Protecting valuables at a crowded festival | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: At a crowded festival, two adults decide how to keep a phone, wallet, and backpack safer while still enjoying the event..

EN → FR / Level: B1

About This Lesson

Use Protecting valuables at a crowded festival to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ce festival est beaucoup plus bondé que je ne le pensais.

suh fes-tee-VAHL eh boh-KOO plü bohn-DAY kuh zhuh nuh luh pahn-SAY. This festival is much more crowded than I expected.
B

Garde tes objets de valeur dans une poche zippée, pas dans la pochette extérieure.

gard tay zohb-ZHAY duh vah-LUR dahnz ün posh zee-PAY, pah dahn lah poh-SHET ehk-stay-RYUR. Keep your valuables in a zippered pocket, not in the outside pouch.
A

Je vais mettre mon téléphone ailleurs avant que la musique ne me distraie.

zhuh veh MEHTR mohn tay-lay-FOHN ah-YUR ah-VAHN kuh lah mü-ZEEK nuh muh dee-STRAY. I'll move my phone before the music distracts me.
B

Fais-le maintenant. Les pickpockets surveillent souvent les gens qui ne font plus attention.

feh luh mehn-tuh-NAHN. lay peek-poh-KET sür-VEH soo-VAHN lay zhahn kee nuh fohn plü ah-tahn-SYOHN. Do it now. Pickpockets often watch for people who stop paying attention.
A

Est-ce que je devrais porter mon sac à dos devant moi ?

ess kuh zhuh duh-VREH por-TAY mohn sahk ah doh duh-VAHN mwah? Should I wear my backpack in front of me?
B

Ce serait plus sûr près des stands de nourriture et des entrées.

suh suh-REH plü sür preh day stahn duh noo-ree-TÜR ay day-zahn-TRAY. That would be safer near the food stalls and entrance gates.
A

Je vais aussi mettre mon portefeuille dans la poche intérieure.

zhuh veh oh-SEE MEHTR mohn por-tuh-FUHY dahn lah posh ehn-tay-RYUR. I'll put my wallet in the inside pocket too.
B

Comme ça, il sera plus difficile à atteindre.

kohm sah, eel suh-RAH plü dee-fee-SEEL ah ah-TEHNDR. That way it is harder to reach.
B

Mais tu peux quand même profiter du festival.

meh tü puh kahn MEM proh-fee-TAY dü fes-tee-VAHL. But you can still enjoy the festival.
A

Je ne veux pas être anxieux, je veux juste être prudent.

zhuh nuh vuh pah EH-tr ahnk-SYUH, zhuh vuh zhüst EH-tr prü-DAHN. I don't want to feel anxious, just careful.
B

Alors, restons vigilants sans nous inquiéter tout l'après-midi.

ah-LOR reh-STOHN vee-zhee-LAHN sahn noo-zehn-kee-ay-TAY too lah-preh-mee-DEE. Then let us stay alert without worrying all afternoon.

