English: We expect to arrive at 10:15.
French: Nous prévoyons arriver à 10 :15.
A few weeks ago at the Lisbon Airport. Il y a quelques semaines à l'aéroport de Lisbonne. I was on a 2-hour layover at LIS airport. We flight attendants spend a lot of time in airports. It's good to take the time to enjoy our time there. Explore a little, find a nice café, bring some work or a book, or do as I was doing: watch airplanes.
Pilot announcements often start out with “we expect”. We expect a smooth flight. We expect a few bumps during the initial climb. We expect some turbulence on descent. We expect some weather and some turbulence when we fly over Greenland. We expect to arrive at 10:15. We expect to be at the gate at 10:30. We expect that deicing will take about 15 minutes.
Voir=To see
Prévoir=To foresee, to expect, to anticipate
Nous prévoyons=We expect
Arriver=To arrive
Nous prévoyons arriver à dix heures quinze=We expect to arrive at ten fifteen
‘’Nous prévoyons’’ ‘’We expect’’ is a very useful expression for flight attendants. Saying “we expect to arrive” instead of “we will arrive” acknowledges that there are unexpected things that might happen which may delay your arrival. Saying “we expect some turbulence” instead of “we will have turbulence” acknowledges that weather isn’t 100% predictable and you may end up not having any turbulence at all, despite your expectations.
Just as a side note, European French-speakers will tell you that “prévoir” needs to be followed by “de”. “Prévoir d’arriver” “nous prévoyons d’arriver”. The ‘’de’’ after “prévoir” is not necessary in Canadian French and it’s perfectly fine (and easier for you) to just say ‘’nous prévoyons arriver”.
Want to learn to speak the French you need to work as a flight attendant? Learn even more with Canadian French for Flight Attendants.
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