Handling a mislabeled item at checkout | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: At a shop checkout, a customer and staff member resolve a shelf-label mismatch before payment..

EN → FR / Level: B1

About This Lesson

Use Handling a mislabeled item at checkout to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

La caisse indique qu'il s'agit d'un autre article.

luh KESS een-DEEK keel sah-ZHEE duhn OH-tr ar-TEE-kluh The register shows this as a different item.
A

Mais l'étiquette du rayon était sous ce produit.

may lay-tee-KET dyoo rah-YOHN ay-TEH soo suh proo-DWEE But the shelf label was under this product.
B

Je vais vérifier l'étiquette du rayon avant de modifier quoi que ce soit à la caisse.

zhuh vay vay-ree-FYAY lay-tee-KET dyoo rah-YOHN ah-VAHN duh moh-dee-FYAY kwah kuh suh SWAH ah luh KESS I'll check the shelf label before changing anything at the register.
A

Elle était juste en dessous de cette taille.

el ay-TEH ZHOOST ahn duh-SOO duh set TAHY It was directly below this size.
B

L'étiquette ne correspond pas à l'article enregistré dans notre système.

lay-tee-KET nuh koh-ray-SPON pah ah lar-TEE-kluh ahn-reh-zhee-STRAY dahn NOH-tr sees-TEM The label doesn't match the item in our system.
A

Pourriez-vous corriger cela avant que je paie ?

poo-ree-AY voo koh-ree-ZHAY suh-LAH ah-VAHN kuh zhuh PAY Could you correct it before I pay?
B

J'ai besoin de l'accord d'un responsable pour valider la correction.

zhay buh-ZWAN duh lah-KOR duhn reh-spon-SAHBL poor vah-lee-DAY lah koh-REK-syohn I need a supervisor to approve the correction.
A

Je peux attendre pendant que vous vérifiez.

zhuh puh ah-TAHN-druh pahn-DAHN kuh voo vay-ree-FYAY I can wait while you check.
B

Nous allons régler cela à la caisse et mettre à jour l'étiquette du rayon.

noo zah-LOHN ray-GLAY suh-LAH ah luh KESS ay METR ah ZHOOR lay-tee-KET dyoo rah-YOHN We'll fix it at the register and update the shelf label.
A

Je préférerais régler cela maintenant plutôt que revenir plus tard.

zhuh pray-fay-reh-RAY ray-GLAY suh-LAH mant-NAHN ploo-TOH kuh ruh-vuh-NEER ploo TAR I'd rather settle it now than come back later.

