English to French: A1 patterns
Practice one useful pattern.
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New pattern
French: calling for help with “Au secours !”
“Au secours !” calls for urgent help; add what you need next.
Ready to start.
Call for help and ask someone to call an ambulance.
Model answerAu secours ! Appelez une ambulance, s’il vous plaît.
How this works
Au secours ! is an urgent call for help. Appelez is a direct instruction addressed politely or to several people. Add the service you need after the verb.
Build it piece by piece
- Au secours !
- Help!
- Appelez
- Call
- une ambulance
- an ambulance
- la police
- the police
In an urgent situation, start with Au secours ! Then state the action clearly.
Worked example
Now ask someone to call the police instead.
Au secours ! Appelez la police, s’il vous plaît.
Compare this with the model above. Notice what stayed the same and what changed. Read both aloud before continuing; this part is for learning, not scoring.
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