Dialogue
Poste or place? French dialogue for your first day at work
Start a new job in French: distinguish your poste, your place in a meeting and your poste de travail. Practise a dialogue with prompts and a short quiz.
- A2
- 12 lines
- Practice mode
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In short
Un poste names a job role or workstation: un poste de vendeur, un poste de travail. Une place is a seat, spot or available space: une place libre, avoir de la place. The article also changes meaning: la poste is the postal service or post office.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| French | English | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| un poste de réceptionniste | a receptionist’s position | the job role |
| un poste de travail | a workstation | where the work is done |
| une place libre | a free seat or spot | somewhere available |
| de la place | space; room | capacity for people or objects |
- Claire
Bonjour, vous êtes Samira ? Bienvenue dans l’équipe !
English
Hello, are you Samira? Welcome to the team!
- Samira
Merci ! Je prends mon poste de réceptionniste aujourd’hui.
Thank her and say you start today as the receptionist.
English
Thank you! I’m starting today as the receptionist.
- Claire
Oui. Voici votre poste de travail, près de l’entrée.
English
Yes. Here is your workstation, near the entrance.
- Samira
Très bien. Il y a de la place pour mon sac ?
Ask whether there is room for your bag.
English
Great. Is there room for my bag?
- Claire
Oui, sous le bureau. À neuf heures, nous avons une réunion.
English
Yes, under the desk. At nine, we have a meeting.
- Samira
Où est la salle de réunion ?
Ask where the meeting room is.
English
Where is the meeting room?
- Claire
Au premier étage. Il reste une place libre à côté de moi.
English
On the first floor. There is a free seat next to me.
- Samira
Parfait, je vais m’asseoir à côté de vous.
Say you will sit next to her.
English
Perfect, I’ll sit next to you.
- Claire
Après la réunion, vous pourrez prendre votre place à l’accueil.
English
After the meeting, you can take your place at reception.
- Samira
D’accord. Et où dois-je déposer le courrier ?
Ask where you should leave the post.
English
All right. And where should I leave the post?
- Claire
Dans le panier bleu. Je passe à la poste cet après-midi.
English
In the blue basket. I’m stopping at the post office this afternoon.
- Samira
Merci pour votre aide !
Thank her for her help.
English
Thank you for your help!
Find your way around the office
Find:
What is the difference between poste and place?
Après quelques semaines, Samira a trouvé sa place dans l’équipe.
After a few weeks, Samira found her place in the team.
Trouver sa place describes belonging or settling into a role. It goes beyond choosing a chair.
You may also hear chercher une place for looking for a job. For a clear job-search sentence, use chercher un emploi or name the role with un poste de…. Both poste and place can concern work; the surrounding words tell you whether the speaker means a role, a workstation, a seat or belonging.