BUSINESS ESSENTIALS B1

Module 5
5A a memo Did you get the memo about next week’s visitor to the department? mémo, note (notice générale)
to attend Are you going to attend the planning meeting this afternoon? assister
to apply (for a job) What job do you think you will apply for? poser sa candidature, postuler
to complain /make a I’d like to make a complaint about some poor service I have received. se plaindre
complaint
a sender Please reply to the sender of the email within 48 hours. expéditeur
a receiver Only one receiver of our flyer ordered a new catalogue. destinataire
a boss My boss always asks to see me at about 7.00 p.m.! patron(ne), chef
a supplier We usually buy our parts from a supplier in the USA. fournisseur
to notice (of time) We’re having the meeting at 10.00 a.m. today! Sorry about the short notice. préavis
to look forward to I look forward to hearing from you soon. attendre avec impatience
available I’m afraid Mr Peterson isn’t available this afternoon. disponible
formal Your letters to customers must be formal and polite. formel(le)
polite You will be more successful if your complaint is polite. poli(e)
to expect We expect to improve sales by 15% this year. s’attendre à, espérer
to arrange We need to arrange a visit to the new warehouse. organiser
informal The emails between work colleagues are usually quite informal. informel(le)
to request I’d like to request a meeting with your Purchasing Department. demander
5B to congratulate Please congratulate her on a wonderful opening speech. féliciter

-1-
 an interview It’s a good idea to do some research on the company before your job interview. entretien
some qualifications No higher education qualifications are needed because training is given on the qualification
job.

suitable I hope that my qualifications are suitable for the job. adapté(e)
to mean to Did you mean to order 1,000 units, or was it a mistake? avoir l’intention de
a salutation (in a letter), You should end your letter with a closing salutation, suchas ‘Regards’. salutations
greeting
a signature Can you ask the Director to add her signature to these contracts? signature
a recipient Write the recipient’s address below your address. destinataire
a internship The internship is a very exciting opportunity to work for our company. stage
5C to fulfil We don’t have enough stock to fulfil this order. satisfaire
relevant Search engines allow people to find relevant websites. pertinent(e)
an effect The incident had a long-term effect on their working relationship. effet
a confirmation We will send you a confirmation number as soon as you place the order. confirmation
immediately I’ll deal with the problem immediately and get back to you within the hour. immédiatement
a confusion There seems to have been some confusion with another order. confusion
to charge (money) Please charge it to our account as usual. facturer
overdrawn I’m overdrawn on my account, so I have to pay interest. à découvert
bank charges I am overdrawn at the bank and at risk of getting bank charges. frais bancaires
to reimburse /refund Please reimburse me the amount you owe me. rembourser
to owe (≠to own) We only paid part of the bill, so we still owe $500. devoir (≠posséder)

-2-
 meanwhile Please send the correct jeans as soon as possible. Meanwhile, what shall I do pendant ce temps, en attendant
with the other pair?

bill (money) You’ve sent us a bill for $369.50 and it can’t be right. facture
to rectify Please rectify this mistake at the earliest possible opportunity. rectifier, corriger
summer course A group of students are coming to do a four-week summer course at the cours d’été
university.

overcharge You have overcharged me by $20. faire payer trop

a deposit (money) We need to pay a deposit of $100 per person before we attend the course. 1. un acompte
2. une caution
instead of You charged me €49.99, instead of the advertised price of €29.99. au lieu de
campus The research building is a long way from the main campus facilities. campus
to be dissatisfied We are dissatisfied with the service that we received. mécontent(e)
5D to resolve (a problem) They tried to resolve the problem quickly. résoudre
to remedy = find a How will you remedy this situation? remédier à
solution
shipment Delivery of the shipment will be made to the billing address. expédition
an / to invoice They forgot to invoice us for last month’s order. une facture / facturer
to lack I’m lacking energy today manquer
to be due to (do s.t.) We are due to visit the factory tomorrow. être censé (faire q.c.)
to be (un)able I’m afraid we are unable to answer the phone at the moment, but please leave a (in)capable
message and we will call you back later.

to look into (research) Please could you look into what happened? chercher, rechercher
to regret I regret to inform you that the model you have ordered is out of stock. avoir le regret de

-3-
 to blame If there is a mistake you shouldn’t blame the customer. rendre responsable
to intend How do you intend to rectify the situation? vouloir, avoir l’intention de
to trivialize Don’t trivialize any complaint – they should all be treated seriously. minimiser, banaliser
a goodwill gesture We’d like to offer you a 50% discount as a goodwill gesture. geste commercial
to get to the bottom of We promise to get to the bottom of the problem as soon as possible. faire la lumière sur, mettre les
choses au clair
to investigate We will investigate what happened so that this problem doesn’t occur again. examiner
in the meantime We can continue with this next week, but in the meantime, can you think of some en attendant, pendant ce temps
more ideas?

