After-work drinks: Talking about your weekend

💬 ma matches sœur because the word is feminine, not because of who's speaking. A man says ma sœur too, and mon frère "my brother".

💬 Weather in French uses il fait, literally "it makes", not "it is". Il a fait froid "It was cold" follows the same pattern.

💬 Putting quoi at the end is everyday spoken French. The textbook version Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ? means the same but sounds more careful.

💬 Like going, staying uses je suis for the past. A woman writes restée, but it sounds the same.

💬 des amis runs together as (day-zah-mee), with the s jumping onto the next word.

💬 No word for "on" is needed before days. Add le and it becomes a habit: le samedi soir means "on Saturday evenings".

💬 Sympa is short for sympathique and means nice or friendly, not sympathetic.

🇫🇷 The go-to casual reaction to someone's weekend story. It works for people, places and plans alike.

💬 Vous here is plural, asking about the whole group, which is why allés gets an extra s. You can hear the link in vous êtes (voo-zet).

💬 Petit goes before the noun but italien goes after; most descriptions follow the noun, while a few short common ones like petit, bon and grand come first.

🇫🇷 Resto is the everyday clipped form of restaurant. Calling a place petit signals cosy and good value, a recommendation in itself.

💬 Chez moi means "my place" with no word for house needed. Swap in chez toi "your place" or chez Paul "Paul's place".

💬 L' is la trimmed before a vowel, and only appears joined to the next word. Never alone.

💬 Je veux bien softens "I want" into a friendly "I'd love" or "yes please". On its own, Je veux bien is a polite yes to an offer.

💬 The small words for "you" and "it" both come before the action word, in that order: te then l'. Same with Je te le dis "I'm telling you".

💬 Ce soir covers both this evening and tonight. Swap in ce matin "this morning" or ce week-end "this weekend".

💬 French often uses the present for near-future plans, so je te l'envoie here means "I'll send it".

💬 Y stands for "there", so j'y vais literally means "I'm going there" but is used simply as "I'm off". J' only appears joined to the next word.

🇫🇷 The Bon up front is the signal you're wrapping up. Expect a round of goodbyes, often with bises in friendly groups.

🇫🇷 This is the usual goodbye from late afternoon onward, from staff and customers alike. Reply with Vous aussi "You too".

💬 À plus a time gives you a ready goodbye: À lundi "See you Monday", À plus "See you later".