Organizing account activity and recurring payments | Learn French in English

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Use Organizing account activity and recurring payments to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

J’essaie de séparer les opérations courantes du compte des paiements occasionnels.

zhess-SAY duh say-pah-RAY layz oh-pay-rah-SYON koo-RAHNT doo KOHNT day pay-MAHN oh-kah-zyoh-NEL. I'm trying to separate routine account activity from occasional payments.

Cela peut vous aider à voir quels services se renouvellent automatiquement.

suh-LAH puh voo-ZAY-day ah VWAR kel ser-VEESS suh ruh-noo-VEL oh-toh-mah-TEEK-MAHN. That can help you see which services renew automatically.

Le plus difficile, c’est de remarquer les changements avant qu’ils ne passent inaperçus.

luh ploo dee-fee-SEEL, say duh ruh-mahr-KAY lay shahnzh-MAHN ah-VAHN keel nuh pahss ahn-ah-payr-SOO. The hard part is noticing changes before they get buried.

Regrouper les paiements similaires peut être plus utile que de compter sur des rappels.

ruh-groo-PAY lay pay-MAHN see-mee-LAIR puh aytr plooz oo-TEEL kuh duh kohm-TAY syr day rah-PEL. Grouping similar payments may help more than relying on reminders.

Je pourrais utiliser une carte réservée aux services réguliers.

zhuh poo-RAY oo-tee-lee-ZAY oon KART ray-zair-VAY oh ser-VEESS ray-goo-LYAY. I could use one dedicated card for regular services.

Ainsi, les opérations inhabituelles ressortiraient plus rapidement.

an-SEE layz oh-pay-rah-SYON een-ah-bee-too-EL ruh-sor-tee-RAY ploo rah-peed-MAHN. Then unusual activity would stand out more quickly.

Cela pourrait aussi éviter que mon compte principal soit trop encombré.

suh-LAH poo-RAY oh-SEE ay-vee-TAY kuh mohn KOHNT pran-see-PAHL swah troh ahn-kohm-BRAY. It might also keep my main account less cluttered.

Des relevés plus clairs peuvent faciliter les décisions à venir.

day ruhl-VAY ploo KLAIR puhV fah-see-lee-TAY lay day-see-ZYON ah vah-NEER. Cleaner records can make future decisions easier.

Word by Word

J’essaie “J’essaie” means “I’m trying” in this dialogue. It is a form of essayer and is commonly followed by de and an infinitive, as in “J’essaie de séparer”.

de Here “de” introduces the action that is being attempted after “J’essaie”. The reusable pattern is essayer de + infinitive, as in “J’essaie de séparer”.

séparer “Séparer” means to separate the routine account activity from the occasional payments. It is an infinitive after “J’essaie de”; a useful pattern is séparer one thing de another.

les “Les” is the definite plural article before “opérations”. In “les opérations courantes”, it refers to the account transactions being discussed.

opérations “Opérations” means transactions or account operations in this banking context. It is the plural of opération and appears as the object of “séparer” in “séparer les opérations courantes”.

courantes “Courantes” describes the transactions as routine or regular. It agrees with the feminine plural noun “opérations” and comes from the adjective courant; “les opérations courantes” is a useful banking expression.

du “Du” means “of the” in “du compte”. It is the contraction of de and le, and it links the operations to the account in “les opérations courantes du compte”.

compte “Compte” means account here, specifically the bank account whose activity is being organized. It follows “du” in the reusable expression “l’activité du compte” or “les opérations du compte”.

des The lower-case “des” means “of the” in “des paiements occasionnels”. Here it is the contraction of de and les, linking the separation to the occasional payments.

paiements “Paiements” means payments in this banking context. It is the plural of paiement and appears after “des” in “des paiements occasionnels”.

occasionnels “Occasionnels” describes payments that happen occasionally rather than as routine activity. It agrees with the masculine plural noun “paiements” and comes from occasionnel.

Cela “Cela” means “that” or “it” and refers to the proposed separation of account activity. It is the subject of “Cela peut vous aider à voir”, a useful way to describe a possible benefit.

peut “Peut” means “can” or “may” in “Cela peut vous aider”. It is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir and presents the suggested organization as potentially helpful.

vous “Vous” means “you” and is the person receiving the help in “vous aider”. With aider, a person can be placed directly before the infinitive: aider quelqu’un à do something.

aider “Aider” means to help, here to help the listener see which services renew automatically. It follows “peut” and is followed by à plus an infinitive in “vous aider à voir”.

