Bonjour à tous ! If you’re learning French for your career, you’ve likely mastered the formal vocabulary of meetings and emails. But the real key to sounding natural and understanding your colleagues lies in the short, punchy verbal phrases—the “phrasal verbs” of French—that fill everyday office conversation.
While French doesn’t have phrasal verbs exactly like English, it has countless essential expressions built around common verbs like faire, prendre, mettre, and être. You won’t find these by translating word-for-word. You need to learn them as complete ideas.
This week, we’re decoding the most useful French workplace phrases. Listen for them in the office, and try using one yourself!
Most Common French Phrasal Verbs
1. Faire le point
- In English: To take stock, to review the situation, to check in on progress. It’s the act of pausing to assess where things stand.
- At Work: “Avant la réunion de vendredi, il faut qu’on se fasse un point sur le projet.” (Before Friday’s meeting, we need to check in / take stock of the project.)
2. Prendre en charge
- In English: To take charge of, to handle, to assume responsibility for a task or client.
- At Work: “Ne t’inquiète pas pour le dossier Dupont, Sophie va le prendre en charge.” (Don’t worry about the Dupont file, Sophie will take care of it / handle it.)
3. Mettre en place
- In English: To set up, to implement, to establish a new process or system.
- At Work: “La nouvelle politique télétravail sera mise en place le mois prochain.” (The new telework policy will be implemented next month.)
4. Être au courant
- In English: To be informed, to be aware, to be in the loop. A crucial phrase for ensuring good communication.
- At Work: “Tiens-moi au courant de l’avancement, s’il te plaît.” (Please keep me informed / in the loop on the progress.)
5. Revenir vers [quelqu’un]
- In English: To get back to someone. This is the perfect, natural translation for “to follow up” or “to circle back.”
- At Work: “Je n’ai pas l’information maintenant, mais je reviens vers toi cet après-midi.” (I don’t have the information now, but I’ll get back to you this afternoon.)
6. Se charger de
- In English: To take care of, to see to, to be responsible for. Very similar to prendre en charge.
- At Work: “Je me charge de réserver la salle pour la conférence.” (I’ll take care of booking the room for the conference.)
7. Tomber en panne
- In English: To break down, to stop working (for machinery, computers, systems).
- At Work: “Désolé pour le retard, l’imprimante est tombée en panne encore une fois.” (Sorry for the delay, the printer broke down again.)
8. Faire face à
- In English: To face, to deal with, to cope with (a problem or situation).
- At Work: “L’équipe doit faire face à une charge de travail importante ce trimestre.” (The team has to deal with / cope with a heavy workload this quarter.)
9. Mettre à jour
- In English: To update. Can be used for documents (mettre un document à jour), software (mettre un logiciel à jour), or even a colleague (mettre quelqu’un à jour = to bring someone up to speed).
- At Work: “N’oublie pas de mettre à jour le planning partagé.” (Don’t forget to update the shared schedule.)
10. S’occuper de
- In English: To deal with, to handle, to look after something. A very common and versatile phrase.
- At Work: “Paul, tu peux t’occuper de accueillir les clients à 10h ?” (Paul, can you look after / handle welcoming the clients at 10 am?)
Pourquoi c’est important (Why This Matters)
These phrases are the glue of natural French speech. Using “revenir vers quelqu’un” instead of a literal translation of “circle back” makes you sound fluent and integrated. They represent a shift from textbook French to the living, breathing language of the office.
Your challenge this week? Active Listening. In your next French meeting or email chain, listen and look for one of these phrases. Notice the context. Then, be bold and try using “Je reviens vers vous…” in an email or “On peut se faire un point ?” to a colleague.
Mastering these small chunks will build your confidence immensely. They show you’re not just speaking French, you’re communicating in French. If you want to practice these in real life, make sure to book you free first session on albert-learning.
