If you’re not sure what conditionals are and how to use them, you should definitely watch Lauren’s videos on the zero and first Conditionals as well as on the second and third Conditionals .

A quick recap of the rules:

The Zero Conditional: if + present simple, … present simple => (real/likely)

The First Conditional: if + present simple, … will + infinitive => (real/ likely)  

The Second Conditional: if + past simple*, … would + infinitive => (imaginary/ unlikely)

The Third Conditional: if + past perfect, … would + have + past participle => (impossible/ past)

* Don’t forget that the verb to be always conjugates to “were” (and not “was”) in the second conditional (“If I were you”, and not, “If I was you”). However, keep in mind that some English speakers break this rule and you may hear both versions in conversation. 

1.       Listen for conditionals in movies, TV shows or in songs! Let’s give it a try: which type of conditional sentences are used in the following 3 songs? (Find the answers at the end of the article.)

·         Nickelback – If today was your last day.

·         Simply Red – If you don’t know me by now.

·         Adele – If it hadn’t been for love.

2.       Or how about practising conditionals as a party game at your next 5 à 7? You could play around of “What If – questions” like:

·         What if computers took over the world?

·         What if you could live your life without ever needing to sleep? What would you do with the extra hours in each day?

·         If you were invited to high tea with the Queen of England, what would you say to her? 

3.       Another great party game is “chain story”. All you need is paper and a pen. Then you need to decide which conditional you want to practise. The first person starts by writing a full conditional sentence. The next person uses the second clause of the first person’s sentence as their first clause and so on. For example:

·         If I won the lottery, I would go on a five star cruise.

·         If I went on a five star cruise, I would swim in the pool every day.

·         If I swam in the pool every day, I would become really fit.

·         If I were really fit, I wouldn’t get out of breath after climbing three stairs anymore. 

4.       Or maybe you’re on your own and feeling dreamy? How about browsing job listings or looking at pictures of faraway locations. You could imagine what it would be like if you got the job as head of sales at Simon’s. Or what the water would feel like if you snorkelled in the Indian Ocean.

5.       Last but not least: Why don’t you have a conversation with a colleague in English and talk about difficult situations at work. Ask for advice, or give advice!

·         If I were you, I would talk to our boss and explain the situation.

          What would you do if you were me? 

·         I would have worked overtime if I had known about the deadline.

And if you need a cheat sheet for the rules, just download it as a PDF! You can easily print it and use it for your conditionals practice. Do you have any other ideas on how to practise conditionals in a fun way? We love to hear from you on social media, or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca!

Answers for idea 1: Nickelback – Second Conditional, Simply Red – First Conditional , Adele – Third Conditional 

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

It’s the end of the year and for many companies that means performance reviews (also known as performance appraisals or performance evaluations) are around the corner. You might be nervous because it’s your first time receiving a performance review in English, but don’t worry. Performance reviews are not as scary as they sound. They’re meant to help you and your management figure out what went well, what can be improved on and how to do so in the future. Having important meetings in your second language is not always a disadvantage, as Pierre-William Plante explains in the ACA podcast Les Bons Mots S3 E3: The Icing on the Cake. He says that people might let their guard down more easily in conversations with you, and you will most likely be better prepared than you would have been in your native language. To help you prepare, we’re going to discuss action words and adjectives in the context of performance evaluations today.

Action words are verbs that you use to describe actions. If you use action words in your performance review, it makes it easier for you to describe your tasks and objectives. The information about what exactly you have been doing in the last year will be clearer and more concise. Here are five examples of what the use of action words could look like in your performance appraisal.

• to assist = to help or support

e.g. I’ve been assisting my supervisor with the organisation of team meetings.

• to coordinate = to organize things/people for a common goal

e.g. I’ve been coordinating the latest marketing project since March.

• to exceed = to surpass

e.g. I have exceeded my targets consistently throughout the year.

• to propose = to suggest

e.g.I’m proposing the implementation of a recycling program as a future goal for our department.

