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How to Say ‘You can sit wherever you like.’ in French

Vous pouvez vous installer où vous voulez.

voo poo-VAY voo an-stah-LAY oo voo voo-lay

[voo poo-VAY voo an-stah-LAY oo voo voo-lay]

🇫🇷 In France: In a café, you normally only wait to be seated if a server comes to greet you. If you've ordered at the counter, just pick a table.

Phrase Breakdown

Vous pouvez

voo poo-VAY

You can

This polite form gives permission. Say 'vou pou-vé'.

Example

Vous pouvez payer ici.

You can pay here.

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 / may

Indicates permission or possibility.

Example

Vous pouvez annuler jusqu’à l’heure limite.

You can cancel until the deadline.

vous installer

voo an-stah-LAY

sit down / settle in

Make the liaison 'vou-z-installer'. The phrase means taking a seat or getting comfortable.

Example

Installez-vous, je vous en prie.

Please, have a seat.

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.

installer

[an-stah-LAY]

settle in

With 'vous', to sit down and make yourself comfortable.

Example

Installez-vous au salon.

Make yourselves comfortable in the living room.

où vous voulez.

oo voo voo-lay

wherever you want.

'Où' takes an accent when it means 'where'. End with a falling intonation.

Example

Allez où vous voulez.

Go wherever you want.

Words in this phrase

où

[oo]

where

Question word used to ask about location.

Example

Au café, je demande « Où sont les toilettes ? ».

At the café, I ask “Where are the toilets?”

vous

[voo]

you

Used to refer to the person or people being addressed.

Example

Vous aimez le film?

Do you like the movie?

voulez

[voo-lay]

want

Form of vouloir used with vous; in service contexts it often means would you like.

Example

Vous voulez une place près de la fenêtre ?

Would you like a seat near the window?

Guides for French learners

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.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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