B1IntermediateSpoken Quebec French · Point 40 / 40
magasiner, dépanneur, char, blonde / chum, c’est correct, tantôt
A few words come up every day in Quebec and behave like ordinary words in the sentence.
| Word | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| magasiner | verbe régulier en « -er » | to go shopping, to compare prices |
| dépanneur | nom masculin | small corner store |
| char | nom masculin | car |
| blonde / chum | noms | girlfriend / boyfriend |
| c’est correct | phrase fixe | it’s fine, it’s okay |
| tantôt | adverbe de temps | a little earlier or a little later |
“Magasiner” conjugates like “parler”; “dépanneur”, “char”, “blonde” and “chum” take an article or a possessive. “C’est correct” can stand alone or take “pour + stressed pronoun”: “c’est correct pour toi ?”.
In context
Examples from our dialogues
Lines taken from our dialogues. Listen to them, then open the full dialogue to hear them in a real situation.
- Listen
Ça me convient, je magasine souvent ici de toute façon. Le crédit est valide combien de temps ?
That works for me, I shop here often anyway. How long is the credit valid?
Check The Full DialogueReturning a purchaseRetourner un achat
B1 - Listen
Pas pressé. Demain ou après-demain, c'est correct aussi.
No rush. Tomorrow or the day after is fine too.
Check The Full DialogueBorrowing a drill from a neighbourEmprunter une perceuse à un voisin
A2 - Listen
Donne-moi ton numéro, je te texte le lien tantôt. Et viens-tu, je vais te présenter à Diane, qui organise la fête.
Give me your number, I'll text you the link later. And come on — I'll introduce you to Diane, who's organizing the party.
- Listen
Hahaha, pantoute ! C'est juste que l'ouvrage me rentre dedans ces temps-ci.
Haha, not at all! It's just that work has been swamping me lately.
Check The Full DialogueChatting with a neighbourJaser avec un voisin
C1 Ma blonde est passée au dépanneur avec le char de mon chum.
My girlfriend stopped by the corner store with my buddy’s car.
Watch out
Common mistakes
Mistakes you will often hear, and the right way to say it.
Je vais magasiner au dépanneur pour trois heures.Je vais faire un tour au dépanneur, puis magasiner au centre commercial.
You “magasine” in stores or by comparing offers; at a dépanneur you drop in quickly for one or two things. The word is not wrong, but the picture does not fit.
C'est pas correct pantoute ? — Oui, c'est correct pas du tout.C'est pas correct pantoute ? — Non, c'est correct.
“Pantoute” goes with the negation (“pas … pantoute”) and is not combined with “pas du tout”, which it replaces. To say things are fine, just answer “c’est correct”.
Read
Related readings
Short texts where this point comes up. Read them to see it inside a story.
In real life
Guides where this comes up
Spot this point while reading a guide about a real task in Quebec.