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Act 1: Does Roast Beef mean Im ready to settle down?

Bienvenue ! Welcome to the Language Theater! Come in, come in! Take your seat and get ready for a
unique experience. My name is Jean-Paul and I will take you through this masterful play.

I hope you will enjoy the performance and learn to understand and even speak French by the end of the
play. Oh, and by the way, its a long play... from one act to the next, you will learn the language,
discover nuances of French culture, and experience the thrill of a theatrical performance in the language
you are learning. Oui, oui ! We start with just a few words of French in Act I, but by the end of our play,
most of the acts will be performed in French! Oh, what a thrill it is to enjoy a play in French!

Now, a few words about the format of the show, or course if you will ... A French teacher, Valrie, gives
one-on-one lessons. The students who come for the lessons have very little knowledge of French, almost
none. From the first lesson to the last, they will learn to the extent that each one of them will be able to
understand and speak French well. You are cordially invited to enjoy the Language Theater and learn
French with our students.

Well, lets begin Act I. Valrie, our French teacher, is waiting for her student Jack. This is the first time
Valrie and Jack meet in person.

Introduction

Valrie: Bonjour ! tes-vous Jacques ?

Jack: Excuse me?
Valrie: Hello, are you Jacques?
Jack: Oh, right! Bonjour ! Oui, oui, je suis Jacques.
Valrie: Trs bien ! Please, come on in! It is very nice to meet you, and Im glad that you want to
learn French.

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Jack: Thank you, Valrie!
Valrie: Well, lets start our first lesson.
Jack: Thank you so much for taking me as a student!
Valrie: You are most welcome, Jacques! But, before we start, tell me a little about yourself. You
have studied French before, right?
Jack: In school, if it counts. I just remember a few words like Bonjour, je mappelle Jacques, sil
vous plat, merci, au revoir.
Valrie: Very good!
Jack: But, I am very serious about studying.
Valrie: Excellent! May I ask why you have decided to go back to studying French? I would like to
know what your goals are so that I can successfully design a course for you.
Jack: Sure! You see, I have this idea, it's a business idea and I will need a good knowledge of
French, and I may add French culture.
Valrie: Oh! It's intriguing! What is that? Is that a secret?
Jack: Its a French restaurant! I want to open a French restaurant.
Valrie: Ah bon ? ...Really?
Jack: I have so many ideas about this restaurant, so its going to be great! But I really need to
be able to speak French and I need to know cultural nuances to design a great menu.
Valrie: Well, good luck! Bonne chance !
Jack: Merci !
Valrie: Well, lets not waste time. Let's start learning!

Grammar 1: tre in the present, Personal pronouns - Part I

Valrie: Our first grammar lesson will be about the verb to be, in French le verbe tre. Think about
the conjugated form of to be in English: I am, you are, he is, she is and so on. It doesnt
really sound like a variation of to be, right? In French, its the same with the verb tre. Its
an irregular verb so you wont really hear tre once we start conjugating it. This is tre in
the present:

I am - je suis
You are - tu es
He/she is - il/elle est
We are - nous sommes
You are - vous tes
They are - ils sont

You probably noticed that I said You are twice in English, but gave two different
translations in French, tu es and vous tes.
Jack: Yes.

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Valrie: One of this is informal "you are" and the other formal. But, we'll talk about it later today.
And, now, lets start speaking French!
Jack: Hah! Just like that?!
Valrie: Well, Ill try to use French as much as I can and if you feel confident, you answer in French.
Jack: Uff! Well... lets try.
Valrie: Je suis Valrie. Je suis une professeure de franais.
Jack: Je suis Jack.
Valrie: Jacques est bon.
Jack: Merci, Valrie ! Je suis Jacques. Je suis....
Valrie: Vous tes un entrepreneur.
Jack: Oui oui! Je suis un entrepreneur. And... nous sommes in a class learning French. Uff,
something is coming back, Valrie.
Valrie: Trs bien! You are doing very well. Give me more examples, Jacques!
Jack: Hmm...je suis... je suis... not easy to start speaking French just like that...
Valrie: Because you are a....
Jack: je suis....I'm a...

Cause' je suis a picker

je suis a grinner
je suis a lover
And je suis a sinner

Valrie: playin' my music in the sun... I love Steve Miller Band!

Jack:
je suis a joker
je suis a smoker
je suis a mid-night toker
I get my lovin' on the run
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Valrie: Trs bien ! Try he is and she is, in French. il est et elle est.
Jack: Il est a doctor, elle est a teacher...
Valrie: Il est mdecin. Elle est professeur. Trs bien! Continue !
Jack: il est funny and elle est beautiful, il est happy and elle est happy too, il est smart and il
est tall, il est interesting and il est funny...
Valrie: I think you already said il est funny.
Jack: OK, il est very funny. Now, elle est blonde and elle est French, elle est a student, elle est
a friend.

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Valrie: Excellent! He and she seem to be very nice people. Well, thats enough for the first lesson.
Let's take a quick break and then we'll continue tu es, nous sommes, vous tes, and ils sont.

