an infinitive. Reuse séparer + objects when saying that you will keep things apart.
pages Pages means “pages” in les pages sèches and refers to several sheets that are not wet. It is the object of séparer. Reuse pages when talking about multiple sheets in a document or stack.
sèches Sèches means “dry” in les pages sèches and describes the pages that are not soaked. It matches pages in the phrase les pages sèches. Reuse pages sèches when distinguishing dry sheets from wet ones.
pendant Pendant means “while” in pendant que celle-ci sèche and introduces the time during which another action happens. Together with que, it links two clauses occurring at the same time. Reuse pendant que + subject + verb when describing simultaneous actions.
celle-ci Celle-ci means “this one” in pendant que celle-ci sèche and refers to the particular page that is still wet. It replaces a feminine singular noun already understood from the context. Reuse celle-ci when pointing to one specific feminine item.
sèche Sèche means “dries” in celle-ci sèche and describes what the page is doing while the other pages are separated. It is a form of sécher. Reuse an object + sèche when describing that object becoming dry.
prochaine Prochaine means “next” in La prochaine fois and points to the next occasion. It is the feminine form related to prochain. Reuse la prochaine fois when giving advice about what should happen on a future occasion.
fois Fois means “time” or “occasion” in La prochaine fois. Together, la prochaine fois means “next time.” Reuse la prochaine fois when referring to the next occurrence of a similar situation.
garde Garde tells someone to keep the drinks in a particular place in garde les boissons sur une autre table. It is a command form related to garder. Reuse Garde + object + place when instructing someone where to leave something.
boissons Boissons means “drinks” in garde les boissons and refers to the beverages that caused the risk of another spill. It is the object of garde. Reuse boissons when talking about beverages generally.
autre Autre means “another” in une autre table and indicates a table different from the current one. It comes before the noun table. Reuse autre + singular noun when choosing a different item or place.
table Table means “table” in une autre table and identifies the place where the drinks should be kept next time. It follows autre in the location phrase. Reuse table when referring to a surface used for placing objects.

Grammar Points

pendant que + proposition

Pendant que la copie sèche, les documents sont à plat.

puh-DAHN kuh lah koh-PEE SESS, lay doh-kyoo-MAHN sohn ah PLAH

While the copy dries, the documents are flat.

« Pendant que » introduit une action qui se déroule en même temps qu'une autre.

celle-ci

Celle-ci est la prochaine copie.

sell-SEE ay lah proh-SHEN koh-PEE

This one is the next copy.

« Celle-ci » est un pronom démonstratif féminin qui remplace un nom déjà mentionné.

French Vocabulary

café noun
kah-FAY coffee
déjà adv
day-ZHAH already
documents noun
doh-kyoo-MAHN documents
éloigne verb
ay-LWAN-yuh move away
page noun
PAHZH page
première adj
pruh-MYAIR top; first
renversé verb
rahn-vair-SAY spilled
s'étende verb
say-TAHND spreads
sécher verb
say-SHAY to dry
tache noun
TASH stain
tasse noun
TASS cup
trempée adj
trahn-PAY soaked

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

The top page is already soaked.

Show AnswerLa première page est déjà trempée.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

cup

Show Answertasse

top; first

Show Answerpremière

documents

Show Answerdocuments

coffee

Show Answercafé