• to supervise = to oversee

e.g I’ve been supervising the interns.

Participial adjectives and compound adjectives especially are often used in performance reviews. Participial adjectives are participles that are used as adjectives, e.g. amazed (past participle) vs. amazing (present participle). Compound adjectives are adjectives that consist of two hyphenated words, e.g. part-time. If you want to have a closer look at these adjectives and what else we need to pay attention to when using adjectives, you can watch Lauren’s videos on Adjectives in English – Part I and Part II. Let’s have a look at examples for participial and compound adjectives (+ a noun) that might be handy for your performance evaluation.

Participial Adjectives

• concerned vs. concerning

e.g. We are concerned about your behaviour.

e.g. The drop in sales is concerning.

• encouraged vs. encouraging

e.g. I have encouraged my team to develop their skills.

e.g. He is off to an encouraging start.

•  excited vs. exciting

e.g. We are excited to have you on board this year.

e.g. We have exciting news for you.

• fulfilled vs. fulfilling

e.g. Did you feel fulfilled with the new position?

e.g. The tasks were more than fulfilling.

• pleased vs. pleasing

e.g. We are very pleased with your progress.

e.g. Those results are pleasing.

Compound Adjectives

• client-confidentiality rules = rules about the confidentiality between a client and a business
• skill-building session = a session were you learn new skills
• first-quarter results = the results of the first 3 months of the year
• quality-enhancing advantages = advantages that improve quality
• weaker-than-usual results = results that are not as good as usual

Jenni and Britta also discuss action verbs and adjectives in Les Bons Mots S3 E2 Work It! Job Interviews in English if you would like to learn more vocabulary for describing your abilities at work. 

We hope this helps you with your preparation for your next performance review. Good luck! And as always, please let us know on social media or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca, if you have any questions, suggestions or comments.

A lot of expressions that we use in and around the office are related to sports. It might seem a bit weird at first, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Both business and sports are competitive, use strategies and take planning. We almost always work in teams, and we need to focus and listen to our manager’s (or coach’s) advice. Today, we want to introduce you to 15 sports expressions that are commonly used in business. And because it helps to put things into certain categories when we’re learning a language, we have organized the expressions according to the sport they originate from. 

What are your favourite expressions around the workplace? Do you think sports-related expressions are easy to remember? Why is that? Share your thoughts with us on social media or write to us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.

True friends or cognates sound and look similar in two different languages and have the same meaning, while false friends or false cognates are words that often sound and look alike but have different meanings. To make things a little bit easier for you, we thought it would be helpful to compile a list of the most common false friends in a business context between the English and the French language. *Please note – some of the words on this list have one definition which is a true friend and a definition which is a false friend. In these cases we are only focusing on the translation for the false friend.

If you would like to dig a little bit deeperto dig deeper: to look more closely at a topic into this topic, why don’t you listen to the Les Bons Mots podcast, season 2, episode 2: True Friends, False Friends? Britta and Kimberly explain why there are so many true and false friends between French and English. They look at how not only vocabulary but also prepositions and tenses can be false friends. You can find the episode on YouTube or on your podcatcher of choice. 

The list

To minimize confusion, the English words are written in bold, while the French words are italicized.

• actually (adverb) is translated as en fait while actuellement is translated as currently.

e.g. This is actually the same printer I have at home.

e.g. I’m currently working on the website project.

• to assist (verb) is translated as aider while assister is translated as to attend.

e.g. Let me assist you with the surgery.

e.g. Has he attended any  meetings?

• to attend (verb) is translated as assister while attendre is translated as to wait.

e.g. I’m attending the conference.

e.g. I’m waiting for my client.

• advertisement (noun) is translated as publicité while avertissement is translated as warning.

e.g. Did you see the advertisement for the new BMW on TV yesterday?

e.g. There’s a warning sign on that door. We shouldn’t open it.

• to command (verb) is translated as ordonner/exiger while commander is translated as to order.

e.g. Military leaders commanded the soldiers to leave Afghanistan.

e.g. I’d like to order a chicken burger, please.