à Here “à” means “to” and introduces the action that the help makes possible: “à voir”. The pattern aider quelqu’un à + infinitive is useful for describing what someone helps another person do.

voir “Voir” means to see or identify, here to identify which services renew automatically. It is an infinitive after “à” in “vous aider à voir quels services se renouvellent automatiquement”.

quels “Quels” means “which” before the plural noun “services”. It is the masculine plural form of quel and introduces the question of which services renew automatically.

services “Services” refers to the recurring services whose renewals are being monitored. It is the plural of service and is the subject of “se renouvellent” in “quels services se renouvellent automatiquement”.

se In “se renouvellent”, “se” is part of the pronominal verb and shows that the renewal is expressed in relation to the services themselves. The complete dialogue expression “se renouvellent automatiquement” describes services that renew automatically.

renouvellent “Renouvellent” means renew in this context: the services renew automatically. It is the plural form used with “quels services”; together with “se”, it forms “se renouvellent”.

automatiquement “Automatiquement” means automatically and explains how the services renew. It commonly follows the verb or verb phrase it modifies, as in “se renouvellent automatiquement”.

Le “Le” is the masculine singular definite article in “Le plus difficile”. Together with the following adjective, it introduces what is described as the hardest part.

plus “Plus” means “most” in “Le plus difficile”, forming a superlative. The pattern le plus + adjective is used to identify the greatest degree of a quality.

difficile “Difficile” means difficult or hard, and in “Le plus difficile” it describes the hardest part of the task. It is an adjective that can be used in a superlative with “le plus”.

c’est “C’est” means “it is” and identifies what the hardest part consists of. It is a contraction of ce and est, used here in “c’est de remarquer les changements”.

remarquer “Remarquer” means to notice, here to notice changes before they go unnoticed. It is an infinitive in “c’est de remarquer les changements” and can be followed by the thing noticed.

changements “Changements” means changes, such as changes in account activity. It is the plural of changement and is the direct object of “remarquer” in “remarquer les changements”.

avant “Avant” means before and places the noticing earlier than the changes going unnoticed. In this sentence it is followed by que and a clause: “avant qu’ils ne passent inaperçus”.

qu’ils “Qu’ils” means “that they” and introduces the clause whose subject is the changes. It combines que and ils before “ne passent” in “avant qu’ils ne passent inaperçus”.

ne Here “ne” is used after “avant que” without making the clause negative. In “avant qu’ils ne passent inaperçus”, it is an explétive ne, while the meaning remains “before they go unnoticed”.

passent “Passent” contributes the idea of passing or going in “passent inaperçus”. It is the plural form used with “ils”, referring to the changes in “avant qu’ils ne passent inaperçus”.

inaperçus “Inaperçus” means unnoticed in “passent inaperçus”. It agrees with the masculine plural noun “changements”; the expression describes changes that are not noticed.

Regrouper “Regrouper” means to group together, here to organize similar payments together. It is an infinitive used as the subject of “Regrouper les paiements similaires peut être plus utile”.

similaires “Similaires” means similar and describes the payments that are grouped together. It agrees with the masculine plural noun “paiements” in “les paiements similaires”.

être “Être” means to be and appears in “peut être plus utile”. It is an infinitive after “peut” and links the grouping of payments to the quality “plus utile”.

utile “Utile” means useful in “peut être plus utile que de compter sur des rappels”. The phrase compares the usefulness of grouping payments with relying on reminders.

que Here “que” means “than” and introduces the second side of the comparison. In “plus utile que de compter sur des rappels”, it contrasts grouping payments with relying on reminders.

compter “Compter” means rely in the expression “compter sur des rappels”; it does not mean counting here. The reusable pattern is compter sur + a person or thing when describing reliance.

sur “Sur” means “on” in “compter sur des rappels”. It is the preposition required by compter when expressing reliance on something.

rappels “Rappels” means reminders, such as reminders intended to help track payments. It is the plural of rappel and follows “sur” in “compter sur des rappels”.

Je “Je” means “I” and is the subject of the proposed solution. It appears before “pourrais utiliser” in “Je pourrais utiliser une carte réservée aux services réguliers”.

pourrais “Pourrais” means “could” and presents using a dedicated card as a possible option. It is the first-person conditional form of pouvoir and is followed by the infinitive “utiliser”.

utiliser “Utiliser” means to use, here to use one dedicated card for regular services. It follows “pourrais” and takes the object “une carte” in “pourrais utiliser une carte”.

une “Une” means “a” or “one” before the feminine noun “carte”. In this dialogue it introduces one particular card proposed for regular services.

carte “Carte” means card, specifically a payment card in this context. It is the object of “utiliser” and is described by “réservée aux services réguliers”.

réservée “Réservée” means set aside or dedicated for a particular purpose in “une carte réservée aux services réguliers”. It agrees with the feminine singular noun “carte” and comes from réservé.

aux “Aux” means “for the” or “to the” in “réservée aux services réguliers”. It is the contraction of à and les and introduces the services for which the card is dedicated.

réguliers “Réguliers” means regular in “les services réguliers”. It agrees with the masculine plural noun “services” and describes services that recur as part of the planned activity.

