Goals
What you'll be able to do- 📰 Read a classified ad (job posting)
- ✍️ Write a reply to a job ad
- 📚 Conjugate vouloir (to want) and savoir (to know how to) in the present
- 📋 Express an obligation with il faut ("one must")
- 🔮 Talk about the near future: aller + infinitive (≈ English "going to")
- 🎵 Tell apart the semi-vowels [ɥ] and [w]
Discover
Two ads + a phone call📰 Ad 1 · Hotel in Nice
HÔTEL DU PARC
📍 Nice — Promenade des Anglais
Vous êtes H ou F, entre 25 et 35 ans, souriant(e) et dynamique. Vous voulez travailler avec des clients français et étrangers. Vous savez parler anglais, espagnol et italien. Vous pouvez travailler parfois le week-end.
⭐ Nous cherchons un(e) réceptionniste.
Contactez Madame Tessier, directrice — Hôtel du Parc, 56 promenade des Anglais, 06200 Nice
📞 04 93 75 28 39
English gist: "Male or female, age 25-35, smiley and dynamic. You want to work with French and foreign guests. You can speak English, Spanish and Italian. You can sometimes work weekends. We're looking for a receptionist."
📰 Ad 2 · Personal ad
FAMILLE CHERCHE BABY-SITTER
📍 Paris 15e
Jeune femme de 30 ans, célibataire, blonde, yeux verts, 5 enfants, secrétaire, recherche pour relations amicales H entre 35 et 45 ans, célibataire, dynamique.
💬 Pour relations amicales (sortir, parler, partager).
Écrire au journal — référence : F-30-Paris-1542
English gist: "Single woman, 30, blonde, green eyes, 5 children, secretary, looking for friendship — single man aged 35-45, dynamic. To go out, talk, share."
Dialogue · Phone call to the Parc
Caroline, 28, calls Madame Tessier after reading the ad.
Hôtel du Parc, hello!
Hello. I'm calling about the receptionist ad.
Very good. How old are you?
I'm twenty-eight.
And what skills do you have? Can you speak any foreign languages?
Yes — I can speak English, Spanish, and a little Italian. I already have experience as a receptionist, in Berlin.
Perfect. Can you work weekends from time to time?
Yes, no problem. When am I going to meet you?
You'll have an interview next Monday at 10 a.m. Does that work for you?
Yes, that's great. Thank you, see you Monday!
💡 Notes
- H / F = Homme / Femme (M / F). Standard ad shorthand.
- 30 ans, célibataire, blonde, yeux verts = telegraphic style, typical of classified ads (no full sentences). Same instinct as English "30, single, blonde, green eyes…".
- "savoir parler une langue" = "to know how to speak a language" — savoir for an acquired skill. Different from "pouvoir parler" = "to be able to speak" (have the chance/opportunity).
Vocabulary
Words to remember| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| une annonce | n.f. | (classified) ad, announcement |
| avec | prep. | with |
| célibataire | adj. | single (unmarried) |
| contacter | v. | to contact |
| déjà | adv. | already |
| dynamique | adj. | dynamic, energetic |
| une école | n.f. | school |
| un entretien | n.m. | (job) interview |
| étranger / étrangère | adj. | foreign |
| une expérience | n.f. | experience (⚠ also means "experiment") |
| indispensable | adj. | essential, must-have |
| une langue | n.f. | language; tongue |
| une lettre | n.f. | letter |
| un mot | n.m. | word |
| parfois | adv. | sometimes |
| un problème | n.m. | problem |
| une qualité | n.f. | quality, strong point |
| un / une réceptionniste | n. | receptionist |
| réserver | v. | to book, to reserve |
| savoir | v. | to know (how to); to know (a fact) |
| souriant / souriante | adj. | smiling, cheerful |
| vouloir | v. | to want |
Grammar
How French works① Vouloir and savoir in the present "to want" and "to know how to"
| vouloir — to want | savoir — to know (how to) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| je | veux | je | sais |
| tu | veux | tu | sais |
| il / elle | veut | il / elle | sait |
| nous | voulons | nous | savons |
| vous | voulez | vous | savez |
| ils / elles | veulent | ils / elles | savent |
📌 Vouloir + noun or vouloir + infinitive:
• Je veux un café. "I want a coffee."
• Je veux travailler à Paris. "I want to work in Paris."
📌 Savoir + infinitive = an acquired/learned skill ("to know HOW to do something"):
• Je sais nager. "I can swim." (= I learned how)
• Elle sait parler trois langues. "She can speak three languages."
⚠️ The classic anglophone trap: English uses one verb "know" for two French verbs.
• savoir = know a fact or how to do something.
• connaître = be acquainted with a person, place, or thing (Lesson 23).
And on top of that, "I can swim" in English uses "can", but in French it's je sais nager — because it's a learned skill, not a momentary ability. Je peux nager would mean "I'm able to swim (right now / today)".
💬 "Je voudrais" ("I'd like") — the polite form of je veux. Use this in restaurants and shops — je veux sounds blunt. (Conditional tense — covered later.)
② Il faut — obligation "It is necessary to…" / "One must…"
Il faut is an impersonal verb — always il faut, never "je faut" or "nous faut". Closest English equivalents: "you have to / you must / one must". The negative is il ne faut pas = "you mustn't / one must not".
| Structure | Example |
|---|---|
| Il faut + noun | Il faut du temps. "It takes time." |
| Il faut + infinitive | Il faut arriver à l'heure. "You must arrive on time." |
| Il ne faut pas + infinitive | Il ne faut pas fumer ici. "You mustn't smoke here." |
💡 Il faut is stronger than devoir. For general rules (not aimed at a specific person), il faut is the natural choice — same role as English "you have to" used impersonally.
