Grammaire 2: naming ourselves and others
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Les présentations
a) To ask for someone’s name and give your own, use the following patterns below.
IMPORTANT: notice the silent final consonants and those liaisons (pronunciation and linking of a final consonant to a following vowel).
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
|
Comment t’appelles-tu ? (informel) |
What is your name? |
|
Comment vous appelez-vous ? (formel) |
What is your name? |
|
Je m’appelle… Moi, c’est… |
My name is… |
b) To find out someone’s name you are not speaking to directly, you can use the expression Qui est-ce? (Who is that?) or use the other questions below (along with with the appropriate replies). Note how the same words appear in the question and the reply.
– Qui est-ce? Who is that?
– C’est Marc. That’s Marc
— Comment s’appelle-t-il ? What is his name?
— Il s’appelle Marc. His name is Marc.
— Comment s’appelle-t-elle ? What is her name?
— Elle s’appelle Valérie. Her name is Valérie.
Note: ‘il‘ and ‘elle‘ correspond to the subject pronoun ‘he’ and ‘she’ (more on other subject pronouns in section 2). Many people now use iel to refer to a gender-neutral or non-binary (NB) individual.
c) If you are not sure who it is, you say, Est-ce que c’est… ? The reply will start with oui or non along with a name.
— Est-ce que c’est Jacqueline ? (Is it, is that Jacqueline?)
— Oui, c’est Jacqueline. (Yes, it’s Jacqueline.)— Est-ce que c’est Véronique ? (Is it, is that Véronique?)
— Non, c’est Magali. (No, it’s Magali.)
d) Use the following expressions to introduce people and respond to introductions:
| Registres | Français | Anglais |
|---|---|---|
|
formal |
Je vous présente… |
I would like to introduce you to… I would like you to meet… This is… |
|
informal |
Je te présente… |
I would like to introduce you to… I would like you to meet… This is… |
|
– |
Enchanté(e). Moi de même. |
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. |
e) Tu ou Vous ? (‘You’)
Formel vs Familier
| Formel (vous) | Familier, informel (tu) | |
|---|---|---|
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? | Comment t’appelles-tu ? | What is your name? |
| Comment allez-vous ? | Comment vas-tu ? | How are you? |
| Bien. Et vous ? | Bien. Et toi ? | Well, and you? |
| S’il vous plaît. | S’il te plaît. | Please |
| Je vous en prie. | Je t’en prie. | No problem |
Watch this video tutorial for more variations about How to ask someone’s name in French or examples on How to present yourself in French.
