Checking travel documents before a trip | Learn French in English

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Use Checking travel documents before a trip to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Tu peux m'aider à vérifier les documents de voyage avant de partir ?

too puh meh-DAY ah vay-ree-FYAY lay doh-kyu-MAHN duh vwah-YAHZH ah-VAHN duh par-TEER Could you help me check the travel documents before we leave?

On commence par ton passeport et ta carte d'embarquement.

ohn koh-MAHNSS par tohn pahs-POHR ay tah kart dahm-bahr-kuh-MAHN Let's start with your passport and boarding pass.

Mon passeport est dans la poche intérieure.

mohn pahs-POHR ay dahn lah pohsh an-tay-ree-UR My passport is in the inside pocket.

Tu as aussi confirmé la réservation de l'hôtel ?

too ah oh-SEE kohn-feer-MAY lah ray-zair-vah-SYOHN duh loh-TEL Did you confirm the hotel reservation too?

L'e-mail de confirmation est enregistré sur mon téléphone.

ee-MEL duh kohn-feer-mah-SYOHN ay ahn-reh-zhee-STRAY soor mohn tay-lay-FOHN The confirmation email is saved on my phone.

Tu as une copie imprimée au cas où ton téléphone n'aurait plus de batterie ?

too ah ewn koh-PEE an-pree-MAY oh kah OO tohn tay-lay-FOHN naw-RAY ploo duh bah-tree Do you have a printed copy in case your phone dies?

J'ai imprimé une copie et je l'ai mise dans le dossier.

zhay an-pree-MAY ewn koh-PEE ay zhuh lay MEE dahn luh doh-SYAY I printed one and put it in the folder.

Alors, nous avons tout ce qu'il nous faut.

ah-LOHR, noo zah-VOHN TOO suh keel noo foo Then we have everything we need.

Word by Word

Tu “Tu” means “you” when speaking to one familiar person. It is used here to make a direct request, as in “Tu peux… ?” when asking that person for help.

peux “Peux” means “can” in “Tu peux m'aider… ?” and expresses whether the person is able or willing to help. It is followed by an infinitive in the reusable pattern “Tu peux + infinitive ?”.

m'aider “M'aider” means “help me” in this request. The short form “m'” comes before the infinitive “aider”; a useful pattern is “Tu peux m'aider à + infinitive ?”.

à “À” introduces the action that the help is directed toward in “m'aider à vérifier”. A useful pattern is “aider quelqu'un à + infinitive” for helping someone do something.

vérifier “Vérifier” means “to check” the travel documents here. It is the infinitive after “à”, and it can be reused with an object such as “vérifier les documents”.

les “Les” means “the” before the plural noun “documents”. It is used when referring to specific documents, and the pattern “les + plural noun” is common.

documents “Documents” means “documents”, specifically the travel documents being checked here. It is used in “les documents de voyage”; the pattern “documents de + noun” identifies their type.

de “De” links “documents” to “voyage” in “documents de voyage”, meaning documents related to travel. The pattern “noun de noun” commonly shows a relationship or purpose.

voyage “Voyage” means “travel” in “documents de voyage”. Together, “documents de voyage” refers to documents used for a trip.

avant “Avant” means “before” and places the checking before the departure. In “avant de partir”, it is followed by an infinitive to express an earlier action.

partir “Partir” means “to leave” or “to depart” in “avant de partir”. It is the infinitive after “avant de”, a useful pattern for saying that something happens before leaving.

