Knowing how to make a polite request in French is one of the first things taught in tourist guidebooks. In this lesson, we will dig a little deeper and explore the many ways of asking for something in a variety of situations, whether it be shopping, asking for directions, eating out, and more. Through our video examples, we will also discover the cultural niceties and etiquette that help smooth out such interactions.

As is customary in most countries, in France it is considered good form to greet the person you come into contact with. As the speaker in this video reminds us, it is important to toujours dire bonjour (always say hello):

Ah, ben oui... La politesse, la courtoisie, toujours dire bonjour, garder le sourire.

Oh, well yes... Politeness, courtesy, always say hello, keep smiling.

Caption 3, Télésonne Micro-trottoir : Comment manifester sa gentillesse?

 Play Caption

So don’t skip the bonjour part even when passing through the checkout line or buying a baguette at the bakery, for example:

Bonjour, je voudrais une baguette et deux croissants, s’il vous plaît.

Hi, I’d like a baguette and two croissants, please.

When on the phone, it is possible to substitute allô (hello) for bonjour, maybe to sound more friendly. Listen to Lionel making a trip reservation in this video. He starts with bonjour and then uses the conditional structure je voudrais (I would like to) + infinitive. (See our previous lesson on the conditional tense here.)

Oui, bonjour! Euh... je voudrais, euh, faire un voyage au Parc Astérix.

Yes, hello! Uh... I would like, uh, to take a trip to Parc Astérix [Astérix Park].

Caption 2, Réservation d'un voyage au Parc Astérix

 Play Caption

When asking for directions, instead of using the ubiquitous bonjour, you may want to catch the person’s attention first with the polite formula: Pardon, monsieur/madame, excusez-moi (Sorry, sir/madam, excuse me). Of course, it does not hurt to say s’il vous plaît (please) as well:

Pardon monsieur, excusez-moi. Place Vendôme, s’il vous plaît ?

Sorry sir, excuse me. Place Vendôme [Vendôme Square], please? 

In the example above, you will notice that the speaker is using formal language, with the verb in the second-person plural in the imperative mood (excusez-moi) and the formal vous in s’il vous plaît (literally, "if you please"). It is much simpler in English, as there is only one way of saying “you,” unless you want to sound Shakespearian!

When addressing a friend, you may drop the formal tone of your request and switch to the second-person singular of the verb by leaving out the Z at the end: excusez-moi —> excuse-moi (excuse me), like the shy chef does in this video. In an awkward and apologetic sort of way, he tries to sound casual and uses the personal pronoun te (you) to address his employee, whom he is about to ask out on a first date:

Excuse-moi... Je suis un peu gêné de te demander ça mais...

Excuse me... I'm a bit embarrassed to ask you this but...

Caption 51, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils - Part 3

 Play Caption

Further along in the video, the shy chef eventually plucks up the courage to ask his employee for a drink. First, he softens his request by using the imperfect tense, je voulais te demander (I wanted to ask you). Then, being ever so polite, he reformulates his question and asks her si tu serais d’accord pour qu’on aille (if she would agree to go for a drink together). Note how he manages to use two different verbal moods here, the conditional and the subjunctive, plus the imperfect tense!

Ce que je voulais te demander c'est... si tu serais éventuellement d'accord pour qu'on aille boire un verre ensemble?

What I wanted to ask you is... if you would possibly agree to go for a drink together?

Captions 57-59, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils - Part 3

 Play Caption

Thankfully, not every request needs to sound as complicated as the one above. In informal situations, you can simply say peux-tu (can you) and use the present tense for a slightly more direct approach:

Peux-tu m'appeler?

Can you call me?

Caption 33, Conversations au parc Ep. 1: Je n'ai pas mon téléphone

 Play Caption

Here is another example of a more direct approach. In the cartoon series Les Zooriginaux, Loupia asks Gigi the giraffe to ouvre-moi (open up for me) during a curfew. Here we have the imperative mood, since it is a command rather than a request, followed by the informal form of "please," s’il te plaît. (Refer to this lesson for info on pronoun placement with the imperative mood.)

Ouvre-moi vite s'il te plaît

Open up for me quickly, please

Caption 26, Les zooriginaux The Zoo Book - Part 3

 Play Caption

And if you're in need of help, this little phrase could come in handy: aide-moi (help me).

Et sauve-moi encore, aide-moi

And save me again, help me

Caption 2, Normandie TV Indochine au Zénith de Caen

 Play Caption

Or, in its plural/formal version:

Et sauvez-moi encore, aidez-moi

And save me again, help me

In a critical situation, you can ask for help this way:

Au secours! À l'aide! À l'aide!

Help! Help! Help!

Caption 24, Il était une fois: Notre Terre 25. Technologies - Part 3

 Play Caption

There is yet another way to ask for help, or anything else for that matter: with the impersonal phrase il faut que tu (you have to) + subjunctive. Remember to use tu (you) if you are talking to a friend:

Il faut que tu m'aides, je crois.

You have to help me, I think.

Caption 5, Anna et Louis Le vocabulaire des jeunes

 Play Caption

In a more formal situation such as asking your boss to help you, or when you're addressing more than one person, use vous. And don't forget that il faut que (you have to) is always followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood.

Il faut que vous m’aidiez, je crois.

You have to help me, I think.

Moving on to a totally different context, such as ordering food or drinks, for example, things are a lot simpler. You can just order a drink or food by saying je vais (vous) prendre. This is how Johanna orders her beer. Note that she uses the formal pronoun vous when speaking to the waiter:

Euh... je vais vous prendre une bière, s'il vous plaît.

Uh... I'll take a beer from you, please.

Caption 19, Joanna Son quartier

 Play Caption

Or you may prefer the simpler version: 

Je vais prendre une bière, s'il vous plaît.