• delay (noun) is translated as retard while délai is translated as turnaround time (or processing time).

e.g. There’s a delay on our flight.

e.g. The turnaround time is longer than usual because the supplies are 

backordered.

•  envy (noun) is translated as jalousie while envie is translated as desire or wish.

e.g. I watched him with envy as he gave his presentation so effortlessly.

e.g. I have a desire to travel the world.

•  eventually (adverb) is translated as finalement while éventuellement is translated as possibly.

e.g. He will eventually leave the office and go home.

e.g. He will possibly stay for another two hours.

•  finally (adverb) is translated as enfin while finalement is translated as eventually.

e.g. After a long drive, they finally arrived at the conference.

e.g. After a long discussion, he eventually agreed to the new conditions.

• formation (noun) is translated as création while formation is translated as training.

e.g. The formation of the new government took weeks.

e.g. The training for the new program went really well.

•  gratuity (noun) is translated as pourboire while gratuité is translated as being free of charge.

e.g. Is gratuity included or do we have to leave a tip?

e.g. The rollercoaster is free of charge.

•  library (noun) is translated as bibliothèque while librairie is translated as bookstore.

e.g. They are studying in the library.

e.g. I have to order new dictionaries from the bookstore.

•  money (noun) is translated as argent while monnaie is translated as currency or change.

e.g. That computer costs a lot of money.

e.g. Our currency is Canadian Dollars.

e.g. Do you have change for the parking meter?

•  to realise (verb) is translated as comprendre while realiser is translated as to achieve.

e.g. I realised that I made a mistake.

e.g. He achieved his sales objective.

•  rent(-ability) (noun) is translated as loyer while rentabilité is translated as profitability.

e.g. The rent for our commercial properties went up.

e.g. The profitability of this endeavour is doubtful.

•  to report (verb) is translated as faire un rapport while rapporter is translated as to postpone.

e.g. We have to report back to our supervisor.

e.g. The meeting has to be postponed until next week.

•  to rest (verb) is translated as se reposer while rester is translated as to stay.

e.g. I need to rest after a long day in the office.

e.g. Feel free to stay in my office while I get us a coffee.

Do you know any other false friends? Or do you have a funny story about a mix up because of a false friend? Please let us know on social media or write to us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca .

In this post we are adding 15 more phrasal verbs that you can use for work. We have grouped them together according to the situation they will most likely be used in, e.g. in the office in general, in a team meeting or when you’re solving a problem with a client. Of course they can be used in other contexts as well.

In the Office

In a team meeting

Solving a problem

What are your favourite phrasal verbs to use at work? Is there a phrasal verb you would like to use more often but you keep forgetting? Let us know on social media, or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.

Margaret Atwood is one of the most famous, if not THE most famous, Canadian writer. She has written more than 50 books, her work has been published in more than forty-five countries and she has won innumerableinnumerable: too many to be counted literature awards. The genre she is mostly known for is dystopiandystopian: a fictive state or society where there is great suffering or injustice fiction, like The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Oryx and Crake (2003) and her most recent work The Testaments (2019).

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel about a woman called Offred who lives in fictional Gilead, a state that is highly religious, patriarchal and totalitarian. She is part of the suppressed social class of the “handmaids” who are forced to produce children for the ruling class of men. Atwood says that while the novel is a work of fiction, none of the events described in the book are fictive. She explains further that “it’s a response to ‘it can’t happen here.’ 

The Handmaid’s Tale was turned into a TV series produced by Bruce Miller for the American streaming service Hulu in 2016. While the first season is directly based on the book, the subsequentsubsequent: following seasons imagine what would have happened after the book, and they take a closer look at what could have led to such a totalitarian state in the first place.

In 2019 Margaret Atwood wrote a sequelsequel: a continuation of a formerly published book/film etc. called The Testaments which is set 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale. She coordinated what happened in The Testaments with the events in the TV series. Now, it looks like Hulu is working on a spinoffspinoff: a product marketed by its association with a popular tv program/movie etc. series based on this new book.

