Ces phrases paraissent polies, mais elles sonnent agressives en anglais !

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:14]Hi, this is Julia, a teacher at Easy English.

[00:00:18]I'm going to show you some phrases that many French speakers use to be polite in English, but they can actually sound aggressive or too direct. I'm going to show you how to transform them so they sound more natural and more professional. Let's go. So, the first phrase is "I demand."

[00:00:38]In French, "je demande" is normal, but in English, "I demand" is very strong because it means "I demand." So, instead of saying "I demand an explanation," say instead, "Could you explain, please?"

[00:00:53]or "I would like an explanation."

[00:00:57]Next, "I insist."

[00:01:00]In English, this can sound authoritative. Instead of saying, "I insist you come," you can say, "You really should come."

[00:01:10]or "I'd love for you to come."

[00:01:14]Another very common one is "Give me."

[00:01:17]This is a direct translation of "donne-moi." Instead of saying, "Give me the report," say instead, "Could you send me the report?"

[00:01:27]or "Can you share the report with me?"

[00:01:31]Next, "I want." This isn't wrong, but in a professional context, it can sound very impolite and dry. Instead of saying, "I want a meeting tomorrow," try instead, "I would like to schedule a meeting tomorrow."

[00:01:51]And finally, "explain me." This isn't an aggressive phrase, but it's a very common mistake among French speakers.

[00:01:58]Instead of saying, "Explain me this.

[00:02:00]Deep explain this to me, please.

[00:02:24]Let's practice.

[00:02:31]Are you ready? Give me the document.

[00:02:37]Could you send me the document? I demand an answer.

[00:02:43]Could you give me an answer?

[00:02:46]I want a meeting tomorrow.

[00:02:50]I'd like to schedule a meeting tomorrow.

[00:03:03]See you soon.