Presenting your work at the office: Explaining results from a chart

💬 The -ent ending on augmentent is completely silent, so it sounds just like augmente (ohg-mahnt). The opposite is les ventes baissent "sales are falling".

💬 Before pour, the x in dix is said as a soft s-sound (deess poor sahn). The final t of cent stays silent.

💬 de introduces the size of a change, the way English uses "by". You can swap in any number: les prix baissent de cinq pour cent "prices are down five percent".

💬 Colours usually come after the noun in French. Try la barre bleue "the blue bar".

🇫🇷 This is the everyday spoken way to ask "what is it?". It is fine with colleagues, though in a formal written email you would use Qu'est-ce que c'est ? instead.

💬 French often names the thing first and then asks about it with c'est. You can reuse the pattern: Et ce chiffre, c'est quoi ? "And this figure, what's that?"

💬 l'année is la année with the a dropped before the vowel, so l' can't stand alone. Note that dernière comes after the noun, unlike "last" in English.

💬 baisse "drop" pairs naturally with hausse "rise". These two words cover most chart talk: une forte hausse "a sharp rise".

💬 Months take en and are written with a small letter in French. For example: en mars "in March".

💬 After moins or plus, use just de, never des. For example: plus de commandes "more orders".

💬 il y avait is the past form of il y a "there is". Use it to describe how things were over a period, which is ideal for explaining a dip on a chart.

🇫🇷 In France les vacances often means the school holidays, when many families go away. February has its own winter break, so a February dip is a very believable explanation.

🇫🇷 French managers tend to be sparing with praise, so a plain Bon travail ! is a genuinely positive signal.

🇫🇷 This is the standard way to part with anyone during the day, colleagues included. Later in the day it shifts to Bonne soirée "have a nice evening".

🇫🇷 This is the automatic reply to Bonne journée. Colleagues you call tu get toi aussi instead.