Grammar 2: tre in the present, Personal pronouns - Part II

Valrie: So Jacques, we already talked about je suis, il est and elle est. Now, lets practice tu es,
nous sommes, vous tes, ils sont and elles sont. What is tu es ?
Jack: Its you are.
Valrie: Bien, what about nous sommes and vous tes ?
Jack: Nous sommes is we are and vous tes is you are.
Valrie: So whats the difference between tu es and vous tes if they both mean you are ?
Jack: Tu es is used when you talk to one person only. And vous tes is used when you address
several people. Its like you guys are.
Valrie: Excellent Jacques. There is another use for vous tes or just vous. Its the polite or formal
you. You should use vous and not tu with a person you dont know. Par exemple, in your
case, you would use vous with new business contacts, new employees... You should use
vous when there is a difference in hierarchy, for example with your boss...
Jack: Ah ah, thats good, I dont have one !
Valrie: ...with your teacher.
Jack: Ah bon ?
Valrie: Oui Jacques. Even teachers can choose to address their students using vous if theyre
adolescents. Its a sign of respect.
Jack: So if Im talking to you, I would say vous tes professeur de franais, vous tes franaise...
Valrie: Exactement !. And I will address you, saying: Jacques, vous tes amricain, vous tes
restaurateur, vous tes en classe de franais.
Jack: Ok. Nous sommes very polite. Valrie, vous tes un bon professeur de franais.
Valrie: Merci Jacques. Vous tes un bon tudiant ! Try ils sont or elles sont.
Jack: The French, ils sont gastronomes. The French women, elles sont chics !
Valrie: Excellent !
Jack: Vous tes chic also Valrie !
Valrie: Vous tes gentil Jacques.

Ah bon ?

Valrie: Now, we move to a new segment French expressions. If you want to speak as French do,
Jacques, you have to use French expression.
Jack: I know!
Valrie: Lots of them!
Jack: I know, I know. I spend few months in Paris learning French cuisine and working on my
restaurant idea. I know how frequently French people use them. Its like in my
neighborhood, in Brooklyn, NY, where I grew up. I swear, we could throw out all the words
and get away only with expressions!

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Valrie: Get outta here!
Jack: Yeah, yeah! This is it. Thats one of them!
Valrie: Well, lets get started then! The first French expression well learn is Ah bon ?
Jack: Ah bon ?
Valrie: Oui, Ah bon ? is most of the time translated really? but it can be translated in many other
ways in English. Generally we use it to express surprise but also to acknowledge what
someone just said. In this case, it wont really sound like a question...just like really...It isnt
always a question, sometimes it just means I see.. If you go to France, youll hear it a lot.
Well, now that weve gone over the grammar lesson and the vocabulary words, do you think
you could try to incorporate some of that to explain your restaurant idea?
Jack: Im not sure. Je suis not ready.
Valrie: Je ne suis pas prt, thats how you would say Im not ready.
Jack: Ah bon ?
Valrie: Don't be shy! Just go with your story. Whatever you can say in French, say it in French.
Switch to English if you can't find words. Just don't stop.
Jack: Well, let's try... Le restaurant est diffrent et original.
Valrie: Trs bien Jacques !
Jack: Couples would come on a first date and use the food, la cuisine, to tell about themselves. Le
menu will feature items to help them do just that. For example...
Valrie: Par exemple...
Jack: Par exemple, si un client est prt to settle down and get married, he can order a classic plat
principal such as roast beef et pure de pommes de terre fait maison.
Valrie: Ah bon ? Why would roast beef et pure de pommes de terre fait maison send the
message that he is ready to settle down?
Jack: Ah bon ? Isnt that obvious?
Valrie: Not to me? But, go on! Je suis...euh...hooked !
Jack: Ah bon ? No, I mean, really?
Valrie: Oui, oui ! Its a an unorthodox idea! Je suis hooked and je suis intrigued. Well, let me ask
you this. If une cliente wants to warn her date that she likes le luxe, what could she order ?
Jack: Hmmm, in this case, Caviar russe et blinis est un bon choice.
Valrie: What if elle est temperamental ?
Jack: Maybe un dessert les truffes au chocolat amer.
Valrie: Wow! You have a real food conversation going on in your restaurant!
Jacques: Thats the idea! Its better than sitting and feeling awkward on your first date.
Valrie: I agree. Lets continue. Si elle est passionne ?
Jack: Passionate ? She can commander Mousse aux fruits de la passion. Are you trying to
describe someone in particular ? Elle likes le luxe, elle est temperamental, elle est
passionne. Es-tu that client ?
Valrie: Non, non, Jacques ! Who pays laddition in your restaurant ?

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Jack: Le serveur or la serveuse cant allow la cliente to pay laddition.
Valrie: Ah bon ?
Jack: Je suis a little old-fashioned.

Until next time

Well, mes amis, my friends, this is the end of Act I. I hope you are as enthusiastic about learning French
as our friend Jack, or how Valrie calls him - Jacques. Study the lessons on our website and then listen to
the grammar and expressions dialogs. Do not neglect the grammar and pronunciation exercises either!
The curtain is down, the intermission begins, well see you soon in Act II. bientt !

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