Si tu étais coincée sur une île déserte.. 🏝️
If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have only 1 item, what would it be?
Coucou ☕️🇫🇷🥐 I'm Amélie Laurent and this is my French newsletter. I supercharge your progress from A2 to B2 through colloquial dialogues.
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Dialogue Audio 🎧
Dialogue du Jour
Malo : Célia, si tu étais coincée ✪ sur une île déserte et que tu ne pouvais avoir qu'un seul objet, ce serait quoi ?
Célia : C'est une question difficile, Malo. Je pense que j'aimerais avoir un couteau. Utile pour plein de choses, comme couper du bois pour faire un feu ou chasser ✪. Et toi ?
Malo : Ah, bon choix. Mais je choisirais plutôt une tente. Pour me protéger du soleil et de la pluie.
Célia : Ah oui, c'est pas mal ✪ aussi. Mais sans feu, tu auras froid la nuit, non ?
Malo : C'est vrai, mais je pense qu'avec du temps, je pourrais apprendre à faire un feu avec des bâtons ✪. Et au moins, j'aurais un abri ✪.
Célia : C'est une bonne idée. Je n'avais pas pensé à ça. Mais bon, on espère quand même ne jamais se retrouver dans cette situation, hein ?
Malo : Exactement. Mais c'est toujours intéressant de penser à ce genre de choses. Cela montre à quel point on est dépendant de la technologie dans notre vie quotidienne ✪.
Célia : Ça donne vraiment à réfléchir ça.
Malo : En tout cas, j'espère que si ça nous arrive, on sera ensemble. On aura ainsi une tente et un couteau !
Célia : Ah oui, ça serait l'idéal ! On fait une bonne équipe, non ?
♡ 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 👇
✪ Notes
coincé ✨= immobilisé = stuck / jammed. Can also be used colloquially of people in life Ex. “Je suis un peu coincé en ce moment” (I’m a little stuck at the moment ie. "I’ve moved back in with my parents and am struggling to find a job’ stuck).
Also mentally = ‘hung-up’, ‘uptight’ Ex. “Ce garçon est trop coincé pour oser draguer les filles.” (This boy is too hung-up to dare to chat girls up.)
chasser = to hunt. I’m not sure how far Malo is going to get trying to *cut wood* with a knife though. He’d need une hache (an axe) for that!
pas mal ✨= I believe a key phrase to know in current French! Here it means ‘not too bad’, but it can be used anywhere and everywhere in conversation - a very helpful tool. See my larger note here🗼
un bâton = bout de bois = a stick. Also cane/staff/crook, which should be easy enough to remember for English speakers with the ‘baton’ connection.
un abri = lieu protecteur = shelter / safe haven. les sans-abri = the homeless
la vie quotidienne = la vie de tous les jours = everyday life / day-to-day life
*✨ = especially ‘Frenchie’ words/phrases you should try and use more
Writing Prompt ✍️
Did neither of them think to bring a satellite telephone?! Ok, maybe that’s trying to be too smart for my own good or something, but a piece of modern technology to help immediately get me *off* the island would be high on my list! If not that then maybe a lighter? I’m no good at starting fires with food and all that jazz.
Alors, si tu étais coincée sur une île déserte et que tu ne pouvais avoir qu'un seul objet, ce serait quoi ?
All answers are welcome. One word.. or one sentence.
Write me your answer in the comments. I can’t wait to read them! 👇🏼
Translation
M: Celia, if you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one object, what would it be?
C: That's a tough question, M. I think I'd like to have a knife. Useful for lots of things, like chopping wood to make a fire or hunting. What about you?
M: Ah, good choice. But I'd rather have a tent. To protect me from the sun and rain.
C: Ah yes, that's not bad either. But without a fire, you'll be cold at night, won't you?
M: That's true, but I think with time I could learn to make a fire with sticks. And at least I'd have some shelter.
C: That's a good idea. I hadn't thought of that. But we hope we'll never find ourselves in that situation, right?
M: Exactly. But it's always interesting to think about things like that. It shows how dependent we are on technology in our daily lives.
C: It really makes you think.
M: In any case, I hope that if it happens to us, we'll be together. Then we'll have a tent and a knife!
C: Oh yes, that would be ideal! We make a good team, don't we?
Exercise - Fill in the blank 💪
Quickly test your comprehension, accelerate your learning. 🚀
Si je devais __ un repas, je choisirais du poisson.
If I had to hunt a meal, I would choose fish.La technologie simplifie grandement ___.
Technology greatly simplifies everyday life.C'est ___ comme idée pour notre projet de classe.
It's a pretty good idea for our class project.Je me suis ___ dans le labyrinthe du parc.
I got stuck in the park's maze.Elle a ramassé ___ pour jouer avec son chien.
She picked up a stick to play with her dog.
If you’re struggling the ✪ Notes section is always a good place to look. 😉 The answers are all in the dialogue or notes section.
[NO PEAKING] Answer Key: 1. chasser 2. la vie quotidienne 3. pas mal 4. coincé 5. un bâton
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Une Façon d'utiliser ce Dialogue
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✏️ Print out the dialogue, and highlight or underline the most difficult parts.
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Check out my quick guide🔗 for different ways you can learn with these dialogues. Perfect if you’re finding them too easy or too hard. 🙌🏻
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Amélie x
Une amie
Un bon livre!