Régional jusqu’à Niort.I ought to…
| Il faudrait que je fasse le plein. | I ought to fill up the tank. |
| Il faudrait que je confirme mon vol. | I ought to confirm my flight. |
| Il faudrait qu’on soit à la gare à sept heures. | We ought to be at the station at seven. |
| Il faudrait qu’on prenne plus de carburant. | We ought to get some more petrol. |
Another way of saying what you have to do is to use je dois (I must) followed by the infinitive.
I must…
| Je dois aller chercher la voiture avant trois heures. | I must collect the car before three. |
| Je dois prendre le bus à 5h30 demain matin. | I must catch the bus at 5.30 tomorrow morning. |
| Vous devez présenter votre permis de conduire. | You must show your driving licence. |
| Vous devez imprimer votre billet électronique. | You must print out your e-ticket. |
When you are using some kind of transport in France, you may well need to say what you would like to do in French. You can use je voudrais (I’d like) with the infinitive. This comes from the verb vouloir. For more information on vouloir, see here.
I’d like to…
| Je voudrais louer un vélo. | I’d like to hire a bike. |
| Je voudrais prendre le train. | I’d like to take the train. |
| Mon ami voudrait signaler la perte de ses bagages. | My friend would like to report his luggage missing. |
The most direct way of saying what you want to do is using je veux (I want) or je souhaite (I wish) with the infinitive. veux is from the verb vouloir and souhaite is from the verb souhaiter. For more information on vouloir and -er verbs like souhaiter, see here and here.
I want to…
| Je veux aller à Marseille. | I want to go to Marseilles. |
| Je veux descendre à Nancy. | I want to get off at Nancy. |
| On veut partir demain matin. | We want to leave tomorrow morning. |
| Je souhaite échanger mon billet. | I want to change my ticket. |
| Je ne souhaite pas voyager en première classe. | I don’t want to travel first class. |
If you want to say that you feel like doing something, say j’ai envie de (I feel like). This is slightly stronger than j’ai bien envie de (I quite fancy). ai comes from the verb avoir. For more information on avoir, see here.
I feel like…
| J’ai envie de passer par Annecy. | I feel like going via Annecy. |
| J’ai envie de faire le voyage en plusieurs fois. | I feel like breaking the journey. |
| On n’a pas envie de passer six heures dans le train. | We don’t feel like spending six hours on the train. |
| J’ai bien envie d’aller à Port-Vendres. | I quite fancy going to Port-Vendres. |
You may wish to make a suggestion to your colleagues or friends in French. One way of doing this is to use on pourrait (we could). This comes from the verb pouvoir. For more information on pouvoir, see here.
We could…
| On pourrait y aller demain. | We could go there tomorrow. |
| On pourrait faire étape à Agen. | We could break our journey at Agen. |
| On peut y aller à pied, si tu préfères. | We can walk, if you prefer. |
BON À SAVOIR!
If you want to ask someone what they think of a particular suggestion, use Qu’est-ce que tu en dis? or Qu’est-ce que vous en dites? (What do you say?).
I can… if you like
| Je peux te déposer, si tu veux. | I can give you a lift, if you like. |
| Je peux te retrouver à l’aéroport, si tu veux. | I can meet you at the airport, if you like. |
| On peut demander au contrôleur, si vous voulez. | We can ask the ticket inspector, if you like. |
If you want to ask someone if they would like to do something, use Tu veux…?, or Tu voudrais…? (Would you like…?) if you know the person well or Vous voulez…? if you’re talking to several people. These all come from the verb vouloir. For more information on vouloir, see here.
Would you like to…?
| Tu veux aller te baigner? | Would you like to go for a swim? |
| Tu veux te reposer un peu? | Would you like to have a little rest? |
| Est-ce que tu veux prendre le volant? | Would you like to drive? |
| Vous voulez y aller à pied? | Would you like to walk there? |
| Est-ce que vous voulez qu’on s’arrête ici? | Would you like to stop here? |
Another way of making suggestions in French is to ask Pourquoi ne pas…? (Why don’t…?), which is often shortened to Pourquoi pas…? in spoken French.
Why don’t…?
| Pourquoi ne pas louer une voiture? | Why
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