Dialogue
Laisser tomber and coup de main: French idioms in a moving-day dialogue
Read a moving-day conversation with laisser tomber, donner un coup de main and jeter un coup d’œil. Separate physical actions from idiomatic meanings.
- B1
- 10 lines
- Practice mode
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Laisser tomber un carnet means dropping a notebook; laisser tomber un projet means abandoning a project. Donner un coup de main means helping, and jeter un coup d’œil à quelque chose means taking a quick look. The object and the next action show which meaning fits.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Nora is moving into an empty flat. Samir comes to help her pack the books. Read both parts, then use the dialogue’s practice mode to supply Samir’s lines from the English cues.
- Nora
Merci d’être venu. Il reste tous ces livres à ranger.
English
Thanks for coming. All these books still need packing.
- Samir
Je peux te donner un coup de main. On commence par quoi ?
Offer to help and ask where to start.
English
I can give you a hand. What shall we start with?
- Nora
Tu peux jeter un coup d’œil à la liste ? Je crois que j’ai oublié quelque chose.
English
Can you take a look at the list? I think I’ve forgotten something.
- Samir
Oui. Tu n’as pas noté le ruban adhésif.
Point out that the packing tape is missing from the list.
English
Yes. You haven’t listed the packing tape.
- Nora
Il est dans le carton, sous mon carnet.
English
It’s in the box, under my notebook.
- Samir
Attention, tu as laissé tomber ton carnet !
Warn Nora that she has dropped her notebook.
English
Careful, you’ve dropped your notebook!
- Nora
Ah oui, je le ramasse. Au fait, pour la grande étagère, on laisse tomber.
English
Oh yes, I’ll pick it up. By the way, let’s forget about the big bookcase.
- Samir
On ne la monte pas aujourd’hui ?
Check whether they are postponing the assembly today.
English
We’re not assembling it today?
- Nora
Non, il manque des vis. On verra demain.
English
No, some screws are missing. We’ll see tomorrow.
- Samir
D’accord. Alors, je m’occupe des livres.
Accept and say you will take care of the books.
English
OK. Then I’ll take care of the books.
| Expression in the scene | Meaning here | Clue |
|---|---|---|
| donner un coup de main | help with packing | Samir offers practical help. |
| jeter un coup d’œil à la liste | look briefly at the list | He spots a missing item. |
| laisser tomber ton carnet | drop your notebook | Nora picks it up. |
| pour la grande étagère, on laisse tomber | leave the bookcase plan aside | They will reconsider it tomorrow. |
The things in the conversation
Find:
Donner un coup de main à Nora names the person helped; jeter un coup d’œil à la liste names the thing looked at. For an object falling, laisser tomber takes that object directly. When a plan is already clear, On laisse tomber can stand alone. Here it leaves the assembly for later; it ends today’s attempt.