🙅🍽️

How to Say ‘I'm saving room’ in French

Je garde de la place

zhuh GARD DUH lah plahss

[zhuh GARD DUH lah plahss]

💬 Usage Tip: Garder de la place works just like English "save room". The de la is needed before place here.

Phrase Breakdown

Je garde

zhuh GARD

I'm keeping

From 'garder' (to keep). In fast speech, 'je' often shrinks: 'zh'garde'.

Example

Je garde la monnaie.

I'm keeping the change.

Words in this phrase

[zhuh]

Pronoun used by the speaker to identify themselves.

Example

Je suis content.

I am happy.

garde

[GARD]

keep / hold

Form of 'garder' (to keep, to save a place).

Example

Je garde ta place.

I'm saving your seat.

de la place

DUH lah plahss

some room

'De la place' means 'some space'. Here it means room in your stomach.

Example

Il y a de la place ici.

There's room here.

Words in this phrase

[DUH]

some

With 'l'' forms the partitive article, meaning an unspecified amount.

Example

Je bois de l'eau.

I drink some water.

[lah]

the

A definite article preceding a noun.

Example

La porte est ouverte.

The door is open.

place

[plahss]

room / space

Here means available space, e.g. room in your stomach.

Example

Il n'y a plus de place dans le frigo.

There's no more room in the fridge.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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