Ted: Salut, c'est Ted. We would love to improve Parlez Away, and make it exactly what you want. That's why we put together a little survey for you. There's a link in the episode description. Don't worry, it's super short. And it's your chance to tell us what you think. But for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Caro: Bonsoir et bienvenue ! It’s 6 pm in Berlin and you are listening to Parlez  Away. Je suis – bien sûr ! – avec Ted, mais aussi avec Laure ce soir. Salut, Laure !

Laure: Salut, Caro !

Caro: Nice to see you in the studio again! And it might be the last time this year, since you are expecting a baby very soon! But for now, let’s team up again!

Laure: Yeah!

Caro: Salut, Ted !

Ted: Salut, Caro !

Caro: Est-ce que ça va ?

Ted: Ça va super.

Caro: Quoi de neuf ?

Ted: Hm…?

Ted: [attempts to repeat] Uh... what's that? Bless you!

Caro: [laughs] It means "what's new". [repeats]

Ted: Ah, OK. Quoi de neuf, alright. "What's up", kind of?

Caro: À propos, tell me… What do you usually do around 6-7 pm,
when you're not stuck in a recording studio?

Ted: Well, I'm usually cooking dinner around that time I guess.

Caro: Yeah? Wow, we never cook that early in France.

Ted: Well, yeah, I am American. We get hungry.

Caro: Listen, today, I would like you to guess the topic of our fifth episode. Alright?

Ted: Oui !

Caro: Laure, can you give Ted and our listeners a few hints – en français, bien sûr !

Laure: Sure. Ted, if I tell you: vin, bière, cocktails, olives, chips…
What does that evoke to you?

Ted: Sounds like fun! That's for sure!

Laure: OK, but what else?

Ted: L’apéritif, of course! This lovely European tradition!

Laure: Woah, yes, you knew it. Yeah, well, this wonderful tradition was meant to whet our appetite! But actually, it’s just a good occasion to invite friends over or to hang out and relax after work in a bar…

But Ted, if you want to speak like a real French person…

Caro: And here's Laure again with her French slang mania!

Laure: Sorry guys, but it’s true! In the spoken language – I mean, you know, almost all the time, you won’t say l’apéritif – you will say: l’apéro. Correct me if I am wrong, Caro!

Caro: Yes, it's true! We say: “boire l’apéro” – “to drink the apéritif”.
So if you want to suggest that it’s time for an apéritif, you will simply ask: On boit l’apéro ?

Ted: OK… On boit l’apéro, les filles ?

Caro: Sadly, it’s a bit too soon, I would like to though. But we still have some work to do…

Ted: No, come on! No…

Caro: Soon, soon, soon! OK, shall we get on with our first snippet?

Ted: Alright!

Caro: Ted, as usual, tell me what kind of situation we’ve got here!

Ted: Well… There are three people – I guess sitting in a cafe, maybe outside, because we can hear the noise of the street and they are ordering.

Caro: Yes, they are for sure outside! When the long days come and the sun is shining, people rush to the bars. In the spring and summer, everybody sits outside and enjoys an apéritif, right Laure?

Laure: Oui ! But also, since it’s not allowed anymore to smoke in cafés and restaurants, les terrasses – the terraces – are filled with smokers even in winter!

Ted: It sounds so French! Poor smokers… Aren't they freezing?

Laure: Well, I guess! But there are those kind of outdoor electric heaters to warm them up, you know?

Ted: Yeah, I don't see them so much in the States, but when I was in Paris one October, they were everywhere – every restaurant, every café.

Caro: But let's get back to our protagonists… Can you tell us what they ordered?

Ted: I didn't really get what the first person said. Je voudrais… blah blah blah. Something, I don't know!

Caro: OK, let’s hear this sequence again!

Ted: Ah, OK. So… "Je voudrais un demi." What's "un demi"?

Caro: "Un demi" is beer in a glass – 25 cl, which is what most people drink in France. By saying, "Je voudrais un demi," you say, “I would like [a] 25 cl beer in a glass.” But if you really are in a beer mood, you can order “une pinte”. Then you’ll get 50 cl!

Laure: You're a beer guy Ted, you have to know that!

Ted: Yeah, I guess every time I've ordered, I've just said, "Je voudrais une bière." But it's good to know! Un demi, une pinte… OK.

Caro: Parfait. And the other guy says “moi aussi”. What do you think it means?

Ted: "Moi aussi" means "me too"!

