Asking about delivery and stock | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: In a shop, a customer asks staff to check desk stock and add home delivery before processing the order..

EN → FR / Level: B1

About This Lesson

Use Asking about delivery and stock to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

J’aime ce bureau, mais je ne peux pas le transporter chez moi sans aide.

ZHEM suh byu-ROH, meh zhuh nuh puh luh trahn-spor-TAY sheh MWAH sahnz ED. I like this desk, but I can't carry it home by myself.
B

Nous pouvons organiser la livraison s’il est toujours en stock.

Noo poo-VON or-gah-nee-ZAY lah lee-vreh-ZON seel EH too-ZHOOR ahn STOK. We can arrange delivery if it's still in stock.
A

Pouvez-vous vérifier si l’entrepôt en a un de disponible ?

Poo-VAY VOO vay-ree-FYAY see lah(n)-truh-POH ahn nah UHN duh dee-spoh-NEEBL? Could you check whether the warehouse has one available?
B

Je vais vérifier le registre des stocks maintenant.

Zhuh vay vay-ree-FYAY luh ruh-ZHEESTR day STOK meh(n)-tuh-NAHN. I'll check the stock record now.
A

Si le bureau est disponible, quelles options de livraison proposez-vous ?

See luh byu-ROH eh dee-spoh-NEEBL, kel ZOP-SYON duh lee-vreh-ZON proh-poh-ZAY VOO? If it is available, what delivery options do you offer?
B

La livraison standard le livrerait chez vous.

Lah lee-vreh-ZON stahn-DAR luh lee-vruh-RAY sheh VOO. Standard delivery would bring it to your home.
A

Cela comprend le montage, ou seulement la livraison jusqu’à la porte ?

Suh-LAH kohm-PRAHN luh mon-TAHZH, oo seul-MAHN lah lee-vreh-ZON zhus-KAH lah PORT? Does that include assembly, or only delivery to the door?
B

Le montage est une demande séparée, mais le fait de le porter à l’étage est compris.

Luh mon-TAHZH eh EWN duh-MAHND say-pah-RAY, meh luh FEH duh luh por-TAY ah lay-TAHZH eh kohm-PREE. Assembly is a separate request, but carrying it upstairs is included.
A

Ajoutez la livraison, s’il vous plaît. Je peux l’assembler moi-même.

Ah-zhoo-TAY lah lee-vreh-ZON, seel voo PLEH. Zhuh puh lah-sahn-BLAY MWAH-MEM. Please add delivery. I can assemble it myself.
B

Je vais confirmer le stock et ajouter la demande de livraison avant de traiter la commande.

Zhuh vay kohm-feer-MAY luh STOK ay ah-zhoo-TAY lah duh-MAHND duh lee-vreh-ZON ah-VAHN duh treh-TAY lah koh-MAHND. I'll confirm the stock and add the delivery request before processing the order.

