Getting a Turn and Giving It Back
Nyilvános
•
2026. november 4.
Kiejtés hanganyag készül…
Ez eltarthat egy kis ideig. Közben nyugodtan nézz körül a Voca-gyűjtemény többi részében.
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Hallgatás és átismétlés
Adj hozzá legalább 2 Voca-kártyát, hogy feloldd a Hallgatás és átismétlés funkciót, és hanganyaggal gyakorolj.
Step smoothly into a French team meeting or class discussion without sounding abrupt. These phrases follow a turn from start to finish:
- Finding an opening: asking to jump in, building on a point, or apologizing for cutting someone off.
- Holding the floor: asking for a few more seconds to finish a thought.
- Giving the turn back: closing a quick aside and prompting the previous speaker to continue.
Notice how the examples switch between tu with first-name peers and vous with a supervisor, an unfamiliar participant, or the whole room.
Voca-kártyák
1.
Je peux ajouter un mot ?
Can I add something?, May I add a quick word?
Excusez-moi, je peux ajouter un mot avant qu'on passe à la suite ?
Excuse me, can I add something before we move on?
2.
Je peux intervenir un instant ?
Can I jump in for a second?, May I chime in for a moment?
Pardon, Léa, je peux intervenir un instant sur la question du budget ?
Sorry, Léa, can I jump in for a second on the budget question?
In a meeting or class, 'intervenir' simply means to step into the discussion or make a point.
3.
Pardon de vous interrompre.
Sorry to interrupt you.
Pardon de vous interrompre, mais nous avons déjà testé cette solution le mois dernier.
Sorry to interrupt you, but we already tested this solution last month.
4.
Excuse-moi de te couper.
Sorry to cut you off.
Excuse-moi de te couper, Thomas, mais les chiffres ont changé ce matin.
Sorry to cut you off, Thomas, but the numbers changed this morning.
Short for 'couper la parole à quelqu'un' (to cut someone off), the everyday way to talk about interrupting.
5.
Je peux rebondir là-dessus ?
Can I build on that?, Can I piggyback on that?
C'est très vrai, ce que tu dis, Julie ; je peux rebondir là-dessus ?
What you're saying is so true, Julie—can I build on that?
'Rebondir' literally means to bounce, and it is the go-to verb in French classes and meetings for building directly on what someone just said.
6.
J'ouvre juste une petite parenthèse.
Just a quick side note.
J'ouvre juste une petite parenthèse pour préciser que la date reste à confirmer.
Just a quick side note to clarify that the date still needs to be confirmed.
French speakers often picture a quick aside as opening brackets, which you close later with 'je ferme la parenthèse'.
7.
Vas-y, je t'en prie.
Go ahead, please.
Oh pardon, on a parlé en même temps ! Vas-y, je t'en prie.
Oh, sorry, we spoke at the same time! Go ahead, please.
'Je t'en prie' (or 'je vous en prie') is used here to mean please go ahead when yielding the floor.
8.
Allez-y, je vous écoute.
Go ahead, I'm listening.
Vous vouliez réagir à cette proposition, madame Moreau ? Allez-y, je vous écoute.
Did you want to respond to this proposal, Ms. Moreau? Go ahead, I'm listening.
9.
Laisse-moi juste finir mon idée.
Just let me finish my thought.
Attends une seconde, Karim, laisse-moi juste finir mon idée et je t'écoute.
Hold on a second, Karim, just let me finish my thought and then I'll listen to you.
10.
Je vais juste au bout de ma pensée.
Let me just finish my train of thought.
Si vous permettez, je vais juste au bout de ma pensée et je vous réponds tout de suite.
If you don't mind, let me just finish my train of thought and I'll answer you right away.
Works with both 'tu' and 'vous' because it focuses on finishing your own thought rather than giving an order to the other person.
11.
Je termine, et après, c'est à toi.
Let me finish, and then it's your turn.
Je vois que tu veux réagir, Nadia ; je termine, et après, c'est à toi.
I see you want to jump in, Nadia—let me finish, and then it's your turn.
12.
J'en ai pour deux secondes.
This will only take two seconds., I'll just be a second.
Ne vous inquiétez pas, je vais être bref, j'en ai pour deux secondes.
Don't worry, I'll be brief—this will only take two seconds.
'En avoir pour' followed by a duration says how long you will take.
13.
Je ferme la parenthèse.
End of side note., Anyway, back to the main point.
C'était tout pour le point technique ; je ferme la parenthèse, tu peux reprendre.
That was all on the technical point—end of side note, you can pick back up.
14.
C'est tout ce que je voulais dire.
That's all I wanted to say.
Il fallait juste qu'on garde ce risque en tête ; c'est tout ce que je voulais dire.
We just needed to keep that risk in mind—that's all I wanted to say.
15.
Je te rends la parole.
I'll hand it back to you., The floor is yours again.
Merci pour l'explication, Lucas, c'est beaucoup plus clair ; je te rends la parole.
Thanks for the explanation, Lucas, that's much clearer—I'll hand it back to you.
In French, you take ('prendre'), have ('avoir'), give ('donner') and give back ('rendre') 'la parole' (the floor).
16.
Je vous laisse continuer.
I'll let you continue.
Voilà pour mon retour d'expérience, monsieur, je vous laisse continuer.
So that's what I learned from the experience, sir—I'll let you continue.
17.
Pardon, je t'ai coupé.
Sorry, I cut you off.
Pardon, je t'ai coupé dans ton élan, Antoine, continue.
Sorry, I cut you off while you were on a roll, Antoine—keep going.
In writing, add an 'e' ('coupée') when speaking to a woman, though the pronunciation stays the same.
18.
Vous disiez ?
You were saying?, What were you saying?
Excusez-moi pour cette petite interruption, madame, vous disiez ?
Excuse me for that brief interruption, ma'am—you were saying?
The imperfect tense ('disiez', 'disais') politely reconnects with what the person was saying right before the interruption.
19.
Tu en étais où ?
Where were you?
Désolé pour cette digression, Maxime, tu en étais où avant que je t'interrompe ?
Sorry for that digression, Maxime—where were you before I interrupted you?
'En être à' tracks where someone has got to in a speech, a task or a story.
20.
À toi de continuer.
Over to you., It's your turn to continue.
J'ai fini de présenter ma partie du cours, Chloé, à toi de continuer.
I'm done presenting my part of the lesson, Chloé—over to you.