This is a French public awareness announcement from the health authorities on how citizens can protect themselves from the coronavirus. This commercial covers a lot of coronavirus vocabulary and uses a lot of pronominal (reflexive) verbs.
Text from the commercial with translation
- Informations coronavirus
Information about the coronavirus. - Pour vous protéger et protéger les autres du coronavirus, adopter ces gestes simples.
To protect yourself and to protect others from the coronavirus, adopt these simple actions. - Lavez-vous tres régulièrement les mains ou utilisez une solution hydro-alcoolique.
Wash your hands regularly or uses hand sanitizer. - Toussez ou éternuez dans votre coude.
Cough or sneeze into your elbow. - Utilisez des mouchoirs à usage unique puis jetez-les.
Use single-use tissues then throw them away. - Si vous êtes malade restez chez vous et portez un masque chirurgical en présence d’autres personnes.
If you’re sick stay home and wear a surgical mask in the presence of other people. - Plus d’informations au zéro huit-cent cent-trente zéro zéro zéro ou sur gouvernement point fr.
More information (available) on 0 800 130 000 or gouvernement.fr. - Ceci est un message du Ministre Chargé de la Santé et de Santé Public France.
This is a message from the Minister of Solidarity and Health and Public Health France.
Vocabulary and grammar of interest
- Informations – the word information can take an -s in French. Les informations, or les infos, refers to the news.
- Pour vous protéger – Comes from the pronominal verb se protéger, to protect oneself. Je me protège. I protect myself.
- un geste – I translated this to action. Un gest is generally translated to a hand movement or movement of the body.
- lavez-vous les mains – Wash your hands. Comes from the reflexive verb se laver les mains, to wash ones hands.
- jeter – has to meanings: 1) to throw (e.g. a basketball) or 2) to throw away.
- mouchoir (masculine noun) – translates generally to handkerchief but also means tissue or Kleenex. As a pronominal verb, se moucher means to blow ones nose. Une mouche is an unrelated work and means fly (the insect).