Word by Word

J’aime J’aime means “I like” in this dialogue, referring to the desk. It is the form of aimer used with je; a reusable pattern is J’aime + noun, as in J’aime ce bureau.
ce Ce identifies bureau as “this” desk. It comes directly before the noun it specifies, as in ce bureau.
bureau Bureau means “desk” here. It is used in the phrase ce bureau for “this desk,” and later the desk is referred to by le.
mais Mais introduces a contrast: the speaker likes the desk, but cannot carry it home. It is useful for joining two contrasting statements, as in J’aime ce bureau, mais je ne peux pas le transporter.
je Je is the subject pronoun “I” in je ne peux pas and Je vais vérifier. A common pattern is je + verb when describing your own action or ability.
ne Ne is the first part of the negation in ne peux pas. Here it works together with pas to say that the speaker cannot carry the desk; do not use ne alone to express the complete negation.
peux Peux means “can” or “am able to” in je ne peux pas le transporter. It is a form of pouvoir; a reusable pattern is je peux + infinitive, as in Je peux l’assembler.
pas Pas completes the negation with ne in ne peux pas. Together, ne peux pas means “cannot” in this dialogue.
le Le has two roles in this dialogue. In le transporter and le livrer, it means “it” as the object referring to the desk; in le montage, it is “the” before the noun montage.
transporter Transporter means “to carry” or “to transport” the desk. It follows peux in ne peux pas le transporter; a reusable pattern is pouvoir + le + transporter.
chez Chez indicates someone’s home or place in chez moi, meaning “at or to my home.” A common pattern is chez + a stressed pronoun or person, as in chez moi.
moi Moi means “me” after chez in chez moi, referring to the speaker’s home. It also appears in moi-même to emphasize who will do the assembly.
sans Sans means “without” in sans aide. It introduces what is absent; a reusable pattern is sans + noun, as in sans aide.
aide Aide means “help” in sans aide. The phrase says that the speaker cannot carry the desk home without help.
Nous Nous is the subject pronoun “we” in Nous pouvons organiser la livraison. A common pattern is nous + verb when describing an action carried out by the speaker and others.
pouvons Pouvons means “can” or “are able to” in Nous pouvons organiser la livraison. It is a form of pouvoir; the reusable pattern nous pouvons + infinitive expresses what “we” can arrange or do.
organiser Organiser means “to arrange” delivery in organiser la livraison. It follows pouvons; a reusable pattern is pouvoir + organiser + a service or event.
la La is “the” before the feminine noun livraison in la livraison. It is placed directly before the noun it identifies.
livraison Livraison means “delivery” in la livraison. It also appears in demande de livraison, a reusable phrase for a delivery request.
s’il S’il means “if it” in s’il est toujours en stock, referring to the desk. It is the contracted form of si and il, and introduces the condition for arranging delivery.
est Est means “is” in s’il est toujours en stock and le bureau est disponible. It is a form of être; a reusable pattern is a subject + est + a state or description.
toujours Toujours means “still” in toujours en stock, asking whether the desk remains available. It can be placed before a phrase describing an ongoing state, as in est toujours en stock.
en En means “in” in en stock. Together with stock, en stock means that the item is available in the inventory.
stock Stock refers to available inventory in en stock. A reusable pattern is être en stock, used to say that a product is available for sale.
Pouvez Pouvez means “can” or “could” in the polite request Pouvez-vous vérifier. It is a form of pouvoir used with vous; the reusable pattern is Pouvez-vous + infinitive.
vous Vous means “you” in the formal or plural request Pouvez-vous vérifier. It also appears in s’il vous plaît; after pouvez, it identifies the person being asked.
vérifier Vérifier means “to check” in Pouvez-vous vérifier si l’entrepôt en a un de disponible ? It follows Pouvez-vous; a reusable request pattern is Pouvez-vous vérifier + information or condition.
l’entrepôt L’entrepôt means “the warehouse.” It is the place whose stock is being checked in l’entrepôt en a un de disponible.
a A means “has” in l’entrepôt en a un de disponible, where the warehouse has one available. It is a form of avoir; a reusable pattern is a + object, meaning that a place or person has something.
un Un means “one” in en a un de disponible, referring to one desk. The pattern un de disponible identifies one item that is available.
de De helps connect un with the description disponible in un de disponible. This pattern means “one available” and is useful when selecting one item from several possibilities.
disponible Disponible means “available” in un de disponible and est disponible. It describes whether the desk can be obtained; a reusable pattern is être disponible.
vais Vais means “am going to” in Je vais vérifier and Je vais confirmer. It is a form of aller used in the pattern je vais + infinitive for a planned or imminent action.
registre Registre means “record” or “register” in registre des stocks. Here it names the record used to check inventory.
des Des means “of the” in registre des stocks. Here it links registre to the plural noun stocks; it is the contracted form of de and les.
stocks Stocks means “stocks” or “inventory” in registre des stocks. The phrase refers to the record containing information about available items.
maintenant Maintenant means “now” in vérifier le registre des stocks maintenant. It places the checking action at the present time; a reusable pattern is verb + maintenant.
si Si has two related uses in this dialogue: it means “if” in Si le bureau est disponible and “whether” after vérifier in vérifier si l’entrepôt en a un de disponible. It introduces either a condition or the information being checked.