Canadian viewers can currently watch The Handmaid’s Tale on Crave. When you watch the series, pay attention to the expressions. Both the book and the series use religious-sounding greeting formulas and other expressions that are not actually common in the English language. For example, instead of “Hello, how are you? – I’m well, thanks,” residents of Gilead say: “Blessed Be the Fruit. – May the Lord open.” Can you find more?

If you can’t decide whether to read the book or watch the series first, we would suggest reading the book first. And if you’re not sure if you’re comfortable reading a whole novel in English, you could try to find a sample chapter online to try. 

Another fun activity would be to check if the conversations in the first season match the ones in the book exactly. A little hint: Listen for expressions like “old what’s-his-face”, “tough luck” and “they smoked them out” in the first episode. Which did you prefer: the book or the TV series? Let us know on social media or write to us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.

Unless you’re an experienced salesperson, making cold calls can be one of the most nerve-wrackingnerve-racking: something that feels very scary tasks on your to-do-list, especially if you have to use your second language. Cold emails, on the other hand, feel a lot easier because you can take your time to decide on how to phrase something, proofread (or even have someone else proofread for you) and add visual content to get your point across. Click here to find out more about how to write a professional email in English. Unfortunately, cold emails have a considerably lower conversion rateconversion rate: number of sales in relation to number of people approached than cold calls. So what can you do? In this article we suggest 5 steps on how to make cold calling in your second language feel less intimidating.

1.      Make sure your English is sufficient. You don’t have to be completely fluent, but you want to make sure that you can schedule appointments and understand most of what your prospect says.

2.      Research, research, research. Who is the person you’re trying to reach? What’s their name and position? What exactly does the company do? In most cases, you can find the right information on the company’s website.

3.    Write a script! Even if a script won’t help you with exactly what the other person is going to say, you will have a general idea of possible answers. More importantly, you will have your sales pitchsales pitch: a short speech about the product someone sells fine-tuned so you sound like the expert that you are.

4.    Rehearse that script. Ask a coworker, a friend or even your teenager to do a mock call with you. Once you say the words out loud, you’ll notice where you struggle and you’ll be able to work out the kinks(to) work out the kinks: (to) fix any flaws or mistakes.

5.    Speak slowly and listen. If you speak slowly and clearly, your conversation partner will most likely speak the same way which will help you understand them better. Listening is sales 101. You want to be able to identify your prospects’ needs and problems so you can offer solutions. Also – the more they speak, the less you will have to!

To make things really easy for you, we attached a script template further below. Feel free to download it and adapt it to suit your needs.

To get more inspiration, hop on over to our podcast episode “The Icing on the Cake: The Unexpected Advantages of Being a Language Learner” where Pierre-William Plante talks about his experience as a Solutions Specialist at Coveo. Still not sure if you can do it? Why don’t you sign up for one of ACA’s language courses? Our teachers are happy to customize the class to your needs and practise cold calls with you!

Cold Call Script Template

A marble wholesaler calls a stone retailer to see if he is interested in buying marble from him to make countertops.

Objective:                   Establish rapport and convince the prospect to agree to a meet-up

Mr. Grey,

the Prospect:              Hello?

Guy Tremblay:           Good afternoon Mr. Grey, my name is Guy Tremblay from Marbre-Quebec.

*Pause*

                                 How are you doing today? 

Prospect:                   I’m well, thanks. How can I help you?

Guy:                          I’m calling to talk to you about Italian marble. I can see from your website that you carry different kinds of marble, is that right?

Prospect:                   Yes, we do.

Guy:                          Great! So, I usually work with retailers that specialize in marble countertops. My customers are looking to get high quality Carrera marble from a reliable source, especially considering the current supply shortages. Does that sound like something that would interest your company?

Prospect:                   Oh yes, we’re constantly looking for reliable suppliers.

Guy:                          Would you mind elaborating on that?

