{"id":23509,"date":"2016-06-14T05:56:38","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T03:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=23509"},"modified":"2016-06-14T17:26:55","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T15:26:55","slug":"a-vous-de-choissir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/a-vous-de-choissir\/","title":{"rendered":"A vous de choisir! *"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vous: Qu\u2019est-ce que c\u2019est que \u00e7a\u00a0? Une chanson ? Encore\u00a0?<\/em><\/p>\n

Moi\u00a0: Et oui, encore une chanson\u00a0! J\u2019aime la musique, pas vous\u00a0? Et je voudrais partager celle-l\u00e0 avec vous.<\/em>**<\/p>\n

The verb vouloir<\/em> means \u00ab\u00a0to want\u00a0\u00bb or \u00ab\u00a0to want to\u00a0\u00bb. It\u2019s very useful for expressing what your wishes and desires are\u00a0when communicating with your French friends. When you\u2019re talking to a stranger (like in un restaurant<\/em> or dans un magasin<\/em> \/ in a restaurant or in a store) asking for something that you would like, you use the form je voudrais<\/em> \/ I would like . . . It\u2019s politer than simply saying je veux <\/em>\/ I want.<\/p>\n

As you might guess, vouloir<\/em> is irregular and is conjugated like the verb pouvoir<\/em> (to be able to). You can learn more about pouvoir<\/em> in this great blog<\/a> from a few years back. Not only are these two verbs conjugated the same way, but you\u2019ll often encounter them in the same context. Sometimes when someone ask you if you want to do something (Veux-tu . . . ? <\/em>Or Est-ce que tu veux<\/em> . . . ? Or even Tu veux?<\/em>), you may have to tell them that you\u00a0want to, but you can\u2019t! (Je veux, mais je ne peux pas!<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tu<\/em> veux aller au cinema\u00a0?
\n<\/em>Do you want to go to the cinema\/to the movies\u00a0?<\/td>\n		Je veux bien, mais je ne peux pas.
\n<\/em>I want to, but I can\u2019t.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Est-ce que vous voulez venir manger chez nous\u00a0?
\n<\/em>Do you want to come eat at our house\u00a0?<\/td>\n		Nous voulons bien, mais nous ne pouvons pas.
\n<\/em>We want to, but we can\u2019t.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ton fr\u00e8re, veut-il acheter un chien?
\n<\/em>Does your brother want to buy a dog\u00a0?<\/td>\n		Il veut bien, mais il ne peut pas.
\n<\/em>He wants to, but he can\u2019t.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And here are the conjugations of vouloir<\/em> in the present tense. Notice that the je<\/em> and tu<\/em> forms of the verb are the same . . . so one less thing to remember!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
je veux<\/em><\/td>\nnous voulons<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tu veux<\/em><\/td>\nvous voulez<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
il\/elle\/on veut<\/em><\/td>\nils\/ells veulent<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Et maintenant, la chanson!<\/em> And now for that song!<\/p>\n

I first heard this song sung by Brigitte Bardot. As I went looking for a version to share with you, I discovered that she wasn\u2019t the original singer . . . and that the song wasn\u2019t even originally French! It turns out Tu veux ou tu veux pas<\/em> is actually a French remake of a Brazilian song, Nem vem que n\u00e3o tem,<\/em> by Wilson Simonal. And it was originally performed in French not by Brigitte Bardot, but by the French jazz musician Marcel Zanini in 1970. Musically I prefer Brigitte\u2019s version, but the video for the Marcel Zanini version is so much more fun, that I just had to include it (along with a more modern, amateur version that I found as well!).<\/p>\n

Qu\u2019en pensez-vous\u00a0? Lequel des trois clips est le meilleur\u00a0?<\/em> What do you think\u00a0? Which of the three clips is the best\u00a0?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n