How to negate French verbs using ne... pas.
How to use possessive adjectives in French
How to say something belongs to somebody
All the different ways of saying "the" in French
How to say "some" or "any" in French
Words and phrases for when your French deserts you!
The ultimate icebreaker
How to ask and give the time in French
Because not every day is Saturday
Words and phrases for talking about your nearest and dearest
How to say "um... well... you know..." in French
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How much?
How to talk about whether something is early, late or on time.
How to count from zero to a million in French
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Communication Issues
Phrases for when your French deserts you
If you're planning a jaunt into French-speaking territory, you're bound to encounter communication problems at one point or other.
Since you're reading this, you're obviously taking measures to ensure you don't end up standing in the middle of a room bellowing "DOES ANYONE SPEAK ENGLISH?"... but even so it's good to know a few phrases so that if accents are too thick, speech is too fast, or vocabulary is too obscure, you can politely say "sorry, I don't understand."
Then stand in the middle of the room and bellow "Y a-t-il quelqu'un qui parle anglais?"
Comprenez-vous?
Do you understand? (formal)
Comprends-tu?
Do you understand? (informal)
Je comprends
I understand
Non, je ne comprends pas
No, I don't understand
Parlez-vous anglais?
Do you speak English? (formal)
Parles-tu anglais?
Do you speak English? (informal)