Caro: Exactement ! Now, let’s hear the whole dialogue again and let’s concentrate on what the last woman orders…

Ted: OK… Un verre de vin blanc !

Caro: Exactement. “Un verre de vin blanc” – a glass of white wine. Do you know what le muscat, le sauvignon, and le chardonnay are?

Ted: Yeah, they're different kinds of white wine.

Caro: Exactly, have you ever tasted them?

Ted: Yeah, I think I've tried all of them. I mean, I'm not a huge wine guy, so I don't know, but…

Caro: But they're very common. Now a more general question. In this context, which in France is actually quite formal, how do you say “please”? You know that one I guess?

Ted: Yeah, of course, you say “s’il vous plaît”.

Caro: Oui. And do you know how to say “please” in an informal situation?

Ted: Yeah, that's easy, it’s "s’il te plaît". But still… it’s not always easy for me to identify what is a formal situation, and what's an informal situation.

Caro: OK… Shall we practice a bit the difference between s’il te plaît and s’il vous plaît with Laure?

Ted: Oui !

Laure: Cool ! Let’s go then! Ted, try to repeat and complete each sentence, OK? So, imagine… change of nationality. Now you are officially French. 

Ted: Ah, finally!

Laure: Does that suit you? So… You are French and your 13-year-old sister is locked in her room and she's listening to Justin Bieber at full blast. So you shout, “Juliette, the volume, please” – Juliette, le volume…?

Ted: S'il te plaît – Juliette, le volume, s'il te plaît.

Laure: Perfect, Ted. It's an informal situation, it's your family, and you use "s'il te plaît" for family members and friends. But now imagine yourself at work, in the bathroom, sitting comfortably on the throne, when suddenly someone switches off the light…

Voice: Billions of blue, blistering barnacles! Pirate! Psychopath! You antediluvian bulldozer!

Laure: So, you shout again, "The light please!" La lumière…?

Laure: Yes, perfect, Ted. With strangers, you keep it formal, except if they're the same age as you, or younger. Well, you're still in the office now, stuck in the elevator with the big boss. He is a really cool guy, always wearing jeans and a T-shirt, always unshaven and casual… And you want him to press on the 1st-floor button. So you say, “The first, please!” Le premier…?

Ted: Le premier, s'il te plaît ?

Laure: Ah… that's a cute little mistake! It's gonna be, "Le premier, s'il vous plaît." However friendly and cool your boss is, it's still your boss, and hierarchy in France is super important.

Ted: The hierarchy. [correcting her pronunciation]

Laure: Ah, yes, that – that thing, yes. And actually it's also really important in school, with teachers, so all those contexts, it's gonna be formal.

Ted: OK, alright, good to know.

Laure: But one last little effort, OK? It's the end of your working day, you go out to your favorite neighborhood bar where you've been going out for years to drink l’apéro. And you're sitting at the bar and the bartender, Maurice, asks you: “The usual, Ted?” – “Comme d’habitude, Ted ?” And you answer…

Ted: Oui, s'il te plaît.

Laure: Perfect. Normally with shopkeepers, bartenders, or waiters it is formal. But like in this case, you've known him for years, so it's pretty informal, and also it's an easy-going place. But I think you've got it now, Ted. And I think we're ready for our next situation, Caro!

Caro: Alright! Let’s do this! But before, let’s speak about love, Ted… What do you say?

Ted: Ooh, OK!

Caro: How would you say to your girlfriend that you love her? In French, of course!

Ted: Je t’aime, Madeline !

Caro: Oh, that's so sweet! And now, let’s listen to a dialogue. Ted, try to find out how you can express in one word that you love not a person, but something…

- Hey, Ambre ! Ça va ? [bise]
- Ça va, ça va…
- Entre ! On boit l’apéro ?
- Oh oui ! Avec plaisir !
- J’ai un super vin blanc… [sound of cork popping]
- Mmmm, j’adore le vin blanc !
- Ah, parfait ! Tu as faim ?
- Non, non, je n’ai pas faim, merci.
- Tiens !
- Merci !
- Tchin-tchin !

Ted: "J’adore"?

Caro: That’s it! J’adore le vin blanc. I love white wine.

Ted: Can I also say, "J’aime le vin blanc"?

Caro: Of course you can, but it isn't strong enough if you are talking about a thing that you love! On the scale of love, from 0 to 10, you are then at level 5, let’s say. But "j’adore" reaches level 10, see?

So by saying, "J’aime le vin," you say that you like wine. Which I guess is true in your case: tu adores la bière et tu aimes le vin… Right?

