Troubleshooting a printer problem | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: In a shared workspace, two colleagues troubleshoot a printer problem by checking large images and testing the file from another account..

EN → FR / Level: B2

About This Lesson

Use Troubleshooting a printer problem to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

L’imprimante continue de refuser mon fichier, alors que le format est pris en charge.

lahm-pree-MAHNT kohn-tee-NYOO duh ruh-fuh-ZAY mohn fee-SHYAY, ah-LOHR kuh luh for-MAH ay pree zahn SHARZH The printer keeps rejecting my file, although the format is supported.
B

As-tu vérifié si le document contient des images trop volumineuses ?

ah-tyoo vay-ree-FYAY see luh doh-kyoo-MAHN kohn-TYAN day zee-MAHZH troh voh-lyoo-muh-NUHZ Have you checked whether the document contains oversized images?
A

C’est possible, puisque la présentation contient plusieurs graphiques détaillés.

say poh-SEE-bluh, pweez-kuh lah pray-zahn-tah-SYOHN kohn-TYAN plyoo-ZYUR grah-FEEK day-tah-YAY That is possible, since the presentation includes several detailed charts.
B

Les compresser pourrait aider sans dégrader la qualité visuelle.

lay kohm-pray-SAY poo-RAY ay-DAY sahn day-grah-DAY lah kah-lee-TAY vee-zwee-EL Compressing them may help without damaging the visual quality.
A

Je préférerais cela plutôt que de refaire toute la présentation.

zhuh pray-fay-ruh-RAY suh-LAH ploo-TOH kuh duh ruh-FAIR toot lah pray-zahn-tah-SYOHN I would prefer that to rebuilding the entire deck.
B

Envoie le fichier via le dossier partagé.

ahn-VWAH luh fee-SHYAY vee-AH luh doh-SYAY par-tah-ZHAY Send it through the shared folder.
B

Je peux le tester depuis mon compte.

zhuh puh luh tes-TAY duh-PWEE mohn kohnt I can test it from my account.
A

Cela m’évite de choisir des paramètres au hasard.

suh-LAH may-VEET duh shwah-ZEER day pah-rah-MEH-truh oh ah-ZAHR That saves me from guessing at random settings.
B

Une fois qu’il sera imprimé, nous devrions documenter la solution pour les autres.

oon fwah keel suh-RAH ahn-pree-MAY, noo duh-VRYOHN doh-kyoo-mahn-TAY lah soh-lyoo-SYOHN poor lay ZOH-truh Once it prints, we should document the fix for others.