quelles Quelles means “which” or “what” before the plural noun options in quelles options de livraison. It asks the shop to identify the available choices.
options Options means “options” in quelles options de livraison. The phrase asks which delivery choices the shop offers.
proposez Proposez means “offer” in quelles options de livraison proposez-vous ? It is a form of proposer used with vous; a reusable question pattern is quelles options + service + proposez-vous ?
standard Standard means “standard” in La livraison standard. It specifies the type of delivery being described.
livrerait Livrerait means “would deliver” in La livraison standard le livrerait chez vous. It presents what the standard delivery service would do; the reusable pattern is a service + livrerait + object + destination.
Cela Cela means “that” or “this service” in Cela comprend le montage. It refers back to the delivery service and makes it the subject of the question.
comprend Comprend means “includes” in Cela comprend le montage. It is a form of comprendre; a reusable pattern is a service + comprend + included item.
montage Montage means “assembly” in le montage. It names the service the customer asks whether delivery includes.
ou Ou means “or” in montage, ou seulement la livraison jusqu’à la porte ? It presents two alternatives: assembly or delivery only.
seulement Seulement means “only” in seulement la livraison jusqu’à la porte. It limits the service to delivery as far as the door.
jusqu’à Jusqu’à means “up to” or “as far as” in jusqu’à la porte. It marks the endpoint of the delivery, namely the door.
porte Porte means “door” in jusqu’à la porte. It is the destination or endpoint specified for the delivery.
une Une means “a” or “one” before the feminine noun demande in une demande séparée. A reusable pattern is une + noun when introducing one request or item.
demande Demande means “request” in une demande séparée and demande de livraison. It refers to an additional service request, specifically the delivery request.
séparée Séparée means “separate” in une demande séparée. It explains that assembly is handled as a request distinct from the delivery service.
fait In le fait de le porter à l’étage, fait names the act of carrying it upstairs. The reusable construction le fait de + infinitive refers to an action as a thing or activity.
porter Porter means “to carry” in de le porter à l’étage. It describes moving the desk upstairs; the dialogue uses the pattern de le porter + destination.
à À means “to” or “at” in à l’étage. Together with l’étage, it indicates the destination or location upstairs.
l’étage L’étage means “the floor,” and à l’étage means “upstairs” in this dialogue. The phrase identifies where the desk will be carried.
compris Compris means “included” in le fait de le porter à l’étage est compris. It states that carrying the desk upstairs is part of the delivery service.
Ajoutez Ajoutez means “add” in Ajoutez la livraison, s’il vous plaît. It is a polite command addressed to vous; a reusable pattern is Ajoutez + service or item.
s’il vous plaît S’il vous plaît means “please” and politely softens the request Ajoutez la livraison, s’il vous plaît. Inside this expression, s’il is si + il, vous is formal or plural “you,” and plaît means “pleases”; together they form the polite expression. It commonly appears at the end of a request.
l’assembler L’assembler means “assemble it” in Je peux l’assembler. L’ is the object pronoun “it,” referring to the desk, placed before the infinitive assembler; a reusable pattern is pouvoir + l’ + infinitive.
moi-même Moi-même means “myself” in Je peux l’assembler moi-même and emphasizes that the speaker will do the assembly personally. Moi contributes “me,” while même adds the emphasis “self”; the reusable pattern is subject + verb + action + moi-même.
confirmer Confirmer means “to confirm” in Je vais confirmer le stock. It follows vais in the pattern je vais + infinitive and refers to checking that the stock information is definite.
et Et means “and” in confirmer le stock et ajouter la demande de livraison. It links two actions that the shop employee plans to carry out.
ajouter Ajouter means “to add” in Je vais confirmer le stock et ajouter la demande de livraison. It is the second infinitive after vais; the pattern is vais + infinitive + et + infinitive.
avant Avant means “before” in avant de traiter la commande. Together with de and the infinitive, avant de + infinitive places one action earlier than another.
traiter Traiter means “to process” or “to handle” in avant de traiter la commande. It describes processing the order; a reusable pattern is traiter + la commande.
commande Commande means “order” in traiter la commande. It is the order that will be processed after the stock and delivery request are confirmed.

Grammar Points

avant de + infinitif

Confirmer avant de traiter la commande.

koh(n)-feer-MAY ah-VAHN duh treh-TAY lah koh-MAHND.

Confirm before processing the order.

Use avant de followed by an infinitive to express that one action happens before another.

demande séparée

Une demande séparée.

EWN duh-MAHND say-pah-RAY.

A separate request.

The adjective agrees with the feminine noun: demande is feminine, so séparé becomes séparée.

French Vocabulary

bureau noun
byu-ROH desk
chez moi phrase
sheh MWAH to my home; at my home
disponible adj
dee-spoh-NEEBL available
en stock phrase
ahn STOK in stock
entrepôt noun
ahn-truh-POH warehouse
livraison noun
lee-vreh-ZON delivery
maintenant adv
meh(n)-tuh-NAHN now
organiser verb
or-gah-nee-ZAY to arrange; to organize
registre noun
ruh-ZHEESTR record; register
sans aide phrase
sahn ZED without help
transporter verb
trahn-spor-TAY to carry; to transport
vérifier verb
veh-ree-FYAY to check

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

desk

Show Answerbureau

to arrange; to organize

Show Answerorganiser

to check

Show Answervérifier

delivery

Show Answerlivraison