⚠️ Watch out: il ne faut pas is NOT "it isn't necessary to" — it means "one must NOT" (a prohibition). For "you don't have to / you don't need to", say vous n'avez pas besoin de or ce n'est pas nécessaire.
③ The near future — aller + infinitive ≈ English "going to"
For a future action (close in time, or planned), use aller in the present + an infinitive. This is almost identical to English "to be going to + verb".
| aller + infinitive ≈ "to be going to ___" | |
|---|---|
| Je vais téléphoner. | I'm going to make a call. |
| Tu vas manger ? | Are you going to eat? |
| Il va partir demain. | He's going to leave tomorrow. |
| Nous allons visiter Lyon. | We're going to visit Lyon. |
| Vous allez passer un entretien. | You're going to have an interview. |
| Ils vont acheter une voiture. | They're going to buy a car. |
📌 Negative: Je ne vais pas téléphoner. "I'm not going to call." — the ne…pas wraps the conjugated aller, not the infinitive.
💬 Tip for English speakers: this is one of the easiest French structures — it maps almost word-for-word to English "I'm going to…". Just remember to conjugate aller (not the second verb): Je vais manger, nous allons manger, ils vont manger.
How to say it
Useful chunks💪 Saying you can / it's possible
- Oui, je peux travailler le week-end. "Yes, I can work weekends."
- C'est possible. "It's possible."
- Pas de problème. "No problem."
🎯 Talking about skills (savoir)
- Je sais parler anglais. "I can speak English."
- Je sais nager. "I can swim."
- Elle sait conduire. "She can drive."
❤️ Saying what you want
- Je veux travailler dans un hôtel. "I want to work in a hotel."
- Je voudrais une chambre, s'il vous plaît. "I'd like a room, please."
📋 Stating an obligation
- Il faut arriver à l'heure. "You have to arrive on time."
- Il ne faut pas téléphoner pendant l'entretien. "You mustn't take phone calls during an interview."
- Il faut parler anglais. "You have to speak English."
Practice
Try it outExercise 1 · Pouvoir, vouloir or savoir?
Pick the right verb and conjugate it.
- Caroline parler trois langues. (skill)
- Je un café, s'il vous plaît. (polite want)
- Vous téléphoner après 18 h ? (possibility)
- Mes amis visiter Nice cet été. (want)
- Tu conduire ? (skill)
- Nous ne pas venir samedi. (possibility)
Exercise 2 · Il faut or il ne faut pas?
Advice for a successful job interview.
- arriver à l'heure → arriver à l'heure.
- fumer pendant l'entretien → fumer pendant l'entretien.
- se présenter clairement → se présenter clairement.
- raconter sa vie privée → raconter sa vie privée.
- poser des questions → poser des questions.
Exercise 3 · Put into the near future
Rewrite each sentence using aller + infinitive.
Model: Je téléphone. → Je vais téléphoner.
- Je passe un entretien. → Je un entretien.
- Tu travailles à Nice ? → Tu à Nice ?
- Elle arrive lundi. → Elle lundi.
- Nous visitons l'hôtel. → Nous l'hôtel.
- Vous écrivez une lettre. → Vous une lettre.
- Ils contactent la directrice. → Ils la directrice.
Exercise 4 · Reading the ad
Re-read the Hôtel du Parc ad and answer.
- What's the name of the hotel? →
- In which city? →
- What age range are they looking for? → between ans
- How many languages must you speak?
- Do you have to work weekends?
Exercise 5 · Listening
Listen to the dialogue again.
- How old is Caroline? → ans
- What languages does she speak? →
- Where has she already worked? →
- When is the interview? →
Exercise 6 · True or false?
Based on the ads above.
| Statement | True | False |
|---|---|---|
| L'Hôtel du Parc est à Paris. | ||
| L'hôtel cherche un(e) réceptionniste. | ||
| Il faut parler 3 langues étrangères. | ||
| La candidate doit avoir entre 18 et 25 ans. | ||
| Il faut être souriant(e) et dynamique. |
Communicate
Real-world tasks🎭 Role-play · A job interview
Read the ad below and call M. André. With a partner, act out the dialogue: introductions, age, languages, experience, availability.
LA BONNE ASSIETTE
📍 7, place de la Victoire — Bordeaux
Restaurant traditionnel cherche serveur / serveuse. Minimum 23 ans. Deux années d'expérience dans la restauration. Anglais indispensable.
Contactez M. André — 📞 05 56 10 51 47
English gist: traditional restaurant in Bordeaux looking for a server. Minimum 23 years old. Two years of restaurant experience. English required.
✍️ Writing task
Write your own classified ad (about 50 words) offering Chinese / English / [your language] lessons to French students in Strasbourg. Use: vouloir, savoir, il faut, aller.
Pronunciation
Two tricky semi-vowelsThe semi-vowels [ɥ] and [w]
[ɥ] — as in huit ("eight")
Lips very rounded and tense, as if saying French "u" (tu) — but very short, then glide into the next vowel.
- huit [ɥit]
- lui [lɥi]
- puis [pɥi]
- la cuisine [kɥi-zin]
- il s'est évanoui
[w] — as in oui ("yes")
Lips rounded and forward — the same sound as English "w" in we, win.
- oui [wi]
- ouest [wɛst]
- moi [mwa]
- Louis [lwi]
- voilà [vwa-la]
👂 Listen and contrast: Louis / lui · oui / huit · moi / je m'en réjouis.
💬 Tip for English speakers: [w] is easy — it's the English "w" in "we". The hard one is [ɥ]: it doesn't exist in English. Start by pronouncing French "u" (lips puckered like blowing a candle, tongue forward) and then glide quickly into "i". Compare oui [wi] vs huit [ɥit] — the lip shape is the giveaway.