En situation de communication orale, un même message peut avoir des fonctions très différentes : demander poliment un service, inviter, donner ou demander une opinion, conseiller, suggérer ou instruire. Pour bien comprendre (« listening comprehension ») un dialogue anglais, il faut savoir reconnaître la fonction du message avant même de traduire les mots.
Would you mind if I...? (+ past simple) — Could you possibly...? — Would it be possible to...? — Do you think you could...? — I was wondering if you could...
Ce sont des requêtes indirectes, plus polies que « Can you... ? », utilisées entre personnes qui ne se connaissent pas bien ou pour demander une faveur importante.
A: Excuse me, would you mind if I opened the window? It's quite hot in here.
B: Not at all, go ahead.
A: Could you possibly lend me your notes from yesterday's class?
B: Sure, no problem. I'll bring them tomorrow.
Would you like to...? — How about + V-ing... ? — What about + V-ing... ? — Why not join us...? — Do you fancy + V-ing...?
A: Would you like to come to my sister's wedding party on Saturday?
B: I'd love to! What time does it start?
A: How about meeting at 5 p.m. in front of the church?
B: Sounds great, see you then.
Demander : What do you think about...? — What's your opinion on...? — How do you feel about...?
Donner : In my opinion, ... — As far as I'm concerned, ... — I feel that... — Personally, I believe...
A: What's your opinion on unemployment among young graduates?
B: In my opinion, the government should create more job opportunities in rural areas.
If I were you, I'd... — You'd better + base verb — You should / shouldn't... — I advise you to... — My advice would be to...
A: I've been feeling very tired lately and I don't eat properly.
B: If I were you, I'd see a doctor and start eating a balanced diet.
A: You're right, I'd better make an appointment this week.
Why don't we...? — Let's + base verb — Shall we...? — What if we...? — I suggest + V-ing
A: Why don't we organize a campaign against deforestation in our neighbourhood?
B: That's a great idea! Let's talk to the local council about it.
L'instruction directe est un ordre donné tel quel, souvent à l'impératif : "Open your books, please." L'instruction rapportée (indirecte) transforme cet ordre en discours indirect, avec la structure : subject + ask/tell + object + (not) + to + base verb.
Direct : "Open your books." → Reported : The teacher asked me to open my book.
Direct : "Don't talk during the exam." → Reported : The invigilator told the students not to talk during the exam.
Direct : "Please sit down." → Reported : She asked us to sit down.
| Fonction | Expressions clés | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| Socializing request | Would you mind if...? / Could you possibly...? | Would you mind if I used your pen? |
| Invitation | Would you like to...? / How about...? | Would you like to join us for dinner? |
| Opinion | In my opinion... / What do you think? | In my opinion, women deserve equal pay. |
| Advice | If I were you, I'd... / You'd better... | You'd better see a doctor. |
| Suggestion | Why don't we...? / Let's... | Let's plant trees this weekend. |
| Instruction (direct) | Imperative form | Close the door! |
| Instruction (reported) | ask/tell + obj + to + V | He told me to close the door. |
Le programme INRAP de Première invite à mobiliser ces fonctions langagières autour de quatre grands thèmes de société. Voici le vocabulaire indispensable pour chacun.
a job (un emploi), an employer (un employeur), an employee (un employé), to apply for a job (postuler), a job interview (un entretien d'embauche), a salary / wages (un salaire), unemployment (le chômage), to be made redundant (être licencié), a curriculum vitae (CV), to hire / to recruit (embaucher).
A: I'm going to apply for a job as an accountant next week.
B: Good luck! Could you possibly ask your employer about the salary before the interview?
the government (le gouvernement), an election (une élection), a citizen (un citoyen), human rights (les droits de l'homme), duties (les devoirs), to vote (voter), a candidate (un candidat), corruption, poverty (la pauvreté), social justice (la justice sociale).
gender equality (l'égalité des genres), women's rights (les droits de la femme), to empower (donner du pouvoir/autonomiser), discrimination, equal pay (salaire égal), domestic chores (tâches ménagères), decision-making (prise de décision).
leisure activities (loisirs), a balanced meal / diet (un repas / régime équilibré), an illness / a disease (une maladie), treatment (un traitement), to recover (guérir), malnutrition, junk food (nourriture industrielle peu saine), to stay fit (rester en forme).
A: What do you think about eating a balanced diet?
B: I think it's essential. If I were you, I'd stop eating so much junk food.
Comprendre un message oral, c'est aussi savoir y réagir de façon appropriée : marquer son accord, exprimer son désaccord, ou réagir face à des faits présentés (par exemple des statistiques sur la population ou l'environnement).
overpopulation (surpopulation), pollution, deforestation (déforestation), global warming (réchauffement climatique), natural resources (ressources naturelles), to protect the environment (protéger l'environnement), birth rate (taux de natalité).