Word by Word

L’imprimante In this dialogue, « L’imprimante » means “the printer,” the machine rejecting the file. It is the identified device being discussed, so this form is useful when referring to that printer in the workspace.
continue In « continue de refuser », « continue » means “keeps” or “continues,” showing that the printer’s rejection is still happening. It is the present form related to continuer and commonly introduces an ongoing action with de followed by an infinitive.
de Here « de » links « continue » to « refuser » in « continue de refuser », meaning that the rejection keeps occurring. This preposition is used in the construction continuer de plus an infinitive to describe an action that continues.
refuser In « continue de refuser mon fichier », « refuser » means “to reject,” describing what the printer does to the file. Its infinitive form follows de after continue and takes the rejected item as its object.
mon In « mon fichier », « mon » means “my” and identifies the file as belonging to the speaker. It comes before the noun and agrees with the masculine singular noun fichier; use it to identify the speaker’s own file or item.
fichier In this dialogue, « fichier » means “file,” specifically the file the printer keeps rejecting. It is a common technical noun used after a verb such as refuser to name the item affected by the action.
alors que In « alors que le format est pris en charge », « alors que » means “although” and introduces the fact that the format is supported, contrasting with the printer’s rejection. « alors » and « que » work together here as a conjunction for contrasting or accompanying circumstances.
le In « le format », « le » means “the” and marks format as a specific, identified item. It is placed before the masculine singular noun in a technical statement about the file’s format.
format In this dialogue, « format » means “format,” referring to the file type or structure accepted by the printer. It is the subject of the statement about whether the printer supports the file format.
est In « le format est pris en charge », « est » means “is” and links the format to its supported status. It is the present form related to être and is used here to state the current condition of the format.
pris en charge In « le format est pris en charge », « pris en charge » means “supported” or “handled” by the printer or system. The meaning comes from the complete expression, including « pris », « en », and « charge », so keep all three components together when describing support for a format.
As-tu At the beginning of « As-tu vérifié », « As-tu » means “have you” and starts a direct question about a completed check. It combines the question form of avoir with the informal subject pronoun tu and is useful when asking one person whether they have checked something.
vérifié In « As-tu vérifié », « vérifié » means “checked” or “verified,” referring to examining the document. It is the past participle related to vérifier and follows As-tu in this question about whether the check has been done.
si In « si le document contient des images trop volumineuses », « si » means “whether” and introduces the point being checked. It connects a question about a possibility to the clause that follows, especially after a verb such as vérifier.
document In « le document contient », « document » means “document,” the item being examined for oversized images. It is the subject of contient and names the file or written material under discussion.
contient In « le document contient des images », « contient » means “contains,” stating what is inside the document. It is the present form related to contenir and is used between the container and the things it includes.
des In « des images », « des » introduces plural images without identifying a particular set in advance. It is placed before a plural noun when referring to some items contained in the document.
images In this dialogue, « images » means “images,” the visual elements that may be causing the printer problem. It is the plural object of contient and is later referred to by Les in « Les compresser ».
trop In « trop volumineuses », « trop » means “too,” indicating that the images are excessively large for the situation. It comes before the adjective and marks a degree that may cause a practical problem.
volumineuses In « des images trop volumineuses », « volumineuses » means “large” or “bulky,” describing the images’ size. It is the feminine plural form agreeing with images and is useful for describing files or visual elements that take up too much space.
C’est In « C’est possible », « C’est » means “that is” or “it is” and introduces an assessment of the suggested explanation. It is the contracted form of ce and est, commonly used to state what something is or how a situation should be evaluated.
possible In « C’est possible », « possible » means “possible,” showing that the oversized images could be the cause. It follows C’est to give an evaluation of a proposed explanation or action.
puisque In « puisque la présentation contient plusieurs graphiques détaillés », « puisque » means “since” or “given that” and introduces the reason for considering the explanation possible. It is useful when the reason is presented as an established or readily accepted fact.
la In « la présentation », « la » means “the” and marks a specific presentation already relevant to the discussion. It comes before the feminine singular noun présentation.
présentation In this dialogue, « présentation » means “presentation” or “slide deck,” the document containing the detailed charts. It is the subject of contient and names the larger file being investigated.
plusieurs In « plusieurs graphiques », « plusieurs » means “several,” indicating more than one chart without giving an exact number. It comes before the plural noun and is useful when describing an unspecified but noticeable number of items.
graphiques In this dialogue, « graphiques » means “charts” or “graphs,” the detailed visual elements in the presentation. It is a plural noun modified by détaillés and is used for data or information shown visually.
détaillés In « plusieurs graphiques détaillés », « détaillés » means “detailed,” describing the charts as containing a lot of information. It is the masculine plural form agreeing with graphiques and follows the noun it describes.
Les At the beginning of « Les compresser », « Les » means “them” and refers back to the images. It is an object pronoun placed before the infinitive compresser, a useful word order when saying that someone will perform an action on already mentioned plural objects.
compresser In « Les compresser pourrait aider », « compresser » means “to compress,” referring to reducing the images’ size. It is an infinitive after pourrait and is preceded by Les because the images are the object of the action.
pourrait In « pourrait aider », « pourrait » means “could” or “might,” presenting compression as a possible solution rather than a certainty. It is the conditional form related to pouvoir and is used here to make a cautious technical suggestion.
aider In « pourrait aider », « aider » means “to help,” referring to helping solve the printer problem. Its infinitive form follows pourrait and names the possible result of compressing the images.
