Travel French: delays, cancellations and complaints

Talking about delays

French says a train « has » a delay: le train a vingt minutes de retard. For a person, use être: je suis en retard. And a cancelled flight a été annulé: the passive, with été + a participle that agrees.

• 🔊Le vol a deux heures de retard.The flight is two hours late.
• 🔊Je suis en retard, désolé !I'm late, sorry!
• 🔊La réunion a été annulée.The meeting was cancelled.

At the station

Station announcements use their own vocabulary. Listen for quai (platform), voie (track), supprimé (cancelled, for trains) and grève (strike). If there's a strike, you'll often hear « trafic perturbé »: disrupted service.

• 🔊Le train pour Bruxelles partira du quai 3.The train to Brussels will leave from platform 3.
• 🔊En raison d'une grève, ce train est supprimé.Due to a strike, this train is cancelled.

Describing what happened

When you report a problem, use the passé composé for what happened and the imparfait for the details. Participles used as adjectives agree with the noun: une valise perdue, des bagages endommagés.

• 🔊Ma valise n'est pas arrivée.My suitcase didn't arrive.
• 🔊Elle était rouge, avec un ruban vert.It was red, with a green ribbon.
• 🔊Mes bagages sont arrivés endommagés.My luggage arrived damaged.

Se faire + infinitive

Se faire + infinitive means getting something done to or for you. Se faire rembourser is to get a refund; se faire voler is to get robbed. In the passé composé it takes être, and fait never agrees: elle s'est fait rembourser.

• 🔊Je voudrais me faire rembourser.I'd like to get a refund.
• 🔊Elle s'est fait rembourser son billet.She got a refund for her ticket.

Complaining the French way

A good complaint has three steps: a polite opening (désolé de vous déranger, mais…), the facts (il y a un problème avec…), then what you want, in the conditionnel (je souhaiterais…, pourriez-vous… ?). Stay calm: ce n'est pas normal is firm enough.

• 🔊Désolée de vous déranger, mais il y a un problème avec ma chambre.Sorry to bother you, but there's a problem with my room.
• 🔊Je souhaiterais parler au responsable.I would like to speak to the manager.

Asking for a solution

End your complaint with a clear request. Je souhaiterais and je voudrais are followed by an infinitive or a noun. Changer de takes no article.

• 🔊Je souhaiterais changer de chambre.I would like to change rooms.
• 🔊Je voudrais un remboursement pour cette nuit.I'd like a refund for this night.

Y: there

Y replaces a place introduced by à, en, dans, chez and so on. Like other pronouns, it goes before the verb, and before avoir or être in the passé composé. English often drops « there », but French can't drop y: say j'y vais, not je vais.

• 🔊Tu vas à l'aéroport ? — Oui, j'y vais.Are you going to the airport? — Yes, I'm going (there).
• 🔊Tu es déjà allé au Bénin ? — Oui, j'y suis allé l'an dernier.Have you been to Benin? — Yes, I went there last year.

En: some, of it, of them

En replaces de + a noun: after a quantity (des, du, de la, un, deux, beaucoup de…), after verbs with de (avoir besoin de, venir de), or « some » on its own. With numbers and quantities, the number stays after the verb.

• 🔊Vous avez des bagages ? — Oui, j'en ai trois.Do you have any luggage? — Yes, I have three (pieces).
• 🔊Du café ? — Non merci, j'en ai déjà bu.Some coffee? — No thanks, I've already had some.
• 🔊Ton passeport ? J'en ai besoin pour l'enregistrement.Your passport? I need it for check-in.

Story: Stuck at Roissy

Daniel is flying from Rio to Montréal for a new job, with a connection at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle (Roissy). His first flight lands late, and the problems pile up. He goes to the airline desk. Listen and answer.