AtelierLe journal · French, understood
English

Language

The course

Updated

Phrasebook

Tirez or poussez? French instructions for doors, drawers and trolleys

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Understand pull and push in French, read Tirez and Poussez on doors, and practise short instructions with illustrated everyday objects.

In short

Tirer means pull; pousser means push. On a door, Tirez asks you to pull and Poussez asks you to push. Tirer and Pousser can also appear as short labels.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out

One adult pulls a low trolley from the front while another pushes from behind in a French community hall, clear natural anatomy.
Tirer and pousser can move the same trolley in the same direction. Illustration: Atelier

Things you can move or open

1

At the entrance: use vous

YouExcusez-moi, il faut pousser ou tirer ?Excuse me, should I push or pull?
Friend or member of staffIl faut tirer. Tirez la porte vers vous.Pull. Pull the door towards you.
YouAh oui, merci !Ah yes, thank you!
2

At home: use tu

Friend or member of staffTu peux ouvrir ce tiroir ?Can you open this drawer?
YouOui. Je tire sur la poignée ?Yes. Do I pull on the handle?
Friend or member of staffOui, tire doucement.Yes, pull gently.
3

In the supermarket

Friend or member of staffVous pouvez avancer le chariot, s’il vous plaît ?Could you move the trolley forwards, please?
YouOui, je le pousse jusqu’à la caisse.Yes, I’m pushing it to the checkout.
Study first: short commands
Who you addressPullPush
One person, tuTire.Pousse.
One person, vous, or a groupTirez.Poussez.
Let’s…Tirons.Poussons.

Both are regular -er verbs. Write je tire, nous tirons, vous tirez and je pousse, nous poussons, vous poussez. The two letters s stay in pousser. With a direction, use vers: vers vous, vers la sortie.

What do tirez and poussez mean on a door?

Léo tire le chariot ; Nora le pousse.

Léo pulls the trolley; Nora pushes it.

Léo can stand in front while Nora stands behind. The trolley still goes towards the same exit. Tirer and pousser describe how each person moves it.

Les plantes poussent vite au printemps.

Plants grow quickly in spring.

With plants, pousser means grow. That meaning is easy to recognise from the subject: les plantes, rather than a person moving an object.

Question 1No account needed
A door says Tirez. What should you do?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Pull.. Tirez is the vous command for pulling.

Question 2No account needed
Give a friend the instruction “push gently”.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Pousse doucement.. The tu command of an ordinary -er verb drops the final -s: pousse.

Question 3No account needed
Choose the correct present form.Nous ___ le chariot.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

poussons. The nous form keeps both letters s: nous poussons.

Keep going