to value We value your custom greatly. valoriser, attacher une grande valeur
à
some inconvenience Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience this has caused you. gêne, désagréments
to occur = to happen Please make sure this problem doesn’t occur again. se produire
outstanding (remaining) The outstanding 2,000 units will be dispatched to you today. restant(e)
to dispatch The warehouse will dispatch your order this afternoon. expédier
5E to place (an order) You can place an order over the phone or online. passer
a model (of a product) They took a long time planning the new model and it’s very well designed. modèle
a receipt (receiving) We will pay by credit card on receipt of the invoice. réception
a requirement Their product doesn’t meet our requirements. exigence
some furniture We’d like to buy a new range of office furniture for our company. meubles
a bulk order Can you offer us a discount for a bulk order? commande en vrac
a purchase We’d prefer to make a purchase online. achat

-4-
 a highlighter pen Can you order a box of highlighter pens for the office? surligneur
a transparent The transparent office tape is strong, smooth, and easy to dispense. transparent(e)
5F a laptop I often do a lot of my work on my laptop while I’m travelling. ordinateur portable
to issue (an invoice) We will issue an invoice for the total cost of the order. émettre
in stock We have the laptops in stock and can ship them within 24 hours of your order. en stock
process (an order) We will process the order within 24 hours. traiter
currently The new system is significantly different from the one that is currently in use. actuellement
out of stock Unfortunately, the laptop you have ordered is currently out of stock. épuisé(e), en rupture de stock
5G to launch How often does your company launch new products? lancer
a purpose The purpose of today’s training session is for you to start to become familiar with objectif
the new system.

intuitive The new system is very intuitive so you don’t usually need to look at the intuitif(-tive)
instructions.

at your fingertips We want the user to be able to have everything at their fingertips. à portée de main
to point out Did you point out that they have to pay a 10% deposit? signaler, attirer l’attention sur
the downside = the One downside of the new system is the need for initial training. l’inconvénient
drawback
a preview There will be a preview of the new system at the trade fair in April. présentation
open day You can have a look around the factory at our open day on Saturday. journée portes ouvertes
a leaflet Please find enclosed the latest information leaflets. brochure, dépliant
promotional We need to think of ideas for our next promotional event. promotionnel
to acknowledge = admettre, reconnaître

-5-
 to acknowledge receipt Please acknowledge receipt of Accuser réception de
of
to avoid We need to avoid a situation where everyone in a department starts work early éviter
and leaves early.

to refer to Please refer to my letter of 6 February for the details. consulter, se référer à
to transfer (of money) Will I be able to set up regular cash transfers to my overseas account? virement
overseas = abroad I worked overseas for ten years, but now I’m based back in the UK. à l’étranger
prompt Thank you for your prompt response. I wish you a prompt recovery. rapide
5H ethical We have high ethical standards at our company. éthique
approximately We are planning an event for approximately 1,000 delegates. approximativement
thought-provoking We thought his speech was extremely thought-provoking. qui invite à la réflexion
entitled He will be opening the event with a talk entitled ‘It’s the end of the world as we intitulé(e)
know it’.

corruption There is as much corruption in business nowadays as there was in the past. corruption
greed Corruption and greed have led to an increased neglect of business ethics in some avidité
developing countries.

neglect After the customer service centre closed there was an increased neglect of négligence
customer needs.

keynote speech He will give the keynote speech at the beginning of the conference. discours d’ouverture
base (sth) on I will base my presentation on my most recent research. faire reposer (qqch) sur
specialism What is your area of specialism? spécialité
distinguished (VIP) We have invited several distinguished speakers from the business and academic éminent(e)
worlds.

-6-
accommodation There’s a shortage of accommodation because the city doesn’t have enough hébergement
hotels.

sound like (seem) This sounds like a wonderful opportunity. sembler

acceptable If it is acceptable, I would like to deliver the closing speech at the conference. acceptable
honoured I would be honoured to deliver the closing speech at the conference. honoré(e)
deliver (a speech) Could you deliver the closing speech at the conference? prononcer, faire
commitments I’m afraid I can’t attend the conference as I have other commitments that week. engagements
reject We had to reject the invitation to the conference because we were too busy to refuser
attend.

plenary Our CEO gave the opening plenary speech at the conference. plénier(-nière)
SMA_2016_Adapted_from_Editor’s_Excel_List

-7-