We proceed on a linguistic voyage to learn “How To Invite Your French-speaking companions” to a special occasion. Mastering the art of inviting in French can be a fun way to enhance relationships with francophone friends, whether it’s a birthday celebration, a dinner gathering, or any other occasion.
In this post, we’ll guide you through a real-life conversation between friends, providing significant insights into the language, vocabulary, and cultural nuances that make these discussions memorable. So, if you’ve ever wanted to know how to offer an invitation in French, you’ve come to the perfect place. Ready to learn, laugh, and share the joy of celebration as we dive into this conversation between two friends named: Evva and Cling.
Evva: Bonjour Cling. Comment vas-tu? (Good Morning. How are you?)
Cling: Bonjour. Je vais bien, merci. Et toi ça va? (Good Morning. I am good, thank you. And you?)
Evva: Ça va bien. Est-ce que tu viens à mon anniversaire? J’organise une petite fête. (Fine. You are coming to my birthday party? I am organizing a small party.)
Cling: C’est quand? (When is it?)
Evva: Le 20 decembre à 21h. (20th December at 9:00 p.m.)
Cling: Le 20 decembre, entendu. Tu fais ça chez toi? (On 20th December, agreed. You're having it at your place?)
Evva: Oui c'est chez moi. J'ai invité une vingtaine d'amis. On va danser toute la nuit. (Yes, it's at my place. I have invited (a set of) twenty friends. We are going to dance all night.)
Cling: C'est très gentil de m'inviter, merci. À bientôt. (It's very nice to invite me, thank you. See you soon.)
Evva: À demain, bonne journée. (See you tomorrow, Have a nice day.)
Please Note:
- ‘Bien’ is an adverb meaning well. Its adjective equivalent is bon(ne), which means good. Since je vais, meaning I go, uses an action verb, the adverb bien is used. In English, it is said, I’m Good, which uses the linking verb am, is followed by an adjective rather than an adverb.
- Est-ce que… literally means ‘is that…’ and is often used to start questions. This is used in a similar manner to do in English. Instead of You want it?, one can say Do you want it? Est-ce que… has no real meaning, other than signifying that a question follows.
- Chez… is a preposition meaning at one’s place… Chez moi is used to say at my place. Chez [name] is used to say at (name’s) place.
- On is a subject pronoun and can be meant one or we.
- Ça va? is used to ask someone how they are doing. The phrase literally means It goes? referring to the body and life. A more formal way to say this is Comment allez-vous. You can respond by using ça va as a statement; Ça va. roughly means I’m fine. The adverb bien is used to say well and is often said both alone and as Ça va bien. Bien is preceded by certain adverbs to specify the degree to which you are well. Common phrases are assez bien, meaning rather well, très bien, meaning very well, and vraiment bien, meaning really well. The adverb mal is used to say badly. Pas is commonly added to mal to form Pas mal., meaning Not bad. Comme ci, comme ça., literally translating to Like this, like that., is used to say So, so. To be polite, add merci, meaning thank you to responses to questions.