Dialogue
French market dialogue: buying fruit and cheese at A1
Practise a 20-line French market conversation: ask for pears, taste cheese, give quantities and pay. Includes English cues, quantity patterns and a quiz.
- A1
- 20 lines
- Practice mode
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
At a market, je voudrais introduces your order, un kilo de or deux cent cinquante grammes de gives the quantity, and ça fait combien ? asks for the total. In this scene, a farmer sells pears and cheese at the same stall. Practise the customer’s lines, then reveal each one to compare.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
- Seller
Bonjour ! Qu’est-ce qu’il vous faut ?
English
Hello! What would you like?
- Customer
Bonjour ! Je voudrais des poires, s’il vous plaît.
Greet the seller and ask for some pears.
English
Hello! I’d like some pears, please.
- Seller
Bien sûr. Elles sont à quatre euros le kilo.
English
Of course. They’re four euros a kilo.
- Customer
Je prends un kilo.
Say you’ll take one kilo.
English
I’ll take a kilo.
- Seller
Vous les voulez bien mûres ?
English
Would you like them nice and ripe?
- Customer
Oui, c’est pour aujourd’hui.
Say yes: they’re for today.
English
Yes, they’re for today.
- Seller
Voilà. Et avec ça ?
English
There you are. Anything else?
- Customer
Je voudrais aussi du fromage. C’est du fromage de chèvre ?
Ask for cheese and check whether it is goat’s cheese.
English
I’d also like some cheese. Is that goat’s cheese?
- Seller
Oui, c’est notre fromage de chèvre.
English
Yes, it’s our goat’s cheese.
- Customer
Je peux goûter ?
Ask if you can taste it.
English
Can I taste it?
- Seller
Bien sûr. Tenez, un petit morceau.
English
Of course. Here, a small piece.
- Customer
Il est très bon ! Je voudrais deux cent cinquante grammes.
Say it is very good and order 250 grams.
English
It’s very good! I’d like two hundred and fifty grams.
- Seller
Voilà, deux cent cinquante grammes. Ça fait six euros pour le fromage.
English
There you are, two hundred and fifty grams. That’s six euros for the cheese.
- Customer
Et avec les poires, ça fait combien ?
Ask for the total including the pears.
English
And with the pears, how much is that?
- Seller
Ça fait dix euros en tout.
English
That’s ten euros altogether.
- Customer
Je peux payer par carte ?
Ask whether you can pay by card.
English
Can I pay by card?
- Seller
Oui, bien sûr. Posez votre carte ici.
English
Yes, of course. Place your card here.
- Customer
Voilà. J’ai mon sac, merci.
Pay and say that you have your own bag.
English
There you are. I’ve got my own bag, thank you.
- Seller
Merci à vous. Bonne journée !
English
Thank you. Have a good day!
- Customer
Merci, à vous aussi !
Thank the seller and return the good wish.
English
Thanks, you too!
How do you ask for quantities at a French market?
| Order | English |
|---|---|
| des poires | some pears, amount unspecified |
| un kilo de poires | a kilo of pears |
| un demi-kilo de poires | half a kilo of pears |
| du fromage | some cheese, amount unspecified |
| deux cent cinquante grammes de fromage | 250 grams of cheese |
| un morceau de fromage | a piece of cheese |
Quatre euros le kilo is the price per kilogram; dix euros en tout is the total. The seller’s Et avec ça ? invites you to add something. Answer with another item or Ce sera tout, merci when your order is complete.
- Je voudrais un kilo des poires.Je voudrais un kilo de poires.
For an ordinary quantity of fruit, use de after un kilo.
- Je voudrais deux cents cinquante grammes.Je voudrais deux cent cinquante grammes.
Cent has no final s when another number follows: deux cent cinquante.