didn’t you call me?When you’re talking to friends or colleagues you will often need to be able to talk about what you would like to do. To say what you want to do, use je voudrais (I’d like). voudrais comes from the verb vouloir. For more information on vouloir, see here.
I’d like to…
| Je voudrais te remercier de m’avoir aidé. | I’d like to thank you for helping me. |
| Je voudrais parler à M. Gautier, s’il vous plaît. | I’d like to speak to Mr Gautier, please. |
| On voudrait t’inviter à prendre un verre. | We’d like to take you out for a drink. |
| On voudrait te présenter un ami. | We’d like you to meet a friend. |
You can also use je veux (I want) to talk about what you want to do. If you want to say that you want someone to do something, you use je veux que followed by the subjunctive. For more information on the subjunctive, see here.
I want to…
| Je veux organiser une soirée surprise. | I want to organize a surprise party. |
| Je veux inviter quelques amis pour mon anniversaire. | I want to have a few friends over for my birthday. |
| Je veux que tu viennes avec moi. | I want you to come with me. |
| Je veux que la soirée soit réussie. | I want the evening to be a success. |
One easy way of making suggestions to your friends and colleagues is to use on pourrait (we could) followed by the verb in the infinitive. pourrait comes from the verb pouvoir. For more information on pouvoir, see here.
We could…
| On pourrait demander à Paul de se joindre à nous. | We could ask Paul to join us. |
| On pourrait se voir à un autre moment. | We could meet another time. |
| On pourrait prendre un verre un de ces jours. | We could go out for a drink some time. |
| On pourrait se retrouver au Café de la Poste. | We could meet up at the Café de la Poste. |
Just as in English you can make a suggestion by simply asking Pourquoi ne… pas? (Why don’t…?). You will notice that French speakers very often omit ne to make sentences shorter – this is mainly in spoken French.
Why don’t…?
| Pourquoi ne pas se donner rendez-vous un de ces jours? | Why don’t we get together sometime? |
| Pourquoi pas inviter Fabien et sa copine? | Why don’t we invite Fabien and his girlfriend? |
| Pourquoi pas déjeuner avec moi? | Why don’t you meet me for lunch? |
| Pourquoi tu ne les appelles pas? | Why don’t you phone them? |
You can also make a suggestion using the French phrase Et si…? (How about?) which is followed by a verb in the imperfect tense. For more information on the imperfect tense, see here.
How about…?
| Et si on les invitait à dîner? | How about asking them round for dinner? |
| Et si tu venais avec nous? | How about if you came with us? |
| Et si je passais te prendre le matin? | How about if I picked you up in the morning? |
Use Est-ce que je devrais…? (Should I…?) followed by the verb in the infinitive to ask if you should do something. devrais comes from the verb devoir. For more information on devoir, see here.
Should I…?
| Est-ce que je devrais inviter Anna? | Should I invite Anna? |
| Est-ce que je devrais la rappeler? | Should I call her back? |
| Est-ce qu’on devrait aller dans un restaurant italien? | Should we go to an Italian restaurant? |
When talking to people in a social or work situation, you may wish to express your opinion of something. In French you can use je crois or je pense (I think). When you use croire and penser with a negative, as in je ne pense pas que or je ne crois pas que, the verb which follows is in the subjunctive. For more information on the subjunctive, see here.
I think…
| Je pense que Sonia a raison. | I think Sonia’s right. |
| Je pense vraiment qu’il est trop tard pour aller au cinéma. | I really think it’s too late to go to the cinema. |
| Je pense qu’on devrait partir à minuit. | I think we should leave at midnight. |
| Je ne pense pas que ça soit le cas du tout. | I don’t think that’s the case at all. |
| Je crois que c’est une excellente idée. | I think it’s a great idea. |
BON À SAVOIR!
Don’t forget to add que (that) after croire and penser. It’s optional in English, but not in French.
In my opinion…
| À mon avis, c’est une bonne proposition. | In my opinion, it’s a good suggestion. |
| À mon avis, ça va poser des problèmes. | In
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