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Sophie shops for groceries and asks a store employee where to find things.
Un œuf is said /œf/, but the plural des œufs drops both consonants: /de.zø/. It is one of the few French plurals that changes the sound of the word itself.
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. Il y a — there is / there are
Il y a covers both "there is" and "there are" — it never changes for singular or plural. To make it negative, wrap it: il n'y a pas de pain.
2. Du, de la, des — "some"
Where English can just say "chicken" or "eggs," French inserts a word for "some": du for masculine (du pain), de la for feminine (de la salade), de l' before a vowel (de l'eau), des for plurals (des œufs). You cannot leave it out.
3. Avoir besoin de — to need
French says "to have need of": j'ai besoin de riz. After besoin the word is always de, and here it swallows the du / de la — you say j'ai besoin de riz, not de du riz.
4. Asking where — Il est où ?
In everyday speech the question word goes on the end: Il est où ? ("Where is it?"), Ils sont où ? for plurals. It is the relaxed spoken version of Où est-il ?, and it is what you will actually hear in a shop.
A. Fill in the Blank · Complétez
Fill in the blank with a word from this lesson's vocabulary.
- 1.Je les fruits.I'm looking for
- 2. des œufs au rayon cinq.there are
- 3.Vous avez poulet frais ?some (masculine)
- 4.Je vais payer à la .checkout
B. Multiple Choice · Choix multiple
Choose the best answer.
- 1.Which sentence means "There are eggs"?
- 2.Which is correct for "some water" (l'eau, feminine)?
- 3.How do you say "I need rice"?
- 4.How would you casually ask where the bread is?
C. Rearrange the Sentence · Remettez dans l'ordre
Rearrange the words into a correct sentence, adding the punctuation shown in parentheses.
- 1.Tap tiles below…
- 2.Tap tiles below…
- 3.Tap tiles below…
- 4.Tap tiles below…
D. True or False · Vrai ou faux
Based on the dialogue, mark each sentence T (true) or F (false).
- 1.The fruit is in aisle three.
- 2.The eggs are next to the bread.
- 3.The shop has fresh chicken today.
- 4.Sophie has already paid.
E. Matching · Associez
Match each line on the left with the best response on the right.
F. Translation · Traduction
Translate items 1–2 into French, and items 3–4 into English.
- 1.I'm looking for the bread.
- 2.There are eggs in aisle five.
- 3.Vous avez du poulet frais aujourd'hui ?
- 4.De rien. Bonne journée !
Generate a brand-new dialog on any topic, using this lesson's 16 vocab words — plus any words you add below.
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The market and the bakery
Supermarkets do the bulk of French shopping, but two older habits sit alongside them. Most towns hold a market a morning or two each week, in a square or a covered hall, where produce, cheese and meat are bought from the person selling them — and where you point rather than help yourself. Bread is bought daily from a boulangerie rather than a supermarket, because a baguette is stale by evening. Inside the supermarket, expect to weigh and label loose fruit yourself at a scale in the aisle, and to bag your own shopping at the till.