1.

2 Greetings
Vocabulary

French English
Monsieur/Madame/Mademoiselle Sir/Mrs./Miss

Bonjour, Monsieur Hello, Sir.

Bonsoir Good evening.

Au revoir Goodbye

Salut! Hi!/Bye!

À tout à l’heure! See you in a little while. (same day)

À ce soir. See you this evening.

À demain See you tomorrow.

À bientôt. See you soon.

Comment vous appelez-vous? What 's your name? (formal)

Comment tu t' appelle? What’s your name? (informal)

Je m’appelle... My name is...

Comment ça va?/Ça va? How are you?

Comment allez-vous? How are you? (formal)

Comment va-tu? How are you? (informal)

Je vais très bien, merci. I am very well, thank you.

Je vais bien, merci. I am fine, thank you.

Pas mal, merci. Not bad, thank you.

Bien, merci! Great, thank you!

Ça va. O.K
 Ça va bien/mal. Good/Bad

Comme ci, comme ça. So-so/more or less

Et vous?/Et toi? And you? (formal/informal)

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New Vocabulary learned in other web sites:

Bonne journée - Have a good day

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‘Tu’ ou ‘Vous’?: Forms of Address
tu = used with friends, family, and children
vous = used to express politeness, formality, and social distance
(like “tú” and “usted” from Spanish)

*interesting fact: In Quebec the use of ‘tu’ is far more common, though ‘vous’ is still
used to show respect.

Exercise 2: Formal vs Informal

Discuss whether the person speaking in each of the following situations would
use tu or vous.

● A client in a bakery, speaking to the baker. vous (formal)

● A doctor speaking to a patient. tu (informal)
● An elementary school student speaking to three of her friends. tu (informal)
● A college student speaking to a professor. vous (formal)
● A telemarketer speaking to the person they call. vous (formal)
 ● A politician making a public speech. vous (formal)
● A mother speaking to her daughter. tu (informal)
● A father speaking to his two sons. tu (informal)
● A college student speaking to another college student in class. tu (informal)
● A professor speaking to her entire class. tu (informal)

Exercise 3: Bonjour!

Part A
Observe the image and read the accompanying dialogue. Determine if it is a
formal or informal exchange.

Figure 1.1. Two men wave as they pass by each other.

I think it 's an informal conversation because they’re using words and phrases like
“salut”, “ça va”, “et toi?” “Comment ça va?”
Part B
Replace the names in the previous dialogue with your own name and that of a
classmate. Practice it and present it to the class!

Part C
Write a brief dialogue for each of the situations below. Don’t forget to decide
whether the situation requires a formal or informal form of address.

Figure 1.1
Boy: Salut Marguerite! Comment ça va?
Girl: Bonjour Christophe! Comme ci, comme ça, et toi?
Boy: Je vais très bien
Girl: À tout à l'heure!
Boy: Au revoir

It’s an informal conversation since they’re both students. Probably they’re the same
age so they don’t have to be formal with each other.
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Figure 1.2
Grandfather: Salut! ça va?
Girl: Ça va, et toi?
Grandfather: Ça va bien, merci. Et toi? (to the boy)
Boy: Je vais bien :)
I wrote the conversation as an informal conversation because I’m imagining that they
have a very close relationship. But sometimes there are kids that treat their
grandparents with so much respect so in that case I’d use a formal language.
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Figure 1.3
Businessman: Bonjour. Comment allez-vous?
Client 1: Pas mal, merci. Et vous?
Client 2: Bien, merci
Businessman: Je vais très bien!

A formal conversation, because it’s a businessman talking to his clients, he has to be

respectful.
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Figure 1.4
Girl: Salut! Ça va?
Boy 1: Ça va, et toi?
Boy 2: Bien, merci!
Girl: Je vais très bien, merci!
Girl: À demain!

Not formal at all, they’re having a casual conversation, there’s no reason to be

formal.
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