#196 Communicating with Other Departments｜French Business Phrases

When you work within an organization, communicating with other departments is essential. You may need to confirm the progress of documents, share figures, or request data submissions, and these interactions can cover a wide range of situations.

When you handle such communication in French, it is not enough simply to convey information. You should also use polite wording that shows consideration for the other person’s workload and responsibilities.

In this section, I will explain useful French expressions for contacting other departments, together with a sample dialogue and key grammatical points.

Dialogue

A

Bonjour, je vous contacte au sujet du rapport mensuel.
（Hello, I am contacting you regarding the monthly report.）

B

Oui, je vous écoute.
（Yes, how can I help you?）

A

Je voulais vérifier si vous aviez déjà finalisé les chiffres du service marketing.
（I wanted to check whether you had already finalized the figures for the marketing department.）

B

Nous sommes en train de faire les dernières vérifications.
（We are currently conducting the final checks.）

A

Je vois. Pensez-vous pouvoir me les envoyer d’ici cet après-midi ?
（I see. Do you think you could send them to me by this afternoon?）

B

Oui, cela devrait être possible. 
（Yes, that should be possible.）

A

Merci beaucoup pour votre collaboration.
（Thank you very much for your cooperation.）

1. Stating the Purpose of Your Contact

In internal communication, I recommend that you begin by clearly stating your purpose.

In this expression, “vous” functions as a direct object pronoun meaning “you.” It indicates the person or department you are contacting.

Here, the noun phrase is replaced by “vous.”

The phrase “au sujet de + noun” means “about” or “regarding.” The form “au” is a contraction of “à + le,” and similar contractions occur with other prepositions and articles.

2. Checking Status or Progress Politely

In business communication, you often need to check the other party’s progress.

The structure “Je voulais + infinitive” uses the imperfect tense of “vouloir.”

Here, the imperfect does not primarily indicate past time. Instead, it creates psychological distance, making the request sound softer and more polite. As a result, it avoids giving the impression of making a direct demand.

The clause introduced by “si” forms an indirect question meaning “whether.” In this usage, “si” does not mean “if” in a conditional sense but introduces a question embedded within the sentence.

Using an indirect question structure helps your request sound more polite than a direct question.

Because the main clause uses the imperfect (je voulais), the subordinate clause often uses the pluperfect (aviez finalisé) to indicate that the completion would have occurred before the time of inquiry.

3. Making Requests with a Deadline

In business settings, you may need to request documents while specifying a deadline.

The expression “Pensez-vous pouvoir… ?” is a polite way to ask whether something is possible, while respecting the other person’s situation.

In this sentence, “me” is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me.” “les” is a direct object pronoun referring to plural items such as documents, figures, or data.

When both indirect and direct object pronouns appear together, the order is: “Indirect object + direct object + verb”

The phrase “d’ici cet après-midi” indicates a deadline meaning “from now until this afternoon.”

Summary