Copy of Week 20, Day 4: Using c’est..que/qui sentence structure for emphasis
Today, we will be discussing two topics that are relatively easy for you at this point:
• The use of the c’est … que / qui structure to give emphasis
• Vocabulary related to restaurants and eating out
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 1
C'est pour cela que je travaille.
That's why I work.
C'est Pierre qui a construit la maison.
It was Pierre who built the house.
Putting emphasis on a particular word in a sentence is quite easy for English speakers to do. You simply need to apply more stress when pronouncing that word. It’s not so easy in French, however. In French, there are certain grammar structures you need to use when trying to emphasize a part of a sentence.
One way to do this is to use the c’est … que / qui structure.
But first, let’s review the difference between c’est que and c’est qui:
• Que is used to emphasize the object of the sentence.
• Qui is used to emphasize the subject of the sentence.
Here are some examples:
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 2
C'est Pierre que je préfère.
I prefer Pierre a lot.
C'est moi qui travaille.
I'm working.
C'est un bateau qui a coulé.
A boat went down.
C'est votre manteau qui ne va pas.
Your coat is not going on.
Speaking Practice 1
In the examples above, you can see that the emphasized part of the sentence is underlined in French and written in bold in English.
Other methods you can use to put emphasis on a part of speech include the following:
• Place the word to be emphasized in either the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence.
Example:
Pierre, je l'aime bien. / Je l'aime bien, Pierre.
I like Pierre a lot.
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 3
Pierre, je ne le connais pas du tout. / Je le connais pas du tout, Pierre.
I don'k know Pierre at all.
Pierre, je ne l'aime pas. / Je ne l'aime pas, Pierre.
I don't like Pierre.
Pierre, il est vraiment bizarre. / Il est vraiment bizarre, Pierre.
He is really weird, Pierre.
Stressed pronouns (from your past lesson) may also be used for this structure.
• You can also combine the two structures above for maximum emphasis.
Pierre, c'est lui qui l'a fait!
It's Pierre, he's the one who did it!
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 4
Pierre, c'est lui qui est fou!
It's Pierre, he's the one who is crazy!
Pierre, c'est lui qui a gagné!
It's Pierre, he's the one who won!
Pierre, c'est lui qui dirige l'entreprise!
It's Pierre, he's the one who leads the business!
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 5
a. C'est Pierre qui dirige l'équipe. (Pierre manages the team.)
b. Pierre, c'est lui qui est le plus fort. (It's Pierre, he's the one who is the strongest.)
c. Pierre, je l'aime bien. (I like Pierre a lot.)
d. C'est un objet qui a disparu. (An object disappeared.)
e. C'est votre nez qui est rouge. (Your nose is red.)
For the second part of our lesson today, let’s talk about eating out. French restaurants are known for being amazing food havens. But, whether you will be using these words in restaurants in France or in the cozy French bistro in your town, they will prove to be very helpful in expanding your vocabulary.
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 6
| les entrées | appetizers |
| les plats | main courses |
| les fromages | cheeses |
| les desserts | desserts |
| les boissons | drinks |
| la nourriture | food |
| la salade | salad |
| la soupe / le potage / le velouté | soup |
| l’œuf | egg |
| le bœuf | beef |
| l’agneau | lamb |
| les escargots | snails |
| le lapin | rabbit |
| le poulet | chicken |
| le porc | pork |
| le veau | veal |
| le poisson | fish |
| le légume | vegetable |
| les pâtes | pasta |
| le riz | rice |
| les frites | fries |
| le pain | bread |
| le beurre | butter |
| le fruit | fruit |
| le biscuit | cookie |
| le gâteau | cake |
| la tarte | pie |
| la glace | ice cream, ice |
| les boissons | drinks |
| le vin | wine |
| la bière | beer |
| l’apéritif / l’apéro | pre-meal drink/cocktail |
| le jus | juice |
| le café | coffee |
| le thé | tea |
| bleu / saignant | very rare |
| rosé | rare |
| à point | medium rare |
| bien cuit | well done |
| le serveur | waiter |
| la serveuse | waitress |
| le / la chef | cook |
| le menu | fixed-price meal |
| la carte | menu |
| à la carte | side order |
| l'addition (f.) | check/bill |
| le pourboire | tip |
| service compris | tip included |
| service non compris | tip not included |
| chez | at/at the house of |
Speaking Practice 2
Additional Vocabulary
Listen to Week 20 Day 4 Track 8
| avoir l'air d'une poule qui a trouvé un couteau | to be confused (to look like a chicken that has found a knife) |
| avoir les jetons | to be scared / have the jitters (to have tokens) |
| couper le sifflet à quelqu'un | to cut someone short (to cut someone's whistle) |
| être au bout du rouleau | to be at the end of your rope (to be at the end of your roll) |
| être dans les petits papiers de quelqu'un | to be in someone's good books (to be in someone's little papers) |
| être sous les verrous | to be under lock and key (to be under the bolts) |
| Il tombe des hallebardes. | It's raining cats and dogs. (Halberds are are falling.) |
| mettre des bâtons dans les roues de quelqu'un | to put a spanner in the works (to put a stick in someone' wheels) |
| ramasser une veste | to lose badly in an election (to pick up a jacket) |
| reprendre ses billes | to renege on a deal (to take back your marbles) |
| ronger son frein | to chomp at the bit (to gnaw one's bit) |
| saisir la balle au bond | to seize the opportunity (to seize the ball on the rebound) |
| un coup d'épée dans l'eau | a wasted effort (a sword blow into the water) |
| voir le monde par le petit bout de la lorgnette | to exaggerate about yourself (to view the world from the small end of the spyglass) |
Speaking Practice 3
A Quick Recap of this Lesson-
Un petit résumé de la leçon
Today, we talked about the c’est…que/qui sentence structure and how to put emphasis on parts of a sentence.
Sharpen Your Knowledge with Exercises
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Answer the questions about the dialogue.
Responses