Chapter 16: Finding a Place to Stay 267
Checking In to a Hotel
After a long trip, arriving at a hotel is probably your first highlight . . . and perhaps your first interaction with French. You may wonder how to address the hotel staff, especially when you arrive to inquire about a room. The titles Monsieur (muh-syuh) (Sir, Mister [Mr.]), Madame (mah-dahm) (Ma’am, Misses [Mrs.]), and Mademoiselle (mahd-mwah-zehl) (Miss) are used in French much more than in English and do not sound as formal. In fact, it is polite to add them after bonjour (bohN-zhoohr) (hello, good morning), especially when addressing someone you don’t know.
Using direct object pronouns
In a conversation, you wouldn’t sound very natural if you kept repeating the same words: “I would like a room. Can I see the room? Let’s go and see the room.” Instead, you’d say, “I would like a room. Can I see it? Let’s go and see it,” which sounds a lot better. So drop the direct object and replace it with one of the following direct object pronouns:
me (muh) (me)
te (tuh) (you [singular informal])
le (luh) (him, it)
la (lah) (her, it)
nous (nooh) (us)
vous (vooh) (you [singular formal or plural])
les (ley) (them)
Just remember that the pronoun you choose depends on whether the noun it replaces is feminine or masculine, singular or plural. The placement of the pronoun is also important. You must put the direct object pronoun in front of the conjugated verb.
The object pronouns me, te, nous, and vous are easy to remember because each has only one form for both masculine and feminine. For example,
Est-ce que tu me vois? (ehs-kuh tew muh vwah?) (Do you see me?)
Oui, je te vois. (wee, zhuh tuh vwah.) (Yes, I see you.)
Est-ce qu’il nous appelle? (ehs-keel nooh-zah-pehl?) (Is he calling us?)
Oui, il vous appelle. (wee, eel vooh-zah-pehl.) (Yes, he is calling you.)
www.ATIBOOK.ir
268 Part III: French on the Go
Things are a little trickier with the direct object pronouns in the third person, le, la, and les. The French forms of these pronouns change based on the gender and number of the noun they replace. Follow these rules:
Use le when the noun being replaced is masculine singular. For example, the sentence Il voit l’hôtel (eel vwah loh -tehl) (He sees the hotel) changes to Il le voit (eel luh vwah) (He sees it).
Use la when the noun being replaced is feminine singular. For example, the sentence Nous suivons la réceptionniste (nooh swee-vohN lah rey- sehp-syohN-neest) (We are following the receptionist) becomes Nous la suivons (nooh lah swee-vohN) (We are following her).
In the third person plural, there is only one pronoun that replaces both a masculine and a feminine plural noun: les. For example, the sentence Elle vérifie les dates (ehl vey-ree-fee ley daht) (She is checking the dates) becomes Elle les vérifie (ehl ley vey-ree-fee) (She’s checking them).
Naturally, there is an exception to the rule that the direct object pronoun must appear in front of the conjugated verb: When you have a helping verb plus an infinitive in your sentence, you need to put the object pronoun in front of the infinitive form, as in the following examples:
Il veut voir la chambre. (eel vuh vwahr lah shahN-bruh.) (He wants to see the room.) — direct object
Il veut la voir. (eel vuh lah vwahr.) (He wants to see it.) — direct object pronoun
Je dois vérifier les prix. (zhuh dwah vey-ree-fyey ley pree.) (I must check out the prices.) — direct object
Je dois les vérifier. (zhuh dwah ley vey-ree-fyey.) (I must check them out.) — direct object pronoun
Filling out a registration form
When you arrive at a hotel, chances are, you have to fill out une fiche (ewn feesh) (a registration form). This form may ask you for these items:
nom/prénom (nohN/prey-nohN) ([last] name/first name)
lieu de résidence/adresse (lyuh duh rey-zee-dahNs/ahd-rehs) (address)
rue/numéro (rew/new-mey-roh) (street/number)
ville/code postal (veel/kohhd poh-stahl) (city/zip code)
état/pays (ey-tah/pey-ee) (state/country)
numéro de téléphone (new-mey-roh duh tey-ley-fohhn) (telephone number)
www.ATIBOOK.ir
