Waiting for your turn | Learn French in English

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Use Waiting for your turn to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

J'attends encore mon tour.

zhah-TAHN ahn-KOR mohn TOOR I am still waiting for my turn.

Ils mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler chaque personne aujourd'hui.

eel MET bo-KOO duh TAHN ah ah-peh-LAY SHAK pair-SON oh-zhoor-DWEE They are taking a long time to call each person today.

Alors, je devrais rester pas loin.

ah-LOR, zhuh duh-VRAY res-TAY pah LWAHN So I should stay nearby.

Ils peuvent vous appeler bientôt.

eel PUHV voo ah-peh-LAY byan-TOH They may call you soon.

Quel guichet dois-je regarder ?

kel gee-SHAY dwa-ZHUH ruh-gar-DAY? Which counter should I watch?

L'écran indiquera le bon guichet.

lay-KRAHN an-dee-kuh-RAH luh bohn gee-SHAY The screen will show the right counter.

Alors, je vais garder le ticket dans ma main.

ah-LOR, zhuh vay gar-DAY luh tee-KAY dahn mah MAN Then I'll keep the ticket in my hand.

C'est plus facile quand votre tour arrive.

say ploo fah-SEEL kahn vohtr TOOR ah-REEV That makes it easier when your turn comes.

Word by Word

J'attends The exact form "J'attends" means that the speaker is waiting here. It is used with "encore mon tour" to say that the wait for the speaker's turn is continuing. Its citation form is attendre.

encore In "J'attends encore mon tour", "encore" means still: the waiting has not finished. It commonly appears with an ongoing action or situation. Here it comes before the thing being awaited.

mon In "mon tour", "mon" means my and identifies the turn belonging to the speaker. It comes directly before "tour". Reuse it before a noun when referring to something belonging to the speaker.

tour In "mon tour", "tour" means turn, the time when the speaker will be served. The phrase "mon tour" is useful when waiting for one's turn. It can follow a possessive word such as "mon" or "votre".

Ils The exact form "Ils" means they and refers to the people who call each person. It is the subject of "Ils mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler". Reuse it as the subject when talking about several people.

mettent The form "mettent" is used in "mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler" to say that the people responsible take a long time. Its citation form is mettre. The structure is reusable for saying that an action takes a long time.

beaucoup In "beaucoup de temps", "beaucoup" means a lot and describes the large amount of time. It is placed before "de temps" here. Reuse it with "de" before a noun when expressing a large quantity.

de In "beaucoup de temps", "de" links the quantity "beaucoup" to the noun "temps". Together, the phrase expresses a lot of time. A reliable reuse point is quantity + de + noun.

temps In "beaucoup de temps", "temps" means time, specifically the amount needed to call each person. It is the noun after the quantity expression. Reuse it when discussing how long an activity takes.

à In "à appeler", "à" introduces the action whose duration is described in "mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler". Here it is followed by the infinitive "appeler". This structure is useful for saying that someone takes time to do something.

appeler The infinitive "appeler" means to call the people waiting. It follows "à" in "à appeler". Its infinitive form can be used after a duration expression to name the action taking time.

chaque In "chaque personne", "chaque" means each and presents the people one by one. It comes directly before "personne". Reuse it before a noun when referring to every individual in a group.

personne In "chaque personne", "personne" means person. The line says that each person is called separately. Reuse it after a word such as "chaque" when referring to an individual human being.

aujourd'hui The exact form "aujourd'hui" means today and places the long waiting time on the current day. It appears at the end of the sentence as a time marker. Reuse it when specifying that something happens on the present day.

Alors At the start of "Alors, je devrais rester pas loin", "Alors" means so and introduces a conclusion. In "Alors, je vais garder le ticket dans ma main", it introduces what the speaker will do next. Reuse it at the beginning of a response when drawing a conclusion or moving to the next step.

je In "je devrais rester" and "je vais garder", "je" means I and marks the speaker as the subject. It comes before the verb or verb phrase. Reuse it when stating your own action, plan, or judgment.

devrais The form "devrais" expresses what the speaker thinks would be advisable: they should stay nearby. Its citation form is devoir. The pattern "je devrais rester" is useful for giving oneself advice about an action.

rester In "rester pas loin", "rester" means to stay, while "pas loin" specifies the location. Its citation form is rester. Reuse it when saying that someone or something remains in a place.

pas In "pas loin", "pas" helps make the distance negative, so the whole expression means nearby or not far. It should be understood together with "loin" here. Reuse "pas loin" when saying that a person or place is nearby.

loin In "pas loin", "loin" contributes the meaning far, while the full expression means not far or nearby. It is part of the location phrase after "rester". Reuse it with "pas" when describing something as nearby.

peuvent The form "peuvent" presents calling as possible here: they may call you soon. Its citation form is pouvoir. The pattern "peuvent vous appeler" places an infinitive after this possibility expression.

vous In "vous appeler", "vous" identifies the person who may be called: you. It appears before the infinitive "appeler". Reuse it in the same object position when an action affects the person addressed.

bientôt The exact form "bientôt" means soon and says that the call may happen after only a short wait. It is placed at the end of the sentence. Reuse it to describe an expected event in the near future.

