French for Beginners: Lesson 1 - Does Roast Beef mean "I'm ready to settle down?"

Jean-Paul (0:00)

Bienvenue. Welcome to the Language Theatre. Come in, come in. Take your seat and get ready for 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, it's 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 one, 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, Valérie, 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, let's begin act one. Valérie, our French teacher, is waiting for her student Jack. This is the first time that Valerie and Jack meet in person.

Valérie (1:55)

Bonjour, êtes-vous Jack ?

Jack (1:58)

Excuse me?

Valérie (2:00)

Hello, are you Jack?

Jack (2:03)

Oh, right, bonjour, oui, oui, je suis Jack.

Valérie (2:08)

Très bien, please, come on in. It is very nice to meet you. And I'm glad that you want to learn French.

Jack (2:17)

Thank you, Valerie.

Valérie (2:19)

Well, let's start our first lesson.

Jack (2:23)

Thank you so much for taking me as a student.

Valérie (2:26)

You are most welcome, Jacques. But before we start, tell me a little about yourself. You have studied French before, right?

Jack (2:37)

In school, if it counts, I just remember a few words like Bonjour, je m'appelle Jacques. S'il vous plait, merci, au revoir.

Valérie (2:48)

Very good.

Jack (2:49)

But I'm very serious about studying.

Valérie (2:52)

Excellent. May I ask you 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 (3:06)

Sure. You see, I have this idea. It's a business idea, and I'll need a good knowledge of French, and I may add French culture.

Valérie (3:16)

Oh, it's intriguing. What is that? Is that a secret?

Jack (3:23)

It's a French restaurant. I want to open a French restaurant.

Valérie (3:28)

Ah bon? Really?

Jack (3:31)

I have so many ideas about this restaurant, so it's 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.

Valérie (3:43)

Well, good luck. Bonne chance.

Jack (3:47)

Merci.

Valérie (3:49)

Well, let's not waste time. Let's start learning.

Our first grammar lesson will be about the verb to be. In French, le verbe être. Think about the conjugated form of to be in English. I am, you are, she is, he is, and so on. It doesn't really sound like a variation of to be, right? In French, it's the same with the verb ÊTRE. It's an irregular verb. So you won't really hear ÊTRE once we start conjugating it. This is ÊTRE in the present. I am. Je suis. You are. Tu es. He, she is. Il, elle est. We are. Nous sommes. You are. Vous êtes.

Jean-Paul (5:19)

You are.

Valérie (5:21)

You probably noticed that I said you are twice in English, but gave two different translations in French. Tu es and Vous êtes.

Jean-Paul (5:35)

You are.

Valérie (5:37)

One of these is informal you are, and the other formal. But we will talk about it later today. And now, let's start speaking French.

Jack (5:51)

Just like that?

Valérie (5:52)

Well, I will try to use French as much as I can. And if you feel confident, you answer in French.

Jack (6:03)

Well, let's try.

Valérie (6:05)

Je suis Valérie. Je suis une professeur de français.

Jack (6:15)

Je suis Jacques.

Valérie (6:17)

Jacques est bon.

Jack (6:20)

Merci Valérie. Je suis Jacques. Je suis...

Valérie (6:28)

Vous êtes un entrepreneur.

Jack (6:32)

Oui, oui. Je suis un entrepreneur and nous sommes in a class learning French. Something is coming back, Valerie.

Valérie (6:48)

Très bien. You are doing very well. Give me more examples, Jacques.

Jack (6:59)

Je suis, je suis. Not easy to start speaking French just like that.