Phrasebook
Avec plaisir or volontiers: accepting and replying to thanks
Accept an invitation with avec plaisir or volontiers, offer help in a full sentence, and choose a natural reply to merci. Short exchanges and a quiz.
- A2
- 12 phrases
- 4 situations
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In short
Avec plaisir ! and Volontiers ! both accept an invitation or offer: “gladly” or “I’d be happy to”. After someone thanks you for your help, Avec plaisir also means “my pleasure”. Use volontiers inside a sentence to show willingness: Je vous aiderai volontiers.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Accept an invitation
Either short answer works for an invitation.
Offer help
A full sentence names the action you are willing to do.
Answer thanks
The help has already been given.
Accept with a time limit
Your reply can be warm and specific.
How do you use volontiers in a sentence?
volontiersgladly; willingly; readily
Focus: an adverb describing the action
Je relirai volontiers ton texte.
I’ll gladly reread your text.
Elle accepte volontiers notre proposition.
She readily accepts our proposal.
avec plaisirwith pleasure
Focus: a phrase that can accompany a verb or stand alone
Je le ferai avec plaisir.
I’ll do it with pleasure.
Merci pour votre aide. — Avec plaisir.
Thank you for your help. — My pleasure.
In the first example, volontiers follows the conjugated verb: je relirai volontiers. In je le ferai avec plaisir, the phrase follows the action. For a quick acceptance, either can stand alone: Avec plaisir ! or Volontiers !
How do you say “my pleasure” in French?
For the completed-help exchange, avec plaisir is a natural reply to merci. Volontiers is most useful when accepting or offering to do something. The earlier words tell you whether you are saying “yes, gladly” or acknowledging thanks.
Volontiers, mais demain matin plutôt que ce soir.
Gladly, but tomorrow morning rather than tonight.
The final s in volontiers stays in the spelling. The time condition belongs to the acceptance.