French Phrase #10: Attending a Party

In France, parties are held for many occasions such as birthdays, farewell gatherings for colleagues, and other social events. Being able to accept an invitation, confirm your attendance, and add a polite phrase during the event will make communication much smoother.

In this lesson, I will introduce practical French expressions for responding to invitations and greetings during parties.

Dialogue

A

Salut ! Merci pour l’invitation.
(Hi! Thanks for the invitation.)

B

Avec plaisir ! Je suis content que tu sois là.
(My pleasure! I’m glad you’re here.)

A

Tu as organisé tout ça toi-même ?
(Did you prepare all this by yourself?)

B

Oui, j’ai tout préparé hier soir.
(Yes, I prepared everything last night.)

A

C’est super ! Et le gâteau est magnifique.
(That’s great! And the cake looks wonderful.)

B

Merci ! Servez-vous, il y a de tout à manger et à boire.
(Thank you! Please help yourself, there’s plenty to eat and drink.)

Grammar and Expression Points

1. Expressing Gratitude: Merci pour + noun

The expression “Merci pour + noun” is a standard way of expressing gratitude, meaning “thank you for ….” It is used when the object of gratitude is a noun:

When followed by a verb, the structure changes to “Merci de + infinitive” or “Merci d’avoir + past participle.”

This is polite and grammatically correct, and is also suitable for emails and formal conversations.

2. Emotion + Subjunctive: Je suis content que …

In French, when the main clause expresses emotion, the subordinate clause introduced by que must be in the subjunctive mood.

Here, the main clause expresses an emotion (Je suis content), so the verb in the subordinate clause (tu sois là) is in the present subjunctive.

Rule of the Present Subjunctive (for regular verbs):
Stem from the 3rd person plural (ils/elles) of the present indicative + endings (-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent).

3. Casual Compliments: C’est + adjective

The structure “C’est + adjective” is a versatile way to give an impression or evaluation.

Note: super is rather casual. In formal contexts, use formidable (excellent) or magnifique (splendid).

4. Offering Something: Servez-vous.

“Servez-vous.” means “Please help yourself,” and is used to invite others to take food or drinks. It is the imperative form of the verb se servir (to help oneself).

5. The Construction à + infinitive (“for …” / “to …”)

In the phrase “Il y a de tout à manger et à boire” (There is plenty to eat and drink), the structure “à + infinitive” is used to mean “for …” or “to ….”

This construction appears in many useful expressions:

Summary

泉（Izumi）

Author

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