I can fill out a form in French, give my address and email, answer a call, and ask someone to repeat or speak more slowly.
Forms, the phone, and the internet
Forms, the phone, and the internet
A form at a bank, a post office, or a hotel looks the same everywhere, and on the A1 exam filling one out is the first task of the written part. The eleven fields are in the table.
Mind the order: on a form the last name (Nom) comes first and the first name (Prénom) second; Nom never means the first name. The postal code goes BEFORE the city — 69003 Lyon — unlike a US ZIP code. The date of birth is day, month, year: le 12 mai 1988.
In the Nationalité field you write an adjective, not the name of the country, and in lowercase, unlike English: russe, italienne.
On the phone, three lines will get you through: Allô ?, C'est Camille à l'appareil., Je rappelle plus tard.
Digital words: le courriel — both an email and an email address; l'arobase — the @ sign; then le mot de passe, le lien, le wifi.
Asking again is normal, and there are set phrases for it. You already know Je ne comprends pas, Vous pouvez répéter ?, Pardon ? Add three more: Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. · Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ? · Comment on dit … en français ?
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Nationalité : France” → Nationalité : française.
• NOT “Paris 75011” → 75011 Paris.
• NOT “mars 3, 1990” → le 3 mars 1990.
• NOT “Je rappelle tard” → Je rappelle plus tard.
• NOT “Comment on dit ça en France ?” → Comment on dit ça en français ?
Eleven fields of a French form
On a French form the last name comes before the first name, and the postal code before the city (a US ZIP code comes after it).
| Form field | What to write in it |
|---|---|
| Nom | last name, not first name |
| Prénom | first name, and it comes second |
| Date de naissance | le 12 mai 1988 |
| Nationalité | adjective in lowercase: russe, italienne |
| Adresse | house number, then the street: 12, rue de la Gare |
| Code postal | postal code: 69003 |
| Ville | city after the postal code: 69003 Lyon |
| Pays | country with the article: la Russie |
| Téléphone | 06 12 34 56 78 |
| Profession | professeur, vendeur |
| Signature | first and last name, handwritten |
The phone and digital life
Three phone phrases and five words you can't do without.
| Situation | Phrase |
|---|---|
| answering the phone | Allô ? |
| introducing yourself | Bonjour, c'est Camille Martin à l'appareil. |
| calling back later | Je rappelle plus tard. |
| the @ sign in an address | l'arobase |
| an email and an email address | le courriel |
| link | le lien |
| the internet and getting online | le wifi · le mot de passe |
Lesson notes
Forms, the phone, and the internet
A form at a bank, a post office, or a hotel looks the same everywhere, and on the A1 exam filling one out is the first task of the written part. The eleven fields are in the table.
Mind the order: on a form the last name (Nom) comes first and the first name (Prénom) second; Nom never means the first name. The postal code goes BEFORE the city — 69003 Lyon — unlike a US ZIP code. The date of birth is day, month, year: le 12 mai 1988.
In the Nationalité field you write an adjective, not the name of the country, and in lowercase, unlike English: russe, italienne.
On the phone, three lines will get you through: Allô ?, C'est Camille à l'appareil., Je rappelle plus tard.
Digital words: le courriel — both an email and an email address; l'arobase — the @ sign; then le mot de passe, le lien, le wifi.
Asking again is normal, and there are set phrases for it. You already know Je ne comprends pas, Vous pouvez répéter ?, Pardon ? Add three more: Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. · Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ? · Comment on dit … en français ?
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Nationalité : France” → Nationalité : française.
• NOT “Paris 75011” → 75011 Paris.
• NOT “mars 3, 1990” → le 3 mars 1990.
• NOT “Je rappelle tard” → Je rappelle plus tard.
• NOT “Comment on dit ça en France ?” → Comment on dit ça en français ?