Word by Word

La In La caisse, La means the and identifies caisse as a specific feminine noun. Use La before a feminine singular noun when referring to a particular thing, such as a checkout or register.
caisse In La caisse, caisse means the checkout or register where the item is being processed. In a shop, use caisse for the place or station where customers pay.
indique In La caisse indique, indique means shows or indicates. It presents information about the item in the register, and a reusable pattern is a subject followed by indique and the information it shows.
qu'il In indique qu'il s'agit d'un autre article, qu'il introduces the clause explaining what the register indicates, with il referring to the item or situation. Use qu'il after a verb when reporting information about something.
s'agit In qu'il s'agit d'un autre article, s'agit is part of an expression meaning that the matter concerns or is a particular thing. A common reuse pattern is s'agit de followed by the thing being identified.
d'un In s'agit d'un autre article, d'un introduces one item of the type being identified and combines de with un. Use d'un before a masculine singular noun when expressing of a or concerning a.
autre In un autre article, autre means another or different and contrasts this item with the one expected in the register. A common reuse pattern is un autre followed by a singular noun.
article In un autre article, article means item or product in the shop. Use article when referring to a product as an individual entry or object in a store.
Mais Mais introduces a contrast with the register information: the shelf label suggests something different. Use Mais at the beginning of a sentence to add an opposing or qualifying point.
l'étiquette In l'étiquette du rayon, l'étiquette means the label attached to or associated with the shelf area. Use l'étiquette when referring to a specific label that has already been identified or is clear from the situation.
du In l'étiquette du rayon, du means of the and links the label to the shelf area; it is the contracted form of de plus le. Use du before a masculine singular noun to express this kind of relationship.
rayon In l'étiquette du rayon, rayon refers to the store section or shelf area where the product was displayed. In a shop, use rayon when identifying a department, aisle, or product section.
était In l'étiquette du rayon était sous ce produit, était means was and describes where the label was located at that time. Use it when describing a past location or state.
sous In était sous ce produit, sous means under or below and gives the label's position relative to the product. Use sous before a noun to describe a lower position.
ce In ce produit, ce means this and points to one specific masculine noun in the situation. Use ce before a masculine singular noun when indicating a particular item.
produit In ce produit, produit means product. Use produit for an item being sold, especially when discussing its shelf position, label, or price.
Je Je means I and identifies the speaker as the person who will check, pay, or wait. Use Je at the beginning of a sentence when speaking about your own action or situation.
vais In Je vais vérifier, vais helps express a planned or imminent action together with the infinitive vérifier. A common reuse pattern is Je vais followed by an infinitive to say what you are going to do.
vérifier In Je vais vérifier l'étiquette, vérifier means check or verify. Use vérifier with the thing being checked, such as a label, detail, or record.
avant In avant de modifier, avant means before and places the checking earlier than the possible change. Use avant de followed by an infinitive when one action must happen before another.
de In avant de modifier, de links avant to the infinitive modifier and completes the before doing construction. A common reuse pattern is avant de followed by an infinitive.
modifier In avant de modifier quoi que ce soit, modifier means change or modify. Here it refers to changing information at the register, and it can be reused with the thing or information being changed.
quoi que ce soit Together, quoi que ce soit means anything at all in avant de modifier quoi que ce soit. quoi contributes the unspecified what element, que links the expression, ce points to an unspecified thing, and soit completes the indefinite expression; use the whole phrase when no item is excluded.
à In à la caisse, à means at and locates the action at the checkout or register. Use à with a place or station when stating where an action takes place.
Elle In Elle était juste en dessous, Elle means it and refers back to l'étiquette, not to a person. Use Elle to refer to a feminine noun that has already been mentioned.
juste In juste en dessous, juste adds precision and means directly or exactly. Use juste before a location expression when you want to make the position precise.
en In en dessous de cette taille, en is part of the expression en dessous and helps locate something below another thing. Keep en with dessous in this position expression rather than interpreting it alone.
dessous In en dessous de cette taille, dessous means below. Use en dessous de followed by a noun to say that something is located lower than it.
cette In cette taille, cette means this and points to one specific feminine noun, taille. Use cette before a feminine singular noun when indicating a particular thing.
taille In cette taille, taille means size, referring here to the size of the product. Use taille when discussing the measurement or clothing size of an item.
ne In ne correspond pas, ne begins the French negation and works together with pas to mean does not match. Use ne before the verb in the reusable pattern ne plus verb plus pas.
correspond In ne correspond pas à l'article, correspond means matches or corresponds. The expression ne correspond pas à l'article says that the label does not match the item, and correspondre à is used when comparing one thing with another.
pas In ne correspond pas, pas completes the negation begun by ne, so the expression means does not match. Use pas after the verb in the common ne ... pas pattern.
l'article In à l'article enregistré dans notre système, l'article means the item recorded in the system. Use l'article when referring to a specific product or inventory entry.
enregistré In l'article enregistré dans notre système, enregistré means recorded or registered. It describes the item as having been entered into the shop's system, and it can be used for information stored in a record.
dans In dans notre système, dans means in and places the recorded item inside the shop's system. Use dans before a noun to identify the system, place, or context containing something.
notre In notre système, notre means our and shows that the system belongs to or is used by the shop staff. Use notre before a singular noun when referring to something shared by the speaker's group.
système In notre système, système means system, here the shop's electronic record of items. Use système when referring to an organized process or database that stores or handles information.
Pourriez-vous Pourriez-vous means could you and makes a polite request to the staff member. A common reuse pattern is Pourriez-vous followed by an infinitive when asking someone politely to do something.
corriger In Pourriez-vous corriger cela, corriger means correct or fix. Use corriger with an error, record, or problem that needs to be put right.
cela In corriger cela, cela means it or that and refers to the checkout mismatch just discussed. Use cela after a verb to point back to a matter or situation rather than naming it again.
que In avant que je paie, que links avant to the clause describing the later action. Use avant que followed by a subject and verb when placing one event before another.
paie In avant que je paie, paie means pay and describes the speaker's payment. Use it with a person or transaction when stating that the speaker is paying.
J'ai besoin de Together, J'ai besoin de means I need. J'ai contributes I have, besoin names the need, and de introduces what is needed, here l'accord d'un responsable; use J'ai besoin de followed by a noun or action.
l'accord In J'ai besoin de l'accord d'un responsable, l'accord means the approval or agreement required from the supervisor. Use l'accord when an action depends on someone's permission or agreement.
responsable In l'accord d'un responsable, responsable means a supervisor or manager with authority in the shop. Use responsable for the person who oversees an activity or can approve a decision.
pour In pour valider la correction, pour means in order to and introduces the purpose of the approval. Use pour followed by an infinitive to explain what an action is intended to achieve.
valider In pour valider la correction, valider means approve or validate. Use valider with a correction, request, document, or other item that must be formally accepted.
correction In valider la correction, correction means the change intended to fix the mismatch. Use correction for a change that puts incorrect information right.
peux In Je peux attendre, peux means can or am able to and expresses the speaker's ability or willingness to wait. A common reuse pattern is Je peux followed by an infinitive.
attendre In Je peux attendre, attendre means wait. Use attendre after a verb such as peux to say that you are able or willing to wait for a check, decision, or person.
pendant In pendant que vous vérifiez, pendant means while and introduces the time during which the checking happens. Use pendant que before a clause describing an action occurring at the same time.
vous In pendant que vous vérifiez, vous means you and addresses the staff member politely or addresses more than one person. Use vous with the corresponding verb form when speaking formally or to a group.
vérifiez In pendant que vous vérifiez, vérifiez means check or verify and refers to the action performed by vous. Use it after vous when describing or requesting the other person's checking action.
Nous Nous means we and identifies the staff side as acting together. Use Nous when the speaker includes themself with other people carrying out an action.
allons In Nous allons régler, allons helps express a planned action together with régler. A common reuse pattern is Nous allons followed by an infinitive to say what we are going to do.
régler In Nous allons régler cela, régler means resolve or settle the checkout problem. Use régler with a problem, dispute, or practical matter that needs to be dealt with.
et Et means and and joins the two planned actions: resolving the issue and updating the label. Use et to connect actions, objects, or ideas of equal importance.
mettre à jour Together, mettre à jour means update in mettre à jour l'étiquette du rayon. mettre supplies the action of putting, à links the expression to jour, and jour is part of this fixed expression; use mettre à jour followed by the thing being updated.
préférerais In Je préférerais régler cela maintenant, préférerais means would prefer and expresses the speaker's chosen option. Use Je préférerais followed by an infinitive when stating which action you would choose.
maintenant Maintenant means now and marks the time the speaker wants the issue settled. Use maintenant when emphasizing that an action should happen at the present time rather than later.
plutôt In plutôt que revenir plus tard, plutôt works with que to mean rather than and introduces the alternative the speaker does not prefer. Use plutôt que followed by an infinitive to compare two possible actions.
revenir In revenir plus tard, revenir means come back or return. Use it when someone will return to the same place or situation at a later time.
plus In plus tard, plus is part of the expression meaning later and does not mean more by itself here. Use the complete expression plus tard to refer to a time after now.
tard In plus tard, tard completes the time expression meaning later. Use plus tard when referring to a subsequent time or postponing an action.