Prospect:                   Because of the pandemic, the supply chains are disrupted everywhere. Especially those shipping from overseas. It can be a bit frustrating when certain marble colours are back-ordered.

Guy:                          Oh yes, I hear you – and I’m certain we have the right solution for you. I’ll be in your area next week Wednesday and Thursday. Would you be available one of those days to discuss our product in more detail?

Prospect:                   That sounds great. How about Thursday at 3pm in our showroom?

Guy:                          Wonderful, I’ll be there. Thank you and have a nice day.

Prospect:                   You too.

1.       Just following up…/Just checking in…/Not sure if you received my last email…

The writer has been waiting for your reply for a long time and is getting impatient, so they are sending you a reminder.

2.       This is just a friendly reminder…

The reminder is not as friendly as it sounds. You were supposed to do something in a given time frame and it still hasn’t been done.

3.       Thanks in advance!

You haven’t agreed to anything yet but your conversation partner is already thanking you, thus implying you don’t have a choice in the matter. It can also be used if you want to thank someone because what you’re asking is a lot of effort, even if it’s their job to do what you’re asking for.

4.       Could you do me a quick favour(to) someone a favour: (to) do something for somebody else that you don’t have to do?

Again, you don’t really have a choice and the favour might not be as quick as the writer makes it sound.

5.       As per our earlier conversation…/As per my last email…/As stated below…

This is something often written after a verbal conversation with someone and we want to put it in writing or add information to the conversation. It can also be said if the sender has to repeat themselves, which they consider a waste of their time as the information was in their previous message. 

6.       Let me clarify. / Sorry for being unclear.

You must have misunderstood or misinterpreted (maybe on purpose?) the original message and the sender either genuinely wants to clear up the misunderstanding or is not impressed.

7.       Hope this helps! / Let me know if there is anything I can do. / If you have any questions and concerns, please let me know.

The correspondent thinks they explained everything in detail and is bringing the conversation to a close.

8.       As per our policy…

If a company policy is mentioned, the person you’re talking to can’t do anything to help you out. Their hands are tiedMy hands are tied: I can’t do anything about the situation..

9.       Let’s circle back on this.

You must have mentioned this topic a couple of times, your conversation partner doesn’t know the answer or doesn’t want to discuss this any further right now (or ever).

10.   According to my records…

Maybe you didn’t double-check your facts? The sender of this email may think that you’re off base(to) be off base: (to) be wrong and wants you to know that they know what they’re talking about.

Have you ever received a professional email that seemed nice but wasn’t? Let us know on social media, or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.

In this article, I would like to show you a few examples of what you can ask in certain situations while travelling and what kind of answers you might get.

Asking for directions

• A: Could you tell me how to get to this address?
• B: Sure! Just go straight ahead and then turn left at the lights.

• A: Am I in the right place? I’m looking for the swimwear store?
• B: Oh, no. We only sell snorkeling(to) snorkel: a tube to breathe underwater equipment. You have to go across the street and take the first right. It’ll be right on the corner.

• A: Excuse me, could you point me toward the CN tower?
• B: Yes, of course. Just turn around and look up.

At the Airport

• A: Is this the right gate? 
• B: No, you’ll have to keep on walking until you see a sign for A42.

• A: How long will it take to get to my connecting flight?
• B: It’ll probably take about 30 minutes. You’ll have to take the bus to the other terminal, and then it’s a 10-minute walk to your gate.

• A: Do I have to pay extra for a second piece of checked baggage?
• B: That depends on the type of flight you booked.

• A: I forgot to book the gluten-free option for my meal on the flight. Would it still be possible to do that now?
• B: Unfortunately not. I recommend buying yourself a snack at the convenience store in Terminal 1.

At the train/bus station

• A: When does the train to Mississauga leave?
• B: Every hour, on the hour. (That means the train leaves at 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, etc. sharp.)

• A: Where can I buy my ticket? Can I buy it on the bus/train?
• B: No, you’ll have to get it from the ticket vending machine, unless it’s once again out of order.

