A Couple of Language questions

Do you say %26quot;pardon%26quot; or excusez-moi. When you are trying to get someones attention for example, %26quot;Excuse me can you tell me the time?%26quot;

Also When you want to say please in a sentence do you say it in the beginning or at the end for example

%26quot;S%26#39;il vous plait un cafe%26quot;

or

%26quot;Un cafe S%26#39;il vous plait%26quot;

Thanks

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Use Pardon if you are passing someone, bump into someone, etc.

Use Excusez-moi if you stop someone in the street for directions, etc.

Put SVP at the end of your sentence.

Les

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It might be helpful to think of using %26quot;pardon%26quot; in those situations which would ordinarily require an apology--for example, bumping into someone. Use %26quot;excusez-moi%26quot; when you really mean %26quot;excuse me%26quot;. When in doubt stick with %26quot;pardon%26quot;. It is by far the more colloquial usage.

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I actually just had this conversation with a coworker today. In general, I hear %26#39;pardon%26#39; all of the time, but when he opened a door quickly and knocked another coworker in the head (who was standing behind the door, obviously), he said %26#39;excusez-moi!%26#39;

What do you have to do to actually say %26#39;desolee?%26#39;

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Good question about %26quot;désolé%26quot;. It%26#39;s useful when you really need help and want to butter up somebody to help you! I would use it to express genuine regret or sadness about something important (somebody tells you about a family death). The funny thing is that having uttered the word 5,000 times on the Métro, I find myself mumbling %26quot;pardon%26quot; to people all around me for about a week after returning to the States.

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you can also use désolé when you disagree with someone, like in %26quot;I%26#39;m terribly sorry but%26quot; %26quot;je suis désolée mais vous dites n%26#39;importe quoi%26quot; for ex!

How funny,I say %26quot;sorry%26quot; all the time when I%26#39;m back from London ;-)

But I mostly use pardon (when I am at the supermarket with someone on the way with one%26#39;s trolley) Par-don!

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I%26#39;ve also often heard désolé used in cases where the speaker wants to specify what it is he or she is sorry about, e.g. %26quot;sorry about x.%26quot; The waitress at our favorite cafe in Chamonix, for example, will apologize to us that way when delivering our coffee in the morning if she thinks it took too long.

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Or %26quot;désolée%26quot; can come in handy for %26quot;it%26#39;s beyond my control%26quot; type things, you know when someone tells you that %26#39;they%26#39; are really sorry but whazt you%26#39;re asking just can%26#39;t be done - company policy etc.