sans In « sans dégrader la qualité visuelle », « sans » means “without” and introduces an action that should not happen. It is followed here by the infinitive dégrader to express a desired result while avoiding damage.
dégrader In « sans dégrader la qualité visuelle », « dégrader » means “to damage” or “to degrade,” referring to harming the visual quality. It is an infinitive after sans and takes the affected thing, la qualité visuelle, as its object.
qualité In « la qualité visuelle », « qualité » means “quality,” specifically the standard of the visual result. It is the object of dégrader and is specified by the adjective visuelle.
visuelle In « la qualité visuelle », « visuelle » means “visual,” limiting the meaning of quality to what can be seen in the images or presentation. It is the feminine singular form agreeing with qualité and follows the noun it describes.
Je In « Je préférerais », « Je » means “I” and identifies the speaker expressing a preference. It is placed before the conjugated verb and is used to state the speaker’s own choice or opinion.
préférerais In « Je préférerais cela plutôt que de refaire toute la présentation », « préférerais » means “would prefer,” expressing a preference for compression over rebuilding the presentation. It is the conditional form related to préférer and is useful for stating a choice in a relatively polite way.
cela In « Je préférerais cela », « cela » means “that” or “it” and refers to the proposed action of compressing the images. The same form appears as « Cela » in « Cela m’évite de choisir des paramètres au hasard », where it refers to testing the file from another account; in both cases it points to an already mentioned situation.
plutôt que In « plutôt que de refaire toute la présentation », « plutôt que » means “rather than” and contrasts the preferred action with rebuilding the presentation. « plutôt » and « que » work together to introduce the alternative being rejected or avoided.
refaire In « plutôt que de refaire toute la présentation », « refaire » means “to redo” or “to rebuild,” referring to creating the entire presentation again. It is an infinitive after de and names the alternative being compared with compression.
toute In « toute la présentation », « toute » means “the entire” and emphasizes that the complete presentation would have to be rebuilt. It is the feminine singular form agreeing with présentation and comes before the noun phrase it qualifies.
Envoie In « Envoie le fichier via le dossier partagé », « Envoie » means “send” and gives a direct instruction to one person. It is the informal imperative form related to envoyer and is followed by the item to be sent.
via In « via le dossier partagé », « via » means “via” or “through,” identifying the route used to send the file. It is a preposition placed before the folder that provides the transfer path.
dossier In « le dossier partagé », « dossier » means “folder,” specifically the shared folder used to transfer the file. It follows the article le and is modified by partagé.
partagé In « le dossier partagé », « partagé » means “shared,” describing a folder accessible for use by more than one person. It is the masculine singular form agreeing with dossier and follows the noun it describes.
peux In « Je peux le tester », « peux » means “can,” expressing the speaker’s ability or possibility to test the file. It is the first-person singular present form related to pouvoir and is followed by an infinitive.
tester In « Je peux le tester depuis mon compte », « tester » means “to test,” referring to checking whether the file works from another account. It is an infinitive after peux and is preceded by le, which represents the file being tested.
depuis In « depuis mon compte », « depuis » means “from,” marking the account used as the source of the test. It is a preposition followed by the place, account, or point from which an action is carried out.
compte In « mon compte », « compte » means “account,” specifically the colleague’s user account. It follows the possessive mon and identifies the account from which the file will be tested.
m’évite In « Cela m’évite de choisir des paramètres au hasard », « m’évite » means “saves me from” or “avoids for me,” explaining that the proposed test prevents the speaker from guessing. It combines the object pronoun m’ with the present form évite and is commonly followed by de plus an infinitive for the action avoided.
choisir In « m’évite de choisir des paramètres », « choisir » means “to choose,” referring to selecting printer settings. It is an infinitive after éviter de and takes paramètres as the thing selected.
paramètres In this dialogue, « paramètres » means “settings,” specifically the options that control the printer or file handling. It is the plural object of choisir and refers to technical choices that could otherwise be made by guesswork.
au hasard In « choisir des paramètres au hasard », « au hasard » means “at random,” indicating that the settings would be selected without a deliberate basis. The expression is formed by « au » and « hasard » and commonly describes an unguided choice or action.
Une fois In « Une fois qu’il sera imprimé », « Une fois » means “once” and introduces the condition or point in time after printing is complete. « Une » and « fois » work together as a time expression before the clause that follows.
qu’il In « Une fois qu’il sera imprimé », « qu’il » means “that it,” introducing the clause about the file being printed. The pronoun il refers to the masculine noun fichier, while qu’ links the clause to Une fois.
sera In « qu’il sera imprimé », « sera » means “will be,” placing the printing in the future. It is the future form related to être and works with imprimé to describe the file’s future printed state.
imprimé In « sera imprimé », « imprimé » means “printed,” describing the state the file will reach after the printer succeeds. It is the masculine singular form agreeing with fichier and combines with sera in the future passive construction.
nous In « nous devrions documenter », « nous » means “we” and refers to the two colleagues acting together. It is the subject of devrions and is used when presenting a shared recommendation or planned action.
devrions In « nous devrions documenter », « devrions » means “should,” expressing a recommendation to record the successful fix. It is the first-person plural conditional form related to devoir and is followed by an infinitive.
documenter In « nous devrions documenter la solution », « documenter » means “to document,” referring to recording the fix so others can use it. It is an infinitive after devrions and takes la solution as its object.
solution In « documenter la solution », « solution » means “solution” or “fix,” referring to the method that resolves the printer problem. It is the object of documenter and names the practical answer that can be recorded for others.
pour In « pour les autres », « pour » means “for” and introduces the people who may benefit from the documented solution. It is a preposition placed before the intended audience or recipient of an action.
autres In « pour les autres », « autres » means “others,” referring to people who may encounter the same printer problem. It follows les and is used as a noun-like plural expression for people not individually named.