On “On” means “we” in “On commence…”, referring to the two people together. In everyday conversation, “On + verb” is a common way to suggest or describe a shared action.

commence “Commence” means “starts” in “On commence par…”, introducing the first part of the checking. The reusable pattern “commencer par + noun” means to start with something.

par “Par” means “with” in “commence par ton passeport” and marks the first item chosen. Use “commencer par + noun” when describing what an activity starts with.

ton “Ton” means “your” when addressing one familiar person and comes before “passeport”. It is used in the pattern “ton + noun” to show that something belongs to that person.

passeport “Passeport” means “passport”, one of the documents being checked. A useful expression from the dialogue is “ton passeport” for “your passport”.

et “Et” means “and” and joins “ton passeport” with “ta carte d'embarquement”. It is used to connect two items in one list or sentence.

ta “Ta” means “your” when addressing one familiar person and comes before “carte”. It shows possession in the pattern “ta + noun”, as in “ta carte d'embarquement”.

carte “Carte” means “card” in “carte d'embarquement”. In this expression it identifies the document, while “d'embarquement” specifies that it is used for boarding.

d'embarquement “D'embarquement” means “of boarding” in “carte d'embarquement”, which together means “boarding pass”. The apostrophe joins “de” to “embarquement” before a vowel.

Mon “Mon” means “my” before “passeport” and shows that the passport belongs to the speaker. A useful pattern is “mon + noun” for possession.

est “Est” means “is” and links “Mon passeport” with its location in “est dans la poche intérieure”. It is used to describe where something is.

dans “Dans” means “in” and places the passport inside the pocket. Use “dans + place or container” to describe an interior location.

la “La” means “the” before the singular noun “poche”. It identifies a specific noun, as in “la poche intérieure”.

poche “Poche” means “pocket”, the place where the passport is located. The dialogue uses it in the practical expression “dans la poche intérieure”.

intérieure “Intérieure” means “inside” or “inner” and describes the pocket in “la poche intérieure”. It comes after the noun here and specifies which pocket is meant.

as “As” means “have” in the question “Tu as aussi confirmé… ?”. Together with “confirmé”, it asks whether the reservation has been confirmed; a useful pattern is “Tu as + past participle ?”.

aussi “Aussi” means “also” or “too” and adds the hotel reservation to the things being checked. It can be used to add another action or item to an ongoing discussion.

confirmé “Confirmé” means “confirmed” in “Tu as aussi confirmé la réservation… ?”. With “as”, it refers to the completed action of confirming something, such as “confirmer une réservation”.

réservation “Réservation” means “reservation”, here the hotel booking that may have been confirmed. It is used as the object of “confirmer” in “confirmé la réservation”.

l'hôtel “L'hôtel” means “the hotel” in “la réservation de l'hôtel”. The form “l'” is used before the vowel sound at the start of “hôtel”; the expression identifies which reservation is meant.

L'e-mail “L'e-mail” means “the email” and is the subject of the sentence about the saved confirmation. The form “L'” is used before “e-mail”, and it can be followed by a description such as “de confirmation”.

confirmation “Confirmation” means “confirmation” and specifies the purpose or content of the email in “L'e-mail de confirmation”. The pattern “e-mail de + noun” identifies the type of email.

enregistré “Enregistré” means “saved” or “stored” in “est enregistré sur mon téléphone”. It describes the email’s status, and the pattern “être enregistré sur + device” is useful for saved digital information.

sur “Sur” means “on” in “sur mon téléphone”, indicating where the email is saved. Use “sur + device” for information available on a phone or another device.

téléphone “Téléphone” means “phone”, the device where the confirmation email is saved. A useful expression from the dialogue is “sur mon téléphone” for information stored on one’s phone.

une “Une” means “a” before “copie” and introduces one copy. It is used before a singular noun in the pattern “une + noun”.

copie “Copie” means “copy”, here a separate paper version of the travel information. It is used in “une copie imprimée” and later referred to again in “une copie”.

imprimée “Imprimée” means “printed” and describes the copy in “une copie imprimée”. It specifies that the copy exists on paper, and it can be used after a noun to describe a printed item.

au “Au” is the contracted form of “à” and “le” in the expression “au cas où”. Together, “au cas où” means “in case” and introduces a possible problem or situation.

cas “Cas” means “case” in “au cas où”, which introduces a contingency. Use the pattern “au cas où + clause” when preparing for something that might happen.

