Ecole de français, Paris - Au Secrétariat (At the Registration Office) | Foreign Language

A student is registering at a French language school in Paris, at the front office (le secrétariat). This calls for the basic tools of any first meeting: greeting someone appropriately, giving one's own name and asking for another's, saying where one is from, spelling one's name aloud, and choosing the right level of formality when addressing a stranger.

Grammar

Subject Pronouns (Les pronoms sujets)

French has more subject pronouns than English because it distinguishes formality and gender in the second and third person.

Tu vs. Vous – English has only “you,” but French forces you to choose a level of formality every time you address someone.

• Use tu with: friends, family, classmates, children, and (usually) anyone your own age you're on informal terms with.
• Use vous with: strangers, teachers, elders, officials, employers, or anyone in the plural, regardless of formality.

At a secretariat (registration desk), a student would use vous with the secretary, and the secretary would likely use vous back, at least initially.

The Verb être (to be)

Être is one of the two most important verbs in French (the other is avoir), because it’s used constantly.

Examples:

• Je suis étudiant. [I am a student.]
• Tu es français ? [Are you French?]
• Nous sommes à Paris. [We are in Paris.]
• Ils sont ici. [They are here.]

The Verb s’appeler (to be called / to be named)

This is a reflexive/pronominal verb. Literally, it means “to call oneself.” English says “My name is X,” but French says “I call myself X.” This is why the pronoun changes with the subject.

Examples:

• Je m'appelle Priya. [My name is Priya. (literally: I call myself Priya)]
• Comment tu t'appelles ? / Comment vous appelez-vous ? [What is your name? (informal / formal)]
• Il s'appelle Marc. [His name is Marc.]
• Comment s'appelle votre professeur ? [What is your teacher’s name?]

C’est / Ce sont (This is / These are)

Used to identify or point something/someone out.

• C'est + singular noun → C'est un livre. (This/It is a book.) / C'est Marie. (This is Marie.)
• Ce sont + plural noun → Ce sont des livres. (These are books.) / Ce sont mes amis. (These are my friends.)

C'est is also used with adjectives to give an opinion: C'est bien ! (That's good!), C'est facile. (It's easy.)

Articles (Les articles)

French nouns always carry a gender (masculine or feminine) and a number (singular or plural), and the article in front of the noun must agree with it. This has no real equivalent in English, so it needs careful attention from the start.

Definite articles (the): Used for something specific or already known:

Indefinite articles (a/an, some) — used for something unspecific or being mentioned for the first time:

Example: J’ai un livre. Le livre est intéressant. [I have a book. The book is interesting.] (First mention – indefinite un; second mention, now specific – definite le.)

Pronoms Toniques (Stressed/Disjunctive Pronouns)

These are used for emphasis, after prepositions, or standing alone; they cannot be the subject of a verb by themselves.

Common uses:

• after et (and) in short answers: Moi aussi (Me too);
• after prepositions like pour, avec, chez, de: avec toi (with you), chez moi (at my place);
• for emphasis: Moi, je suis indienne. (As for me, I'm Indian.)

Numbers 0–50 (Les nombres)

Pattern to notice: the numbers 21, 31, 41 use et un (“and one” — vingt et un), but every other unit from 22 onward just uses a hyphen (vingt-deux, vingt-trois...). This pattern breaks later at 70+.

Vocabulary

Greetings and Politeness (Salutations)

Introducing Yourself and Others

Countries and Nationalities (Pays et nationalités)

Note: nationality adjectives change form for gender (add an -e for feminine, with some irregular patterns), but the country name itself is a fixed noun with its own gender.

Examples: Je suis indien. (a man saying "I am Indian") / Je suis indienne. (a woman saying the same) / Elle est française, il est anglais.

On the Telephone (Au téléphone)

The Alphabet, for Spelling Names (L'alphabet)

Here is how each letter is said:

Sample Dialogue: Au Secrétariat

Secrétaire : Bonjour ! Bienvenue à l'école. Comment vous appelez-vous ? (Hello! Welcome to the school. What is your name?)

Étudiante : Bonjour, madame. Je m'appelle Shubman Gill. (Hello, madam. My name is Shubman Gill.)

Secrétaire : Pouvez-vous épeler votre nom, s'il vous plaît ? (Can you spell your name, please?)

Étudiante : Oui, bien sûr. S-H-U-B-M-A-N, G-I-L-L. (Yes, of course. S-H-U-B-M-A-N, G-I-L-L.)

Secrétaire : Merci. Vous êtes d'où ? (Thank you. Where are you from?)

Étudiante : Je suis indien. Je viens de Fazilka. (I am Indian. I come from Fazilka.)

Secrétaire : Très bien. Enchantée, Shubman. (Very good. Pleased to meet you, Shubman.)

Étudiante : Enchantée aussi, madame. Au revoir ! (Pleased to meet you too, madam. Goodbye!)

Tasks

1. Fill out an identity form (Remplissez une fiche d'identité)

2. Introduce a friend (Présentez un ami/une amie)

Voici mon amie. Elle s'appelle Kriti. Elle est indienne, elle vient de Delhi. Elle est étudiante. Elle a dix-neuf ans. (This is my friend. Her name is Kriti. She is Indian, she comes from Delhi. She is a student. She is nineteen years old.)