Restaurant reservations Part 4 (Advanced): Asking about accessibility features for disabled guests.

💬 Je vous écoute literally means "I'm listening to you". It's the standard way to invite someone to go ahead and speak.

💬 Se déplacer means to get around or move from place to place, and the se is needed. Without it, déplacer means moving an object, as in déplacer une table "to move a table".

💬 French uses en for getting around by some means, just like en voiture "by car" or en bus "by bus".

🇫🇷 This is the usual neutral way to say it in France. It describes how she gets around, not what she has, and it's what staff expect to hear.

💬 Entrée means entrance here, but on a menu it means the starter, not the main course. Context tells you which one is meant.

💬 De plain-pied literally means "at flat foot", in other words on the same level as the street. It's the set phrase for step-free access, so use it as it is.

💬 Putting Est-ce que at the front turns any statement into a yes/no question, with no other change. For example, Est-ce que les toilettes sont accessibles ? "Are the toilets accessible?"

🇫🇷 Many old Paris restaurants have one step at the door. Staff often call it "small", so ask how high it is if that matters.

💬 In French, describing words usually come after the noun, so une rampe amovible is literally "a ramp removable". Small common words like petite are the exception and go before.

💬 À votre arrivée is literally "at your arrival". French often uses a noun where English uses a verb, as in à votre départ "when you leave".

💬 Personne is always feminine, even when it refers to men. That's why you'll see les personnes concernées "the people concerned" with a feminine ending.

🇫🇷 This is the official term, often shortened to PMR on signs, parking spots and websites. Look for PMR when you're checking whether a place is accessible.

💬 The t at the end of tout links to the next word, so it sounds like (too-tah-fay). The final t of fait stays silent.

💬 Sera is the future form of est, so ce sera means "it will be". You'll hear it a lot, as in Ce sera prêt "It will be ready".

💬 Circuler means moving around a space, not anything to do with circles. You'll also hear it for traffic flowing.

💬 The ne... pas here doesn't really make it negative. Asking "wouldn't you have...?" is a softened way of saying "would you have...?"

💬 Pratique means convenient or handy, not practical in the sense of sensible. For example, C'est pratique "That's handy".

💬 Put plus before a word to mean "more": plus tôt "earlier", plus tard "later". Don't confuse them with plutôt "rather", which sounds the same.

🇫🇷 This roundabout phrasing is how French people ask for a favour without sounding demanding. It makes it easy for staff to say yes.

💬 After amounts like plus, moins or beaucoup, French uses de with no article. For example, moins de bruit "less noise".

💬 Au is à + le squeezed into one word, so au nom de literally reads "to the name of."

🇫🇷 Restaurants book under your surname, and staff often ask you to spell it. Knowing the French letter names saves an awkward moment on the phone.

💬 Au nom de "under the name of" is the fixed way to give the name for a booking. Use it for any reservation, at a hotel or a doctor's office too.

🇫🇷 Bookings and schedules in France use the 24-hour clock, so 8 pm is 20 heures. Eight o'clock often means a fairly early dinner slot there.

💬 Couvert is restaurant talk for one place setting, so it's a way of counting diners. Outside restaurants, les couverts means cutlery.

🇫🇷 Staff often confirm a booking with a quick list like this. Listen for the day, time and number of people, and correct anything right away.

💬 Prévenir means to let someone know in advance, not to prevent something. French often uses the present tense for something about to happen, so je préviens works as "I'll let... know".

💬 Beaucoup means "a lot", so this is literally "thanks a lot". You can't build it with très "very" the way English does; merci très is wrong.

💬 Gentil means kind or nice, not gentle. The final l is silent here, so it sounds like (zhahn-tee).

🇫🇷 Adding c'est très gentil after thanks is a warm, natural way to close a call when someone has gone out of their way for you.