What Do You Want to Eat?

Places to Buy Food

When you walk into a food shop it is always exciting to come across an array of delcious options and fragrant smells. In francophone cultures, many specialty shops exist where people can buy a variety of food. Familiarize yourself with the list of shops below. With what you already know about French pronunciations, try to correctly say the name of each word on your own. Then, check yourself by listening to the speaker, and then repeating each word aloud. Click each word to hear the pronunciation.

French	English
un marché	open-air market
une boucherie	butcher shop
une boulangerie	bread bakery
une charcuterie	deli/store with prepared meats like bacon and ham
une crémerie	store with dairy products
une épicerie	store with non-perishable foods.
une pâtisserie	pastry shop/bakery with sweets
une poissonnerie	shop with fresh fish and seafood

Food Items

Now that you know the types of shops in francophone cultures where you can find food, you need to know how to actually name the foods you would like to eat. In this interactivity, you will encounter new vocabulary for saying food items in French. Click the player to begin.

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Quantities

Now that you know how to say where you want to go to buy food, as well as the names of various food items, you will take this information one step further and explore how to say the quantities of items you would like to purchase. Familiarize yourself with the list of quantities below. With what you already know about French pronunciations, try to correctly say the name of each word on your own. Then, check yourself by listening to the speaker, and then repeating each word aloud. Click each word to hear the pronunciation.

French	English
un kilo de	a kilo of (a kilo equals 2.2 lbs)
un litre de	a liter of
un morceau de	a piece or slice of (used with cheese, cake, and pie)
un paquet de	a package of
une boîte de	a box of, a can of
une bouteille de	a bottle of
une livre de	a half kilo, a pound of
une tranche de	a piece or slice of (used with meat)

 

Vouloir and Pouvoir

Expressing your wants and needs is one of life's basic communication necessitites. Similarly, it is imiportant to understand how to ask for and offer food. Using the verbs vouloir and pouvoir will help you accomplish this.

The verb vouloir means "to want," and the verb pouvoir means "to be able to" or "can." Take a moment to look at the tables below and explore how each verb is conjugated. Familiarize yourself with the singular and plural forms of the verbs, and try to correctly say the name of each word on your own. Then, check yourself by listening to the speaker, and then repeating each word aloud. Click each word to hear the pronunciation.

Vouloir

Singular	Plural
je veux	nous voulons
tu veux	vous voulez
il/elle/on veut	ils/elles veulent

Pouvoir

Singular	Plural
je peux	nous pouvons
tu peux	vous pouvez
il/elle/on peut	ils/elles peuvent

Using Vouloir and Pouvoir

In this interactivity, you will discover how to apply vouloir and pouvoir in order to express what you want or are able to do. Click the player to begin.

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What Do You Want to Eat? Review

Now that you have learned a little about food shops, food vocabulary, and quantities, as well as how to apply these words using vouloir and pouvoir, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Click the player to get started.