Ted: Yeah… Exactement !

Laure: But, can I interrupt you?

Caro: Bien sûr !

Laure: There is something else that we say all the time, and that is: "j’aime bien". Have you ever heard that before, Ted?

Ted: Yeah, I have heard it from time to time, but I don't really get the difference between "j'aime" and "j'aime bien".

Laure: OK, well… When talking about things, "j'aime bien" is more often used for everyday conversation and it's a little bit less strong than “j’aime”. And in the context of a relationship, “j’aime bien” means that you like a person but that you don’t love her… So be careful otherwise you can hurt someone by using the wrong word of love!

Caro: Ted, do you know how to express the opposite of love, basically the level 0 on our love scale?

Ted: Oui – je déteste.

Caro: Très bien – je déteste. Now that you know all the language subtleties of love, could you reveal [to] us three things that you respectively love, like, and hate – en français!

Ted: OK… Just wait a second… J’adore les chiens. J'aime écouter la musique. Et je déteste les tomates. [with Caro translating]

Caro: Really? You hate tomatoes?

Ted: Only uncooked tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes are fine.

Caro: That's very specific. D'accord, merci… That was quite impressive actually!

Ted, there is something else that we can learn from this dialogue. This is the art of saying "no", and not just like Laure’s daughter would do – she's two years old – but by using the negation! The guy asks his friend: Tu as faim ? And what is the answer? Did you get it? Let's hear this again:

Ted: OK, yeah, she says, "Je n’ai pas faim."

Caro: Je n’ai pas faim – exactly. I am not hungry. Can you explain that?

Ted: Yeah, so in French to negate something you need "ne" and "pas", and "ne" comes before the conjugated verb, and "pas" comes after.

Caro: Yeah, you are really a grammar nerd. So that’s it! But as the verb “avoir” is used here and as it begins with a vowel, you won't hear the "e" in "ne"… Just the "n" combined with “ai”, right?: Je n’ai pas. Shall we practice this with Laure?

Ted: Oui, bien sûr !

Laure: Yeah, I was waiting for this moment! So, Ted… Try to reformulate these sentences by using the negation, OK?

Ted: Alright.

Laure:  J’adore la grammaire française.

Ted: Je n'adore pas la grammaire française. "La"?

[Ted repeats again]

Caro: "Pas"!

Laure: Yeah, you say "pars"!

Caro: It's easier, actually.

Laure: Perfect. Je déteste boire l’apéro.

Ted: Je ne déteste pas boire l'apéro.

Laure: Perfect again!

Ted: J'adore !

Ted: Je n'aime pas le vin blanc.

Laure: Wow, tremendous! You're just doing really great! But let me give you a little tip that can be useful if you ever struggle with the negation one day… You can just drop the “ne” and only say "pas"! It’s very colloquial but really – you won’t hear this “ne” very often in France.

Ted: It's so easy? Great.

Laure: For example, you won't say, "Je n'ai pas faim," like we heard in the dialogue. Rather just, "J'ai pas faim."

Ted: J'ai pas faim.

Laure: Yeah, so, Ted, how would you say, "Je n'aime pas le vin blanc" like a real French person?

Ted: J'aime pas le vin blanc.

Laure: Perfect. And what about, "Je ne déteste pas boire l’apéro"?

Ted: Je déteste pas boire l'apéro.

Laure: Cute! It's correct, but it's "boire" – "je déteste pas boire".

[Ted repeats]

Laure: Yes, sweet. And last question: Je n’adore pas la grammaire française.

Ted: OK. J'adore pas la grammaire française.

Laure: Oh, it's cute, but it's: "j'adore pas".

[Ted repeats again, correcting his mistake]

Laure: Perfect. You've got it.

Caro: Fantastique ! Enough already with grammar topics! Let’s hear again how they make a toast, alright?

Ted: OK.

- Tchin-Tchin !

Caro: Have you already heard that before?

Ted: Yes… I have heard that a lot.

Caro: [laughs] And does it sound like a French word to you?

Ted: Not really.

Caro: Rather like…?

Ted: Um… I'd say Chinese.

Caro: And why is that? Do you know that, Laure?

Laure: Oui ! It has a pretty funny origin actually! Saying “tchin tchin” while making a toast is a tradition that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century!

And it’s actually an expression that the British soldiers that were posted in China brought back with them, and it’s a derivation of a Chinese word: “tsing tsing”. It’s pidgin English basically!