Quel In "Quel guichet", "Quel" means which and asks the speaker to choose a counter among the available options. It comes directly before the noun. Reuse it before a noun when asking someone to identify one option.

guichet In "Quel guichet", "guichet" means counter, such as a service counter in a public waiting area. It is the counter that the speaker needs to watch. Reuse it when referring to a specific service desk.

dois-je In "dois-je regarder", "dois-je" asks what the speaker should do. Its citation form is devoir, and the inversion with "je" makes this a question. Reuse it before an infinitive when asking what you should do.

regarder The infinitive "regarder" means to watch or look at the counter. It follows "dois-je" in "dois-je regarder". Reuse it with the person or thing that is being watched or looked at.

L'écran The exact form "L'écran" means the screen, the display that will identify the counter. It is the subject of "L'écran indiquera le bon guichet". Reuse this noun when referring to a specific screen in the situation.

indiquera The form "indiquera" says that the screen will show or indicate the correct counter. Its citation form is indiquer. In "L'écran indiquera le bon guichet", the subject comes before the verb and the information shown comes after it.

le In "le bon guichet", "le" marks the specific counter being identified. It comes before the adjective and noun in this phrase. Reuse it at the beginning of a specific noun phrase.

bon In "le bon guichet", "bon" means right or correct, so the phrase identifies the counter indicated by the screen. It comes before "guichet" here. Reuse it before a noun when selecting the suitable or correct one.

vais In "je vais garder", "vais" helps express the speaker's intended next action: they are going to keep the ticket. Its citation form is aller. Reuse "je vais" before an infinitive for a planned or immediate action.

garder In "garder le ticket", "garder" means to keep or hold on to the ticket. Its citation form is garder. Reuse it with the object that you intend to retain.

ticket In "le ticket", "ticket" means the ticket used while waiting for service. It is the object that the speaker will keep in hand. Reuse it after a verb such as "garder" when talking about retaining a ticket.

dans In "dans ma main", "dans" places the ticket in the hand. It introduces the location phrase after "garder le ticket". Reuse it before a place or container to indicate where something is.

ma In "ma main", "ma" means my and shows that the hand belongs to the speaker. It comes before the noun "main". Reuse it before a noun when identifying something belonging to the speaker.

main In "ma main", "main" means hand, the place where the ticket is held. The phrase "dans ma main" specifies that an object is being held in the speaker's hand. Reuse it when referring to a hand or to something held there.

C'est In "C'est plus facile", "C'est" means it is and introduces an evaluation of the situation. It contains a form of the verb whose citation form is être. Reuse it before an adjective when describing a situation.

plus In "plus facile", "plus" adds the meaning more, making the whole phrase mean easier. It comes before "facile" here. Reuse it before an adjective when comparing a quality.

facile In "plus facile", "facile" means easy, while "plus" makes the phrase mean easier. It describes the waiting arrangement in the dialogue. Reuse it after "C'est" when evaluating a situation.

quand In "quand votre tour arrive", "quand" introduces the time at which the turn comes. It connects the evaluation with the timing clause. Reuse it before a clause that describes when something happens.

votre In "votre tour", "votre" means your and identifies the turn belonging to the person addressed. It comes before "tour" in this phrase. Reuse it before a noun when referring to something belonging to the person addressed.

arrive In "votre tour arrive", "arrive" means comes or arrives: the person's turn comes. Its citation form is arriver. Reuse it with a person or thing that comes or reaches a place.

Grammar Points

mettre beaucoup de temps à + infinitif

Ils mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler.

eel MET bo-KOO duh TAHN ah ah-peh-LAY

They take a long time to call.

Cette expression se construit avec « à » suivi de l’infinitif pour décrire une action longue.

indiquera

L’écran indiquera bientôt le guichet.

lay-KRAHN an-dee-kuh-RAH byan-TOH luh gee-SHAY

The screen will soon show the counter.

« Indiquera » est le futur simple de « indiquer » à la troisième personne du singulier.

French Vocabulary

alors adv

ah-LOR so; then

So I should stay nearby.

appeler verb

ah-peh-LAY to call