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How to Say ‘Could you introduce yourself, please?’ in French

Vous pouvez vous présenter, s'il vous plaît ?

voo poo-vay voo pray-zahn-TAY seel eel voo pleh

[voo poo-vay voo pray-zahn-TAY seel eel voo pleh]

🇫🇷 In France: This is the standard opening at a French jury or interview. Give your name, where you study or work, and one line about your practice, then stop. Long life stories are not expected here.

Phrase Breakdown

Vous pouvez

voo poo-vay

You can

Formal 'you' plus 'pouvoir' (can). Say 'voo poo-VAY'. The 'z' is silent.

Example

Vous pouvez entrer.

You can come in.

Words in this phrase

Vous

[voo]

you

Used to refer to the person or people being addressed.

Example

Vous aimez le film?

Do you like the movie?

pouvez

[poo-vay]

can you

Polite inverted verb form used to ask “can you.”

Example

Pouvez-vous répéter plus fort ?

Can you repeat more loudly?

vous présenter,

voo pray-zahn-TAY

introduce yourself,

Reflexive verb 'se présenter'. Say 'voo pray-zahn-TAY' and pause briefly at the comma.

Example

Il faut vous présenter.

You need to introduce yourself.

Words in this phrase

vous

[voo]

yourself

Reflexive pronoun used with the verb "se sentir" meaning "to feel."

Example

Dans Vous vous sentiriez, vous fait partie du verbe pronominal.

In "Vous vous sentiriez," the second "vous" is part of the reflexive verb.

présenter

[pray-zahn-TAY]

to introduce

Infinitive of 'présenter'; with 'vous' it means to introduce yourself.

Example

Je vais présenter mon projet.

I am going to present my project.

s'il vous plaît ?

seel eel voo pleh

please?

The polite, formal 'please'. Say 'seel voo PLEH', with your voice rising for the question.

Example

Un café, s'il vous plaît.

A coffee, please.

Words in this phrase

[seel]

Part of the fixed polite expression s'il te plaît.

Example

S'il y a une table libre, on peut s'asseoir.

If there’s a free table, we can sit down.

[eel]

Impersonal subject used for weather expressions.

Example

Aujourd'hui, il fait beau.

Today, the weather is nice.

vous

[voo]

you

Used to refer to the person or people being addressed.

Example

Vous aimez le film?

Do you like the movie?

plaît

[pleh]

pleases

From plaire; means is pleasing to or is liked by someone.

Example

J'espère que ce cadeau vous plaît.

I hope you like this gift.

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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