Grammar Points

avant de + infinitif

Avant de modifier l'article, vérifiez l'étiquette.

ah-VAHN duh moh-dee-FYAY lar-TEE-kluh, vay-ree-FYAY lay-tee-KET

Before changing the item, check the label.

« avant de » est suivi d'un infinitif pour exprimer une action antérieure.

préférerais + infinitif plutôt que de + infinitif

Je préférerais revenir plus tard plutôt que d'attendre.

zhuh pray-fay-reh-RAY ruh-vuh-NEER ploo TAR ploo-TOH duh-TAHN-druh

I would rather come back later than wait.

« préférerais » exprime une préférence polie ; « plutôt que de » introduit l'autre option.

French Vocabulary

article noun
ar-TEE-kluh item; article
autre adj
OH-tr other; different
avant de prep
ah-VAHN duh before
caisse noun
KESS register; checkout
étiquette noun
ay-tee-KET label
il s'agit de phrase
eel sah-ZHEE duh it is; it concerns il s'agit d'
indiquer verb
an-dee-KAY to indicate; to show indique
modifier verb
moh-dee-FYAY to change; to modify
produit noun
proo-DWEE product
quoi que ce soit pron
kwah kuh suh SWAH anything
rayon noun
rah-YOHN shelf; aisle
vérifier verb
vay-ree-FYAY to check; to verify

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

product

Show Answerproduit

label

Show Answerétiquette

to check; to verify

Show Answervérifier

register; checkout

Show Answercaisse