Convenience Store

1. Vous êtes ouverts jusqu'à quelle heure ?

   Until what time are you open?

   Usage

   France has no Japanese-style convenience stores; small supermarkets like Franprix or Carrefour City fill the role, and most shut around 9pm

   Grammar Note

   The interrogative "quel" agrees with its noun, so feminine "heure" takes "quelle". "Ouverts" is plural because "vous" is treated as plural here

2. Il y a un minimum pour payer par carte ?

   Is there a minimum to pay by card?

   Usage

   French independent shops commonly set a card floor such as "carte à partir de 10 €" to dodge fees, often announced on a handwritten note by the till

   Grammar Note

   A colloquial question marked only by rising intonation; formally "Y a-t-il un minimum...?". "Par carte" takes no article

3. La carte, c'est à partir de dix euros

   Card payments start at ten euros

   Usage

   Said by staff. If you fall short, pay cash or add an item. Cash still gets plenty of use in small French shops

   Grammar Note

   Fronting the topic then resuming it with "c'est" is left dislocation, the single most common structure in spoken French and avoided in writing

4. Je peux avoir un sac, s'il vous plaît ?

   Could I have a bag, please?

   Usage

   France banned single-use plastic bags in 2016, so shops only offer paid paper or reusable bags — and never hand one over unasked

   Grammar Note

   "S'il vous plaît" contains the formal "vous" and is the only correct form with shop staff; "s'il te plaît" is for friends

5. Vous voulez un sac ? C'est dix centimes

   Do you want a bag? It's ten cents

   Usage

   Said by staff, with the charge mentioned in the same breath. Answer "Non merci, ça ira" or "Oui, je veux bien"

   Grammar Note

   "Oui, je veux bien" is the set way to say "yes please" and lands softer than a bare "oui"

6. Vous avez une pièce d'identité ?

   Do you have a form of ID?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Alcohol sales in France are 18+, and shops are legally obliged to check anyone who looks young. Travellers show a passport

   Grammar Note

   "Pièce d'identité" covers any ID — passport, licence or national card. "De" elides to "d'" before a vowel

7. Vous vendez de l'alcool jusqu'à quelle heure ?

   Until what time do you sell alcohol?

   Usage

   Parisian by-laws bar off-licence alcohol sales after 10pm in some districts. Late at night your only option is an "épicerie de nuit"

   Grammar Note

   Uncountables take the partitive "du / de la / de l'"; before the vowel in "alcool" it becomes "de l'"

8. Vous vendez des timbres ?

   Do you sell stamps?

   Usage

   In France the "tabac" — marked by a red lozenge sign — doubles as a postal counter, so you can buy stamps there when the post office is shut

   Grammar Note

   Indefinite plurals take "des". For international post, name the destination: "un timbre pour le Japon"

9. Je voudrais un ticket de métro, s'il vous plaît

   I'd like a metro ticket, please

   Usage

   Parisian tabacs sell paper metro tickets and transport-card top-ups — a useful way round the queues at station machines

   Grammar Note

   The conditional "je voudrais" is far politer than "je veux" and is the default shopping form. A book of ten is "un carnet"

10. Vous n'auriez pas de la monnaie ?

    You wouldn't have any small change, would you?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Small shops run short of change, so a €50 note draws this question. If you have none, say "Non, désolé"

    Grammar Note

    Negative plus conditional is the standard indirect request. "Monnaie" means small change, not money in general, which is "argent"

11. Vous avez des sandwichs préparés ?

    Do you have any ready-made sandwiches?

    Usage

    The French supérette staple lunch is a baguette sandwich such as jambon-beurre. Boxed meals and a heating service simply do not exist

    Grammar Note

    A participle used adjectivally agrees with its noun. Both "sandwichs" and "sandwiches" are accepted plurals

12. C'est bon jusqu'à quand ?

    How long is this good for?

    Usage

    France distinguishes "DLC" (a safety deadline) from "DDM" (a quality date). Selling anything past its DLC is illegal

    Grammar Note

    "C'est bon" stretches across "it's tasty", "that's enough" and "it's fine"; here it means "not yet spoiled"

13. Vous voulez le ticket de caisse ?

    Do you want the receipt?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Since 2023 France no longer prints receipts automatically, so you are always asked. Decline with "Non merci"

    Grammar Note

    "Ticket de caisse" is a till receipt, "reçu" a proof of payment and "facture" a formal invoice

14. On ferme dans cinq minutes

    We're closing in five minutes

    Usage

    Said by staff. Small French shops keep to their closing time strictly and start ushering customers out minutes beforehand — go straight to the till

    Grammar Note

    "Dans" means "in / after" for future points, while "en" gives a duration. Colloquial "on" takes third-person singular agreement

15. Vous faites du café à emporter ?

    Do you do takeaway coffee?

    Usage

    Drinking standing at the counter is the French norm, and many shops offer no takeaway cups at all. Petrol-station shops do have machines

    Grammar Note

    "À + infinitive" expresses purpose. The opposite is "sur place" (eat in), as in "à emporter ou sur place ?"

16. Où est l'épicerie de nuit la plus proche ?

    Where is the nearest late-night grocery?

    Usage

    Cities like Paris have late-night groceries known as "épicerie de nuit". Prices run high, but they are the only option after midnight

    Grammar Note

    Superlatives use "le / la / les + plus + adjective"; "épicerie" is feminine, hence "la plus proche"

17. Vous êtes ouverts le dimanche ?

    Are you open on Sundays?

    Usage

    French law tightly restricts Sunday trading and large shops mostly close. Small supérettes typically open only in the morning, leaving the afternoon shopless

    Grammar Note

    A definite article on a weekday makes it habitual ("every Sunday"); bare "dimanche" points to one specific upcoming Sunday

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