Yes / Yeah / Okay / All right / Now (marque l'attention/l'accord dans une réponse) / Fine — utilisés pour confirmer qu'on partage une opinion ou qu'on accepte une proposition.
I don't think so / I disagree / Not really / I'm afraid I can't agree with that — utilisés pour nuancer ou contredire poliment une opinion.
A: Deforestation is one of the main causes of climate change in our region, don't you think?
B: Yeah, I totally agree. We really need to plant more trees.
A: Some people say overpopulation isn't a real problem in Congo.
B: I don't think so. It puts a lot of pressure on jobs and natural resources.
À l'oral, les anglophones ne prononcent pas les mots isolément : ils les enchaînent (liaison) et simplifient certains sons (assimilation). Cela peut rendre la compréhension orale difficile si on ne s'y est pas entraîné.
À l'oral informel, going to se prononce souvent "gonna" et want to devient "wanna". De même, got to devient "gotta". Ces formes ne s'écrivent jamais ainsi dans un contexte formel ou académique, mais il faut les reconnaître à l'oral.
Écrit formel : "I am going to apply for a job tomorrow."
Oral informel : "I'm gonna apply for a job tomorrow."
Écrit formel : "Do you want to come with us?"
Oral informel : "D'you wanna come with us?"
Associez chaque expression anglaise (1-6) à la fonction langagière qui lui correspond (A-D) : A. Requête polie — B. Invitation — C. Conseil — D. Suggestion.
Complétez le dialogue avec l'expression appropriée parmi : What do you think about, Would you like to, You'd better, In my opinion.
A: ___(1)___ our new headmaster?
B: ___(2)___, he's very strict but fair.
A: ___(3)___ meet him after class to discuss the timetable?
B: Good idea, but ___(4)___ prepare your questions first.
Transformez les instructions directes suivantes en instructions rapportées (reported instructions), en utilisant ask ou tell selon le contexte.
Rédigez un court dialogue (6 à 8 répliques) entre deux amis sur le thème de l'emploi (Employment), en utilisant au moins trois fonctions différentes parmi : requête, opinion, conseil, suggestion. Utilisez le vocabulaire du thème (job, employer, apply, interview, salary, unemployment...).
A: What do you think about the unemployment rate among young people here? (opinion — question)
B: In my opinion, it's very worrying. Many graduates can't find a job even with a good CV. (opinion)
A: I'm going to apply for a job as a sales assistant next month. Could you possibly help me prepare for the interview? (requête polie)
B: Of course! If I were you, I'd also ask about the salary and working hours before accepting any offer. (conseil)
A: That's good advice. Why don't we practise some interview questions together this weekend? (suggestion)
B: Sure, let's meet on Saturday afternoon.
Cette proposition mobilise l'opinion, la requête polie, le conseil et la suggestion, ainsi que le vocabulaire attendu (unemployment, apply for a job, interview, salary).
Complétez ce dialogue plus long entre un journaliste et un citoyen à l'aide de la banque d'expressions suivante : What's your opinion on, I don't think so, Would you mind if, In my opinion, You should, Why don't we, I disagree, All right. Chaque expression n'est utilisée qu'une seule fois.
Journalist: Good morning. ___(1)___ I asked you a few questions about the coming election?
Citizen: ___(2)___, go ahead.
Journalist: ___(3)___ the government's fight against corruption?
Citizen: ___(4)___, they haven't done enough. Too many citizens still don't trust their leaders.
Journalist: Some people say corruption has actually decreased this year.
Citizen: ___(5)___. Statistics from independent observers say the opposite.
Journalist: What would you suggest to improve things?
Citizen: ___(6)___ organize more transparent elections and give more rights to citizens' associations.
Journalist: And what about young voters?
Citizen: ___(7)___ inform them better about their duties as citizens, starting at school.
Journalist: Thank you very much for your time.
Citizen: You're welcome.
Notez que (5) accepte les deux formes de désaccord proposées dans la banque ("I disagree" ou "I don't think so"), l'une des deux restant alors disponible pour un autre usage à l'oral. L'essentiel est de bien distinguer requête polie (1), accord (2), demande d'opinion (3), opinion donnée (4), désaccord (5), suggestion (6) et conseil (7).
Which sentence expresses a polite socializing request?
Choose the correct invitation.
"In my opinion, the government should act faster." This sentence is used to...
Which structure is typically used to give advice?
Choose the correct reported instruction for: The teacher said, "Close your books."
Which word means "a person who works for a company" (l'employé)?
Which expression shows disagreement?
Which word refers to the destruction of forests?
In informal spoken English, "I'm gonna call you" is the connected-speech form of...
Which sentence is a suggestion?