Word by Word

Ce Ce means “this” in Ce festival and identifies the festival being discussed. It comes directly before the noun; a reusable pattern is Ce + noun.
festival festival means “festival” and is the subject of Ce festival est beaucoup plus bondé. It can be used for an event with music, food, or other activities.
est est means “is” in Ce festival est beaucoup plus bondé. It is the form of être used with this subject and links it to a description; a reusable pattern is subject + est + adjective.
beaucoup beaucoup means “much” here and strengthens the comparison beaucoup plus bondé. It commonly comes before plus or moins when emphasizing a comparison.
plus plus means “more” in beaucoup plus bondé, showing that this festival is more crowded than expected. In this sentence it is part of the comparison plus + adjective, not the meaning “no longer.”
bondé bondé means “crowded” in Ce festival est beaucoup plus bondé. It describes a place or event containing many people; a reusable pattern is être bondé.
que que means “than” in que je ne le pensais and introduces the clause used for comparison. A reusable comparison pattern is plus + adjective + que + clause.
je je means “I” and is the subject of je ne le pensais. It comes before the verb in this clause; a reusable pattern is je + verb.
ne ne appears in que je ne le pensais as part of the standard comparison clause. Here it does not by itself make the speaker’s thought negative; it supports the comparison with what was expected.
le le means “it” in que je ne le pensais and refers to the degree or state of crowding being discussed. It is an object pronoun placed before pensais; a reusable pattern is je le + verb.
pensais pensais means “thought” or “expected” in que je ne le pensais. It is the dialogue form of penser used with je to refer to the earlier expectation; a reusable pattern is je pensais que + clause.
Garde Garde means “keep” in Garde tes objets de valeur dans une poche zippée. It is a direct instruction to one person, followed by the thing to keep and its location; the form comes from garder.
tes tes means “your” before the plural phrase tes objets de valeur. It shows that the belongings belong to the person being addressed; a reusable pattern is tes + plural noun.
objets objets means “objects” or “belongings” in tes objets de valeur. With de valeur, the full phrase refers to valuables; a reusable pattern is objets + de + noun.
de de links objets and valeur in objets de valeur and contributes the meaning “of.” This noun-plus-de-noun pattern can describe what kind of objects something is.
valeur valeur means “value” in objets de valeur, where it helps identify the objects as valuables. The reusable expression is objets de valeur for belongings that are worth protecting.
dans dans means “in” in dans une poche zippée and shows where the valuables should be kept. It is followed by the container or place; a reusable pattern is dans + noun phrase.
une une means “a” before poche in une poche zippée. It introduces one feminine noun in this phrase; a reusable pattern is une + noun.
poche poche means “pocket” in une poche zippée. It names the place where the valuables should be kept; it can be combined with an adjective to describe the pocket.
zippée zippée means “zippered” and describes poche in une poche zippée. Its form matches the feminine noun poche; a reusable pattern is poche + adjective.
pas pas means “not” in pas dans la pochette extérieure and contrasts the recommended pocket with the outside pouch. Here it forms an abbreviated contrast rather than a complete ne...pas clause; a reusable pattern is one place, pas dans + another place.
la la means “the” before pochette in la pochette extérieure. It introduces this specific feminine noun phrase; a reusable pattern is la + noun.
pochette pochette means “pouch” in la pochette extérieure. It refers to the outside compartment that should not hold the valuables; it can be followed by an adjective describing the pouch.
extérieure extérieure means “outside” or “exterior” and describes pochette in la pochette extérieure. Its form matches the feminine noun pochette; a reusable pattern is noun + extérieure.
vais vais means “am going to” in Je vais mettre mon téléphone ailleurs and expresses the speaker’s immediate intention. It is the form of aller used before an infinitive; a reusable pattern is je vais + infinitive.
mettre mettre means “put” or “place” in Je vais mettre mon téléphone ailleurs. It follows vais and takes the thing being moved; a reusable pattern is mettre + object + location.
mon mon means “my” before téléphone in mon téléphone. It identifies the phone as belonging to the speaker; a reusable pattern is mon + singular noun.
téléphone téléphone means “phone” and is the object being moved to a safer place. In the dialogue it follows mettre; a reusable pattern is mettre mon téléphone + location.
ailleurs ailleurs means “elsewhere” in mettre mon téléphone ailleurs and indicates a different place from its current location. It can follow a verb of movement or placement; a reusable pattern is mettre something ailleurs.
avant avant means “before” in avant que la musique ne me distraie and places one event earlier than another. Here it is followed by que and a clause; a reusable pattern is avant que + clause.
musique musique means “music” and is the subject of la musique ne me distraie. It is the thing that may cause the speaker to lose attention; it can be used with verbs describing what music does.
me me means “me” in la musique ne me distraie and identifies the person affected by the distraction. It is placed before the verb; a reusable pattern is subject + me + verb.
