Text conversation
Ask for the original French source behind a forwarded summary
Ask for a French source behind a forwarded summary: request title, link, date and passage politely, then practise replies in a professional thread.
- B2
- 3 replies to choose
- Phone-style thread
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Ask for le titre, le lien, la date de publication et le passage concerné. Give a practical reason: Pour citer correctement cette information… Keep the claim attributed while you wait: Le résumé indique que… keeps the statement attributed without treating the summary as established evidence.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
A colleague forwards three lines saying a transport study recommends closing two stops. You need to prepare a meeting note, but the forward has no link. Your next message should make it easy for the colleague to locate the source. A short, precise request works better than questioning their competence or repeating the claim as a fact.
- Bonjour, je vous transfère ce résumé : « L’étude recommande de supprimer deux arrêts. » Cela pourrait alimenter notre note.Hello, I’m forwarding this summary: “The study recommends removing two stops.” This could feed into our note.
Request the original and its identifying details
- Je n’ai pas le lien sous la main. Le message vient de Luc.I don’t have the link to hand. The message came from Luc.
Make the follow-up useful while preserving uncertainty
- Luc vient de m’envoyer le document. Je vous transmets le lien et la page 18. La publication date du 3 mai.Luc has just sent me the document. I’m sending you the link and page 18. It was published on 3 May.
Acknowledge receipt and state the next step
- Très bien. Le résumé ne mentionne peut-être pas toutes les conditions.Very good. The summary may not mention all the conditions.
Ask for the detail that is missing
| Missing detail | French request | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Quel est le titre exact du document ? | Identifies the document rather than the subject alone |
| Link | Auriez-vous le lien vers la publication d’origine ? | Distinguishes the original publication from a forwarded excerpt |
| Date | De quand date la publication ? | Separates publication date from forwarding date |
| Passage | Pourriez-vous m’indiquer la page ou le passage concerné ? | Locates the wording that supports the specific claim |
The conditional in auriez-vous and pourriez-vous makes the request courteous. Merci de m’envoyer… is efficient when requesting an agreed action, but can sound more directive. In a thread where colleagues already use first names and tu, adapt consistently: Tu aurais le lien et le passage concerné ? Keep the specificity even when the tone becomes more relaxed.
À ce stade, le résumé transmis attribue à l’étude une recommandation de supprimer deux arrêts ; je consulte la publication d’origine pour préciser les conditions.
At this stage, the forwarded summary attributes to the study a recommendation to remove two stops; I am consulting the original publication to clarify the conditions.
A screenshot can help if it contains the title, page and surrounding paragraph. A cropped sentence may hide a condition introduced just above it. Ask for le paragraphe complet when necessary. Once the source arrives, check whether the study recommends, merely considers or rejects the option: recommande, envisage and écarte give very different instructions to your reader.