Ordering In-flight Meals on an Airplane｜French Phrases for Making Requests
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Confirming Contract Terms｜French Business Conversation
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In business settings, it is often necessary to review and confirm contract terms with a client.
Being able to smoothly use expressions such as “I would like to review the contract terms” or “Could you explain the payment methods?” helps negotiations and exchanges proceed more efficiently.
In this lesson, I will introduce useful French expressions for confirming contract terms, along with explanations of key grammar points.
Contents
Dialogue
J’aimerais revoir ensemble les conditions du contrat.
（Hello, I would like to review the contract terms together）
Bien sûr. Qu’aimeriez-vous préciser ?
（Of course. Which points would you like to clarify?）
Pourriez-vous m’expliquer les modalités de paiement ?
（Could you explain the payment terms to me?）
Oui, le paiement se fait en trois fois, par virement bancaire.
（Yes, payment is made in three installments by bank transfer.）
D’accord, et la livraison est prévue pour quand ?
（I see. And when is delivery scheduled?）
La livraison est prévue pour la fin du mois.
（Delivery is scheduled for the end of the month.）
Grammar and Expression Points
1. Confirming Contract Terms
The expression “les conditions du contrat” refers to “the terms of the contract.”
- J’aimerais revoir ensemble les conditions du contrat.
（I would like to review the contract terms together.）
Here, revoir means “to see again” or “to review,” which in this context conveys the idea of reconfirming. Adding ensemble (together) softens the tone and emphasizes cooperation rather than confrontation.
2. Asking About Payment Terms
“Les modalités de paiement” means “payment terms.”
- Pourriez-vous m’expliquer les modalités de paiement ?
（Could you explain the payment terms to me?）
The structure “pourriez-vous … ?” uses the conditional tense to make a polite request. Literally, it means “Would you be able to … ?” and is highly appropriate in formal contexts.
Useful payment-related phrases:
- par virement bancaire (by bank transfer)
- en espèces (in cash)
- par carte de crédit (by credit card)
- en trois fois (in three installments)
3. Delivery and Deadlines
In contracts, confirming delivery dates is essential. The word livraison means “delivery.”
- Quand est prévue la livraison ?
（When is the delivery scheduled?） - La livraison est prévue pour la fin du mois.
（Delivery is scheduled for the end of the month.）
The phrase “est prévue” means “is scheduled/expected” and is a passive construction. Note that prévue agrees in gender with livraison (feminine).
4. Essential Verbs in Contract Discussions
Frequently used verbs when confirming contract terms include:
- revoir (to review/check again)
- préciser (to clarify)
- expliquer (to explain)
- confirmer (to confirm)
To avoid misunderstandings, it is good practice to restate agreements by saying:
- Donc, si je comprends bien …
(So, if I understand correctly …)
Finally, ending with “Merci pour votre réponse.” (Thank you for your response.) leaves a professional and polite impression.
Summary
- les conditions du contrat
→ contract terms - les modalités de paiement
→ payment terms; used to ask about payment methods - livraison / prévue
→ vocabulary for delivery and scheduling - pourriez-vous … ?
→ polite conditional request, essential in formal communication - revoir / préciser / expliquer / confirmer
→ key verbs for contract confirmation
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