distraie distraie means “distracts” in avant que la musique ne me distraie. It is the dialogue form used for the music after avant que, and it means that the music could draw the speaker’s attention away.
Fais Fais means “do it” in Fais-le maintenant and gives a direct instruction to one person. The object le follows it; the form comes from faire, and a reusable pattern is Fais + object.
maintenant maintenant means “now” in Fais-le maintenant and emphasizes that the action should happen immediately. It commonly appears with an instruction or a verb describing a current action.
Les Les means “the” before pickpockets in Les pickpockets surveillent. It introduces a plural group; the capital letter is required because it begins the sentence. A reusable pattern is les + plural noun.
pickpockets pickpockets means “pickpockets” and names the people watching for distracted festival-goers. It is the subject of surveillent; a reusable pattern is pickpockets + verb.
surveillent surveillent means “watch” or “monitor” in Les pickpockets surveillent souvent les gens. It is the dialogue form of surveiller used with the plural subject Les pickpockets; a reusable pattern is surveiller + people or things.
souvent souvent means “often” in surveillent souvent les gens and shows that this behavior happens regularly. It commonly comes near the verb it describes.
gens gens means “people” in les gens qui ne font plus attention. It refers to the festival-goers being watched; a reusable pattern is les gens qui + clause.
qui qui means “who” or “that” in les gens qui ne font plus attention and introduces information about the people. It refers back to gens and begins the relative clause.
font font contributes the verb in font attention in ne font plus attention, meaning “pay attention.” It is the dialogue form of faire used with gens; the reusable expression is faire attention à + person or thing.
attention attention means “attention” in faire attention, the expression used for paying attention. In the dialogue, ne font plus attention means that the people are no longer paying attention.
Est-ce que Est-ce que marks a yes-or-no question in Est-ce que je devrais porter mon sac à dos devant moi ? Together it turns the following statement into a question. Est-ce contributes the question form and que links it to the following clause; a reusable pattern is Est-ce que + subject + verb.
devrais devrais means “should” in Est-ce que je devrais porter mon sac à dos devant moi ? It asks for advice about what action would be appropriate; the form comes from devoir, and a reusable pattern is je devrais + infinitive.
porter porter means “wear” in porter mon sac à dos devant moi, referring to carrying the backpack on the body. It follows devrais; a reusable pattern is porter + clothing or bag.
sac sac means “bag” in sac à dos. Together with à dos, it identifies a backpack; a reusable pattern is sac + à + body-related noun.
à à links sac and dos in sac à dos and helps form the expression meaning “backpack.” Its contribution here is part of the noun expression rather than a separate location meaning.
dos dos means “back” in sac à dos and completes the expression for a backpack. It follows à in this fixed noun phrase.
devant devant means “in front of” in porter mon sac à dos devant moi and describes the backpack’s position relative to the speaker. It is followed by a noun or pronoun; a reusable pattern is devant + person or thing.
moi moi means “me” after devant in devant moi and identifies the reference point for the position. This stressed pronoun is used after the preposition; a reusable pattern is devant moi.
serait serait means “would be” in Ce serait plus sûr and presents a possible result or suggestion. It is the dialogue form of être used with ce; a reusable pattern is Ce serait + adjective.
sûr sûr means “safe” in Ce serait plus sûr and describes the suggested position for the backpack. It is part of the comparison plus sûr, meaning safer; a reusable pattern is être sûr.
près près means “near” in près des stands de nourriture and des entrées. It identifies a nearby location and is normally used with de before the place; a reusable pattern is près de + place.
des des links près to the plural places in près des stands and des entrées. Here it is the combination of de and les, meaning “near the” before plural nouns.
stands stands means “stalls” in stands de nourriture and refers to the food-selling areas at the festival. It is followed by de nourriture to specify their purpose; a reusable pattern is stand + de + activity or product.
nourriture nourriture means “food” in stands de nourriture. It specifies what the stalls offer; a reusable pattern is a place or stand + de nourriture.
et et means “and” and joins the two locations stands de nourriture and entrées. It connects items of the same role in the sentence; a reusable pattern is noun + et + noun.
entrées entrées means “entrances” in des entrées and refers to the gates or entry points of the festival. It is one of the places near which the backpack would be safer in front.
aussi aussi means “also” or “too” in Je vais aussi mettre mon portefeuille dans la poche intérieure. It adds this action to the earlier plan about the phone; it commonly appears near the verb or infinitive phrase it modifies.
portefeuille portefeuille means “wallet” and is the object placed in the inside pocket. It follows mettre; a reusable pattern is mettre + portefeuille + dans + pocket or place.
intérieure intérieure means “inside” or “interior” and describes poche in la poche intérieure. Its form matches the feminine noun poche; a reusable pattern is poche + intérieure.