où “Où” means “where” or “in which” inside the expression “au cas où”. In “au cas où ton téléphone n'aurait plus de batterie”, it introduces the possible situation to prepare for.

n'aurait “N'aurait” contributes “would not have” in the hypothetical situation about the phone. It combines negation with the conditional form used in “au cas où”; here it works with “plus de batterie” to mean no battery left.

plus “Plus” means “any longer” or “no longer” in “n'aurait plus de batterie”. With the negation in “n'aurait”, it expresses that the phone would no longer have battery; the pattern “ne… plus” expresses no longer or not anymore.

batterie “Batterie” means “battery” in “plus de batterie”, referring to the phone’s remaining power. The useful expression “ne plus avoir de batterie” means to have no battery left.

J'ai “J'ai” means “I have” at the start of “J'ai imprimé une copie”. Together with “imprimé”, it describes the speaker’s completed action; a useful pattern is “J'ai + past participle”.

imprimé “Imprimé” means “printed” in “J'ai imprimé une copie”. It describes the completed action of printing a copy, and it can be reused with a direct object such as “imprimer une copie”.

je “Je” means “I” and is the subject of “je l'ai mise”. It identifies the speaker as the person who put the copy in the folder.

l'ai “L'ai” combines “l'”, referring here to the copy, with “ai”, meaning “have”. Together with “mise” in “je l'ai mise”, it means “I put it” and keeps the object before the verb form.

mise “Mise” means “put” in “je l'ai mise dans le dossier”. It refers back to the feminine noun “copie”, and the pattern “mettre quelque chose dans + place” describes putting something somewhere.

le “Le” means “the” before the singular noun “dossier”. It identifies the specific folder in “dans le dossier”.

dossier “Dossier” means “folder” here, the place where the printed copy was put. Use “dans le dossier” to say that something is inside the folder.

Alors “Alors” means “then” or “so” and introduces the conclusion after the documents have been checked. It is commonly used to move from what was discussed to a resulting statement.

nous “Nous” means “we” in “nous avons tout ce qu'il nous faut”. It explicitly refers to the two people together, and it can be used as the subject before a verb.

avons “Avons” means “have” with the subject “nous”. In “nous avons tout ce qu'il nous faut”, it expresses that the needed items are available.

tout “Tout” means “everything” in “tout ce qu'il nous faut”. It refers broadly to all the documents and items needed, and the pattern “tout ce qu'il nous faut” means everything we need.

ce “Ce” points to the things referred to in “ce qu'il nous faut”. Together with the following clause, it helps form the expression “tout ce qu'il nous faut”, meaning everything that is needed.

qu'il “Qu'il” joins the referring expression “ce” to the clause “il nous faut” in “ce qu'il nous faut”. Here “qu'” introduces what is needed, while “il” belongs to the impersonal expression “il faut”.

faut “Faut” means “is needed” in the impersonal expression “il nous faut”. The full pattern “il nous faut + noun” means “we need + noun”, and “tout ce qu'il nous faut” means everything we need.

Grammar Points

m'aider

m'aider

meh-DAY

to help me

The object pronoun m' comes before the infinitive aider: m'aider means “to help me.”

au cas où

au cas où

oh kah OO

in case

Au cas où is a fixed expression meaning “in case”; it introduces a possible situation.

French Vocabulary

aider verb

ay-DAY to help m'aider

carte d'embarquement phrase

kart dahm-bahr-kuh-MAHN boarding pass

commencer verb

koh-mahn-SAY to start commence

confirmer verb

kohn-feer-MAY to confirm confirmé

document noun

doh-kyu-MAHN document documents

intérieur adj

an-tay-ree-UR inside; inner intérieure

partir verb

par-TEER to leave

passeport noun

pahs-POHR passport

poche noun

pohsh pocket

réservation noun

ray-zair-vah-SYOHN reservation

vérifier verb

vay-ree-FYAY to check

voyage noun

vwah-YAHZH travel; trip

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to start

Show Answer

commence

travel; trip

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voyage

to leave

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partir

passport

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passeport