Grammar Points

Je préférerais + infinitif

Je préférerais compresser le document.

zhuh pray-fay-ruh-RAY kohm-pray-SAY luh doh-kyoo-MAHN

I would prefer to compress the document.

Le conditionnel « préférerais » exprime une préférence de façon polie.

sera + participe passé

Le document sera imprimé via le compte partagé.

luh doh-kyoo-MAHN suh-RAH ahn-pree-MAY vee-AH luh kohnt par-tah-ZHAY

The document will be printed via the shared account.

Cette forme passive se construit avec « être » au futur et un participe passé.

French Vocabulary

contient verb
kohn-TYAN contains

Le document contient des images trop volumineuses.

continue verb
kohn-TEE-NYOO continues

L’imprimante continue de refuser mon fichier.

détaillés adj
day-tah-YAY detailed

Plusieurs graphiques détaillés.

document noun
doh-kyoo-MAHN document

Le document contient des images trop volumineuses.

fichier noun
fee-SHYAY file

L’imprimante continue de refuser mon fichier.

graphiques noun
grah-FEEK charts

Plusieurs graphiques détaillés.

imprimante noun
lahm-pree-MAHNT printer

L’imprimante continue de refuser mon fichier.

présentation noun
pray-zahn-tah-SYOHN presentation

La présentation contient plusieurs graphiques détaillés.

pris en charge phrase
pree zahn SHARZH supported

Le format est pris en charge.

refuser verb
ruh-fuh-ZAY to reject

L’imprimante continue de refuser mon fichier.

vérifié verb
vay-ree-FYAY checked

As-tu vérifié si le document contient des images trop volumineuses ?

volumineuses adj
voh-lyoo-muh-NUHZ oversized

Des images trop volumineuses.

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

printer

Show Answerimprimante

document

Show Answerdocument

checked

Show Answervérifié

file

Show Answerfichier