I'll take a beer, please.

And for yet a more basic approach, you can just name your drink, and you will still get your beer…as long as you say s’il vous plaît!

Une bière, s'il vous plaît.

A beer, please.

In conclusion, making a polite request in French is not that different from English, but knowing when and how to use formal and informal language, which is an integral part of French etiquette, can be challenging. So be aware that your choice of words, tenses, moods, and pronouns will affect the tone of your message. This makes for complicated grammar choices at times, but feel free to explore our grammar lessons and videos to help you. Thank you for reading!

The French word trouble should not give you any trouble, right? After all, it is a direct cognate of “trouble” in English… But don’t let this air of familiarity fool you. Trouble doesn’t always mean “trouble,” exactly. And that’s the trouble. So, let’s go to the trouble of exploring this sometimes troublesome word, trouble.

To determine whether or not we have a cognate is difficult. It all depends on what types of troubles we’re dealing with, and it is best to work on a case-by-case basis. The English cognate “trouble” works perfectly in some circumstances, when talking about le trouble du comportement (behavioral trouble), for example:

Pour l'ensemble de nos résidents qui correspondent au profil de trouble du comportement, Alzheimer, et cætera.

For all of our residents who fit the profile of behavioral trouble, Alzheimer's, et cetera.

Captions 21-22, JT La musicothérapie pour les aînés

 Play Caption

On the other hand, and despite the similar context, we no longer have a cognate in the example below. When dealing with troubles du comportement alimentaire, it's preferable to use the word “disorders” in English:

...voire même des troubles du comportement alimentaire majeurs, type, euh, anorexie.

...perhaps even major eating disorders like, um, anorexia.

Caption 18, Le Journal Publicité anti-calories

 Play Caption

Sometimes trouble is equivalent to “problem” in the general sense. For instance, we talk about troubles moteurs, sensoriels ou cognitifs (motor, sensory, or cognitive problems):

À l'âge de cinq ans, quarante pour cent de ces enfants ont des troubles moteurs, sensoriels ou cognitifs

At the age of five, forty percent of these children have motor, sensory, or cognitive problems

Caption 15, Le Journal Grands prématurés

 Play Caption

As for the term trouble used in the sense of disturbance, it's a cognate again! In times of political unrest, for example, we talk about périodes de trouble:

Aussi même pendant les périodes de trouble comme il y a neuf mois

Even during periods of trouble, such as nine months ago

Caption 25, Le Journal Les Français de Côte d'Ivoire

 Play Caption

And yet, if we combine trouble with an adjective, we may end up with an idiomatic expression like troubles violents (violent unrest):

S'ouvre alors une période de troubles violents

A period of violent unrest then begins

Caption 29, Le Monde Nouvelle-Calédonie : la dernière colonie française - Part 2

 Play Caption

People responsible for such troubles violents might be labeled as fauteurs de trouble (troublemakers): 

La police avait recensé un millier de fauteurs de troubles.

The police had counted about a thousand troublemakers.

Caption 12, Le Journal Manifestations des lycéens - Part 2

 Play Caption

That could spell des ennuis sérieux (serious trouble) for these fauteurs de trouble. In this animated video, the zoo animals also ont des ennuis (are in trouble). Note the French expression is avoir des ennuis (literally, "to have trouble"):

On va toutes avoir des ennuis maintenant.

We're all going to be in trouble now.

Caption 44, Les zooriginaux The Zoo Book - Part 3

 Play Caption

When having trouble or difficulty conducting a task, you will need to use a different expression: avoir du mal à + infinitive (to have trouble doing something):

Le Père Noël a bien du mal à finir à temps son travail.

Santa Claus is having a lot of trouble finishing his work on time.

Caption 16, Les belles histoires de Pomme d'Api Les Chaussettes du Père Noël

 Play Caption

Not being able to cope might mean that vous n’êtes pas au bout de vos peines (your troubles are far from over, or literally, "you're not at the end of your troubles"):

Mais bon, j'étais pas au bout de mes peines.

But, well, my troubles were far from over.

Caption 38, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes grands-parents sont infidèles - Part 7

 Play Caption

When in difficulty, it’s always good to call on someone pour vous sortir d’affaires (to get you out of trouble):

On a tous besoin d’aide pour se sortir d’affaires de temps en temps

We all need help from time to time to get out of trouble.

In any event, it always pays to se donner la peine (to take the trouble) to do things right in the first place, even if it takes effort. In this example, though, se donner la peine is just a very formal way of inviting someone to take a seat (literally, "to take the trouble to sit down"):

Si madame veut bien se donner la peine.

If Madam cares to take the trouble [to go sit down].

Caption 53, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mon fils est amoureux de ma copine - Part 1

 Play Caption

In contrast, here is a more clearcut example where “trouble” in English is synonymous with la peine in French. Barbara wants to reward her mother for her hard work on the plumbing repair:

Pour la peine, je t'invite au restaurant.

For the trouble, I'm taking you out to the restaurant.

Caption 42, Mère & Fille C'est le plombier!

 Play Caption

Finally, the word trouble can also be an adjective meaning “unclear.” Such difficulty could be caused by bad eyesight, for example, as in voir trouble, which doesn’t mean “to see trouble," but “to be unable to see clearly.” Trouble is also the first-person singular indicative of the verb troubler (to trouble):

Je vois trouble et cela me trouble.

I can’t see clearly and it troubles me.

In conclusion, thank you for vous être donné/donnée la peine (taking the trouble) to read this lesson. As you may have noticed, the word trouble can be used in a variety of ways that are not always consistent. So let Yabla help you vous sortir d’affaires (get you out of trouble) with our wide range of videos featuring the word.