To ask for clarification at work in French, name the instruction you did not understand, then check a specific interpretation. A short question can establish what to do before you begin.
Practise one exchange from Parle’s Ask for clarification mission. Speaker A asks about the task; Speaker B explains it. A then checks whether a comparison belongs in the work, and B confirms it and requests a follow-up. Keep A’s two model turns hidden until you have tried them.
Practise the request and the confirmation question
In this fictional scene, you have not understood a work instruction. Your colleague gives you an explanation involving figures and a budget. Your job is to clarify what you should do. The exercise does not supply real figures or tell you how to prepare a financial report.
The four unchanged first-party models were generated through the online OpenAI speech service. Their voices are synthetic. This guide was prepared with AI assistance. Native Pause keeps your place; closing a model rewinds it, and starting another stops the previous clip.
Your first speaking turn: you did not understand the work instruction. Politely tell your colleague what the problem is. Speak before opening the model.
Reveal A’s clarification request after your attempt
French request · Speaker A
Excusez-moi, je n'ai pas compris la consigne.
English meaning: Excuse me, I didn’t understand the instruction.
Hear or read B’s explanation
French explanation · Speaker B
Bien sûr. Vous devez vérifier les chiffres.
English meaning: Of course. You need to check the numbers.
Choose the item named in B’s explanation.
Your second speaking turn: you want to check whether you should compare those figures with the budget. Ask the question before revealing A’s model. You have not performed the comparison yet.
Reveal A’s interpretation question after your attempt
French question · Speaker A
D'accord. Et je les compare avec le budget ?
English meaning: Okay. And I compare them with the budget?
Keep the figures, the budget and the proposed action distinct.
Hear or read B’s confirmation and next request
French confirmation · Speaker B
Exactement. Ensuite, vous me faites un retour.
English meaning: Exactly. Then you give me feedback.
Use vous and me in B’s reply to identify who acts and who receives the follow-up.
These are meaning checks and speaking prompts. The webpage does not record your voice, assess your accent or mark an App task complete.
Compare the proposed action and the follow-up
In this work scene, la consigne is the instruction. Les chiffres means the figures or numbers you are asked to check. In A’s question, les refers back to those figures; avec le budget identifies the comparison reference.
D’accord acknowledges the explanation. The question that follows checks A’s interpretation. It leaves the comparison as a proposed action. Once B says exactement, that interpretation is confirmed in the fictional exchange.
In B’s last line, vous addresses A and me refers to B. Faire un retour here means getting back to B with feedback or an update about the work. Ensuite places that follow-up after the preceding action. The dialogue leaves its format and deadline unspecified.
Change the work item in a written-only question
Keep the same speaking goal and change one detail. These variations are written-only; the four original recordings above still concern figures and a budget.
| New detail | Written question to check your interpretation |
|---|---|
| Check the dates | D’accord. Je dois vérifier les dates ? — Okay. I need to check the dates? |
| Compare two lists | D’accord. Je compare les deux listes ? — Okay. I compare the two lists? |
For a second question, you can rehearse this written-only line: Quand souhaitez-vous mon retour ? — “When would you like my feedback?” This asks for a deadline because the original exchange gives none. It has no recording on this page.
Choose Stop audio and hide all models, then swap roles with a partner. A explains that the instruction was unclear. B gives a work item. A checks the proposed action. B confirms it and asks for a follow-up. Choose Reset practice choices to clear the three answers and close all models before another attempt.
Continue with Parle’s clarification task
Open the current Ask for clarification role-play. Its prompt asks you to seek details about an instruction, and its existing frames support saying you did not understand, asking for repetition and checking what you need to do.
In the App, use Course → A2.2 → At work → Ask for clarification. This webpage is free. The App’s At work unit is Premium. All 35 Sounds and the first four First Contact missions are free; Premium opens the current 120-mission course.
If you already know the task and need to explain how far you have got, use the work-progress exercise. To practise following a sequence and explaining that a step is finished, use the internet-support instruction exercise.