Ordering food and drinks politely

Make a polite request

Je voudrais means I would like. It is a conditional form of vouloir, but you can use it now as a polite phrase without learning the full tense. Follow it with an item or an infinitive.

Je prends un café also works when choosing a drink. Add s’il vous plaît, and begin with bonjour when approaching the server. Un café often refers to an espresso in France; ask for the kind of drink you want.

Talk about an amount

Du, de la, and de l’ introduce an unspecified amount: du pain, de la soupe, de l’eau. Use des with unspecified plural countable items such as des pommes.

Un café orders one serving. Du café describes some coffee as an amount. Contrast j’aime le café, a general liking, with je bois du café, drinking some coffee.

Complete the order

L’addition, s’il vous plaît asks for the bill. Sur place means eating or drinking on the premises; à emporter means to take away. Listen for these questions before giving a long answer.

With a negative quantity, du, de la, and des usually become de or d’: je ne prends pas de sucre. There are exceptions, especially contrasts and sentences with être, so practice this common pattern first.

Lesson vocabulary

Read each word aloud, then test your recall of its meaning.

Practice questions

Answer the questions and read the explanations. You can repeat the exercises.

I can order politely. I can distinguish a serving from an unspecified amount. I can ask for the bill.