For future reference thoug... is this how I should ask if I were in a deli for instance. Instead of saying "vous" I use "on" ..thus avoiding the interpretation of "do YOU have" and correctly directing the question "do they (the cafe/deli) have?"... Seems a trivial point but I am curious.
Ça dépend. On a de la confiture d'abricot
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Ça dépend. On a de la confiture d'abricot
"Ça dépend. On a de la confiture d'abricot ?" Interesting twist in the conversation. I mistakenly read it as spkr 1.."ca depend"/spkr 2.. "on a de la confitured'abricot"..encouragingly sating what she has.
Asked 2 years ago
This is a conversation between friends/associates about what ‘we have’ available, at the table or as part of the service etc - ‘on’ here is equivalent to “we”, not they.
Although I have seen occasional usage of ‘on’ extending beyond meaning just “one” or “we”, it is not standard, and if asking what ‘they’ - the café, bistrot, or restaurant - have, the plural pronoun ‘ils’ (referring to the business in plural just we regularly do in English) is appropriate. If asking a server or worker, the formal ‘vous’ is appropriate. Hope this helps.
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