Ted: That's interesting! I had no idea.

Caro: OK guys! On est prêts pour boire l’apéro ! Are you up for a little role play?

Let’s say that I am the barkeeper of your favorite bar, it’s 7 pm, and you’re coming to have a drink at the bar…

Laure: OK… On boit l’apéro, Ted ?

Ted: Oui ! Je voudrais une bière, s’il te plaît, Caro.

Caro: Un demi ?

Ted: Ah, oui – un demi, s'il te plaît.

Caro: OK. 

Ted: Oh… "s'il te plaît"? "S'il vous plaît"?

Caro: It's your favorite bar.

Ted: OK. Et toi, Laure ?

Laure: J’aime pas la bière !

Ted: What? Ce n'est pas vrai.

Laure: Si, c'est vrai… Un kir, s’il te plaît, Caro !

Ted: What? Un… what?!

Laure: Kir! Ah, it's a sweet little cocktail. It's a mix of white wine and blackcurrant liqueur! Ah, j’adore le kir ! It’s so popular in France! Try it next time you’re in Paris!

Caro: OK guys, voici vos boissons – here are your drinks!

Ted & Laure: Merci ! Tchin-tchin !

Laure: Excuse me, Ted?! Look at me! You can’t make a toast without looking each other in the eye!

Ted: Non ? And why’s that?

Laure: It brings bad luck! Come on! But, tell me, Ted, shall we tip Caroline?

Ted: Don’t we have to tip her?

Laure: No, it’s up to you. You can tip if you want to and just how much you want. So… shall we tip Caro?

Ted: Of course, our lovely Caroline!

Laure: And how do we do that?

Ted: I think that we just leave change on the table?

Laure: Yeah, exactly! Is it the same in the US?

Ted: You can do that… It depends how you pay. You pay a lot with cards, so then you write it on the ticket.

Laure: OK, well, yeah, in France we just leave it on the table, or on the bar.

Ted: OK.

Caro: Vous êtes fantastiques ! Well, once again we approach the end of our episode and it’s time for our little quiz! Would you like to do it, Laure?

Laure: Allez, avec plaisir Caro ! C’est parti pour le quiz, my dears?

Ted: Le quiz ? Oh oui, j’aime le quiz.

Laure: Imagine Ted, you're sitting at the bar Chez Maurice in Paris. Choc: behind the bar, there is not the old Maurice but Virginie, his daughter! She is as old as you. And it’s an open question, Ted. Please, order your favorite drink…

Ted: Un demi, s'il vous plaît.

Laure: Well, Ted, correct, but a more natural version would be "s'il te plaît", because, you know, it's this bar where you're always going to, and she's just the same age as you, so you could say, "Un demi, s'il te plaît."

Ted: OK. Alright, good to know.

Laure: And oh là là, God, she is adorable… You’ve got a big big crush and you are thinking…

1. J’adore Virginie.
2. J’aime bien Virginie.
3. Je déteste Virginie.

Ted: J'adore Virginie !

Laure: Of course! And lucky you! She starts chatting with you and she's asking: Tu es Anglais ? And you answer…

Ted: Um… Je n'ai pas Anglais ? Je n'ai pas Anglais.

Laure: Je ne suis pas.

Ted: Je ne suis… Je ne suis pas Anglais. Je suis Américain.

Laure: Perfect! That's just right. And Virginie gets herself a beer and she wants to make a toast with you… What do you both say?

Laure: Yeah! That's it, you've got it! And oh là là, oh my god! You fall deeply in love, it’s love at first sight! You look into her eyes and you say: Virginie…

Ted: Je t'aime.

Laure: Yes, and because she can't resist your charm either, she answers…

Ted: Moi aussi.

Laure & Caro: Oh là là!

Laure: That was perfect, Ted.

Caro: What a beautiful way to close this episode!

But dear listeners, stay with us for just a few more seconds! The season 1 of Parlez Away is over, and we have some questions for you! Should we keep helping Ted learn French? Or should we just stop and drink tea – excuse me… kir?

Would you like more grammar, less grammar, the same amount of grammar? What kind of topics do you find interesting, useful, fun, or just odd but oh-so-fascinating? Share your feedback, suggestions, and wishes with us at podcasting@babbel.com.

Chers auditeurs – dear listeners – au revoir et merci ! Salut, mon cher Ted !

Ted: Salut, Caro !

Caro: Salut Laure, à demain, 8 heures ?

Laure: 8 heures ?! Ah non… Non !

[laughs]