Ainsi “Ainsi” means “thus” or “in this way” and introduces the expected consequence of using a dedicated card. It is useful at the beginning of a sentence to connect an action with its result, as in “Ainsi, les opérations inhabituelles ressortiraient...”.

inhabituelles “Inhabituelles” means unusual and describes the operations that do not belong to the regular pattern. It agrees with the feminine plural noun “opérations” in “les opérations inhabituelles”.

ressortiraient “Ressortiraient” means would stand out or become noticeable, referring to unusual operations. It is a conditional plural form used for the hypothetical result in “les opérations inhabituelles ressortiraient plus rapidement”.

rapidement “Rapidement” means quickly and describes how soon the unusual operations would stand out. In the full phrase “plus rapidement”, it contributes to the meaning “more quickly”.

pourrait “Pourrait” means might or could and presents another possible benefit of the proposed organization. It is the third-person conditional form of pouvoir, with “Cela” as its subject in “Cela pourrait aussi éviter”.

aussi “Aussi” means also and adds this possible benefit to the earlier benefit of making unusual activity easier to notice. It appears after “pourrait” in “pourrait aussi éviter”.

éviter “Éviter” means to avoid or prevent, here to prevent the main account from becoming too cluttered. It follows “pourrait” and introduces the clause “que mon compte principal soit trop encombré”.

mon “Mon” means “my” and identifies the account belonging to the speaker. It is the possessive determiner before the masculine singular noun “compte” in “mon compte principal”.

principal “Principal” means main or primary and describes the account that holds the speaker’s general activity. It agrees with the masculine singular noun “compte” in “mon compte principal”.

soit “Soit” means “be” in “que mon compte principal soit trop encombré”. It is the subjunctive form of être used after “éviter que” to express what the speaker hopes to prevent.

trop “Trop” means too and indicates an excessive degree in “trop encombré”. The pattern trop + adjective is used to describe something as excessively characterized by that adjective.

encombré “Encombré” means cluttered or crowded, referring to the main account’s records or activity. It agrees with the masculine singular noun “compte” in “mon compte principal soit trop encombré”.

relevés “Relevés” means statements or records in this banking context, such as records of account activity. It is the plural of relevé and is described by “plus clairs” in “Des relevés plus clairs”.

clairs “Clairs” means clear, and in the full phrase “plus clairs” it means clearer records. It agrees with the masculine plural noun “relevés” and describes records that are easier to understand.

décisions “Décisions” means decisions, specifically future decisions about account activity or payments. It is the plural of décision and appears in the phrase “les décisions à venir”.

venir “Venir” means to come, but in “les décisions à venir” the phrase “à venir” means upcoming or future. This pattern places an event or decision ahead in time.

Grammar Points

ressortiraient

Les changements inhabituels ressortiraient.

lay shahnzh-MAHN een-ah-bee-too-EL ruh-sor-tee-RAY.

The unusual changes would stand out.

The conditional expresses a hypothetical result: ressortiraient means “would stand out.”

Regrouper + nom

Regrouper les paiements similaires facilite les relevés.

ruh-groo-PAY lay pay-MAHN see-mee-LAIR fah-see-lee-TAY lay ruhl-VAY.

Grouping similar payments makes statements easier.

An infinitive can function as the subject of a sentence. Faciliter agrees with the idea of the whole action.

French Vocabulary

automatiquement adv

oh-toh-mah-teek-MAHN automatically

se renouvellent automatiquement

changement noun

shahnzh-MAHN change changements

les changements

courant adj

koo-RAHN routine; current courantes

les opérations courantes

difficile adj

dee-fee-SEEL difficult

Le plus difficile

occasionnel adj

oh-kah-zyoh-NEL occasional occasionnels

des paiements occasionnels

opération noun

oh-pay-rah-SYON transaction opérations

les opérations courantes du compte

paiement noun

pay-MAHN payment paiements

des paiements occasionnels

passer inaperçu phrase

pah-SAY ahn-ah-payr-SOO to go unnoticed passent inaperçus

avant qu’ils ne passent inaperçus

regrouper verb

ruh-groo-PAY to group; to bundle Regrouper

Regrouper les paiements similaires

remarquer verb

ruh-mahr-KAY to notice

de remarquer les changements

se renouveler verb

suh ruh-noo-vuh-LAY to renew; to recur se renouvellent

quels services se renouvellent automatiquement

séparer verb

say-pah-RAY to separate

J’essaie de séparer les opérations courantes du compte...

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to notice

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remarquer

payment

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paiements

to separate

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séparer

difficult

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difficile