Comme Comme contributes “this way” or “as a result” in Comme ça, which explains the consequence of putting the wallet inside. Together with ça, it introduces the practical result of the previous action.
ça ça means “that” or “this” in Comme ça and refers to the arrangement just described. In the reusable expression Comme ça, a following statement explains what happens as a result.
il il means “it” in il sera plus difficile à atteindre and refers to the portefeuille. It is the subject pronoun of the following description; a reusable pattern is il sera + adjective.
sera sera means “will be” in il sera plus difficile à atteindre and describes the expected future result. It is the dialogue form of être used with il; a reusable pattern is il sera + adjective.
difficile difficile means “difficult” or “hard” in plus difficile à atteindre. It describes how hard it will be to reach the wallet; a reusable pattern is difficile à + infinitive.
atteindre atteindre means “reach” in difficile à atteindre and identifies the action that will be harder. It follows the adjective after à; a reusable pattern is être difficile à + infinitive.
Mais Mais means “but” in Mais tu peux quand même profiter du festival and introduces a reassuring contrast. It connects the safety advice with the idea that enjoyment remains possible.
tu tu means “you” for one person in tu peux quand même profiter du festival. It is the informal subject pronoun used between the two adults; a reusable pattern is tu + verb.
peux peux means “can” in tu peux quand même profiter du festival and expresses that the person is still able to enjoy the event. It is the dialogue form of pouvoir used with tu and followed by an infinitive; a reusable pattern is tu peux + infinitive.
quand même quand même means “still” or “nevertheless” in tu peux quand même profiter du festival and reassures the listener despite the safety precautions. Quand normally relates to time and même contributes “same/even,” but together this expression marks the contrast; a reusable pattern is quand même + statement.
profiter profiter means “enjoy” in profiter du festival and describes making use of the festival experience. It follows peux and is used with de before the thing enjoyed; a reusable pattern is profiter de + noun.
du du means “of the” in profiter du festival. It combines de and le before the masculine noun festival; a reusable pattern is profiter du + noun.
veux veux means “want” in Je ne veux pas être anxieux and expresses the speaker’s preference or intention. It is the dialogue form of vouloir used with je and followed by an infinitive; a reusable pattern is je veux + infinitive.
être être means “be” in veux pas être anxieux and être prudent. It follows veux and links the speaker to a feeling or quality; a reusable pattern is être + adjective.
anxieux anxieux means “anxious” in Je ne veux pas être anxieux. It describes the feeling the speaker does not want to have; a reusable pattern is être + adjective for describing a state.
juste juste means “just” or “only” in je veux juste être prudent and limits the speaker’s intention to being careful. It appears before the infinitive phrase it modifies; a reusable pattern is juste + infinitive phrase.
prudent prudent means “careful” in être prudent and describes the desired attitude. It follows être; a reusable pattern is être prudent when taking precautions.
Alors Alors means “then” or “so” in Alors, restons vigilants and introduces the conclusion or proposed response. It can connect a decision to what was just discussed.
restons restons means “let us stay” in restons vigilants and proposes a shared action for the two speakers. It is the dialogue form of rester used as an instruction to “we”; a reusable pattern is restons + adjective or place.
vigilants vigilants means “alert” or “watchful” in restons vigilants. It describes the state the speakers should maintain; a reusable pattern is rester vigilant when monitoring a situation.
sans sans means “without” in sans nous inquiéter and introduces an action that should not happen. It is followed here by an infinitive phrase; a reusable pattern is sans + infinitive.
nous nous refers to “us,” the two speakers, in sans nous inquiéter. It appears before inquiéter and shows who would be doing the worrying; a reusable pattern is nous + verb.
inquiéter inquiéter means “worry” in sans nous inquiéter and names the action the speakers should avoid. It follows sans in the infinitive; a reusable pattern is sans + pronoun + infinitive.
tout tout means “all” or “the whole” in tout l'après-midi and covers the complete afternoon. It comes directly before the time expression; a reusable pattern is tout + time period.
l'après-midi l'après-midi means “the afternoon” in tout l'après-midi. With tout, it refers to the entire afternoon rather than only part of it; it is also the time span during which the speakers should stay alert without worrying.

Grammar Points

poche zippée

une poche zippée

ün posh zee-PAY

a zippered pocket

L’adjectif s’accorde avec le nom en genre et en nombre : « poche » est féminin singulier, donc « zippée ».

French Vocabulary

ailleurs adv
ah-YUR elsewhere
bondé adj
bohn-DAY crowded
distraie verb
dee-STRAY distracts
extérieure adj
ehk-stay-RYUR outside
festival noun
fes-tee-VAHL festival
Garde verb
gard keep
objets de valeur phrase
ohb-ZHAY duh vah-LUR valuables
pickpockets noun
peek-poh-KET pickpockets
poche noun
posh pocket
pochette noun
poh-SHET pouch
téléphone noun
tay-lay-FOHN phone
zippée adj
zee-PAY zippered

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

keep

Show AnswerGarde

zippered

Show Answerzippée

outside

Show Answerextérieure

festival

Show Answerfestival