At the gas station (North American English) / petrol station (British English)

• A: How does this pump work? 
• B: You’ll have to insert your credit card and follow the instructions.

• A: Can I buy alcohol at the gas station?
• B: That depends on where you are in Canada.

• A: Excuse me, could you help me choose the right oil for this rental car?
• B: Yes, of course. The 10W-30 will work. 

In the hotel

• A: Is breakfast included with our room? 
• B: No, unfortunately, you’ll have to pay extra.

• A: Where do I find the keys for the main door of the Airbnb?
• B: They’re in the lock boxlock box (n.): a container that can be locked for storing valuables . I emailed you the code yesterday.

• A: Is there an assigned parking spot or can I just park anywhere in the parking lot (North American) / car park (British)?
• B: Your spot is on the third level, number 13.

• A: I’m afraid the hair dryer in my room isn’t working. Could somebody please come and fix it?
• B: Yes, ma’am. What is your room number?

• A: How do I change the temperature in my room? It is too hot/cold.
• B: You can just adjust the thermostatthermostat (n.): a device that regulates the temperature in a room. next to the bathroom door. 

Emergency situations

• A: Where is the lifeguard? I think there’s a boy in trouble with his surfboard.
• B: She’s right over there in the life guard tower.

• A: Someone is being mugged(to) be mugged: (to) be robbed by someone with a weapon in that back alley! How do I call the police?
• B: Canada: 911/ USA: 911/ UK + Ireland: 999 or 112

• A: I’ve had an accident with the rental car. Is the damage covered by insurance?
• B: Anything over your $500 deductible will be reimbursed by our insurance.

Between this article and Lauren’s video, you should have a good foundation to get around safely on your travels. Have a great vacation!

With the exception of coastal BC, it gets just as freezing cold in the rest of Canada as it does in Quebec. Many Canadians are outdoor enthusiasts, even in winter. While skiing in the fresh powderpowder = powder snow, very soft and fluffy snow at one of the Rocky Mountain ski resorts is probably on the bucket listbucket list = list of things one wants to achieve/do in their lifetime of any alpine skier, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing are more accessible (and less expensive), as you can practise these sports pretty much anywhere. If you’re more into(to) be into sth. = be interested in something the motorized kind of skiing, there are fantastic snowmobile trails all over the country.

Of course there is also Canada’s national winter sport: hockey. Maybe you like to skate and play on the ice yourself? You’ve got your choice of natural lakes or artificial ice rinksice rink = an area especially for hockey, skating or curling. Or maybe you would like to watch an all-Canadian NHL game in English? Your best chances are early in the season when the Canadian teams play mostly each other.

If you prefer to spend the cold season indoors, you are not alone. A lot of people love to get their arts and crafts on(to) get your (sth.) on = (to) do something in winter. You could join a craft meetup which gives its participants a chance to work on their knitting, crochet or embroidery projects. Working with fabrics, especially quiltingquilting = sewing a blanket with a geometrical pattern made from small pieces of fabric, is a traditional hobby in all of North America. Early European settlers did not have much fabric, so they used the small remnants to sew patchwork blankets as protection against the cold. Pottery and wood-working have also become more and more popular in recent years.

A lot of good books appear in autumn, so how about joining a book club? Maybe it is hard for you to find an English book club in Quebec but there are a lot of book clubs online that cover a huge variety of topics. Another idea would be to challenge yourself to read a certain number of books in English. A great app to keep track of your books and discover new ones is Goodreads. Speaking of apps – LIKEWISE is a great resource for getting recommendations for books, TV shows, movies and podcasts. What makes it unique is that it relies on human suggestions and not algorithms. When does that ever happen in this day and age? 

Last but not least, there are always streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ that let you watch movies in English (with English subtitles, if that helps you). If you’re a movie buffmovie buff = someone who is very interested in films, fall is the season for you because most films that are expected to win prizes launch this time of the year.

Do you have other suggestions? What are your favourite winter activities? Let us know on social media, or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.