s'il te plaît, arrête
In French, "please stop" is expressed as s'il te plaît, arrête.
This phrase is a request for someone to end an action they are currently doing.
Which one should you use?
The default form s'il te plaît, arrête is used for friends, family or children, whereas the 'vous' form is used for formal situations.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "stop [doing something]", you must use the construction arrêter de followed by the infinitive of the action. Use the formal form s'il vous plaît, arrêtez when speaking to a stranger, a superior or a group of people.
Did you know?
- In a heated argument, an English speaker might say 'Stop it!', but a French speaker might use the single word Laisse!, which literally means 'Leave!' It is a common, idiomatic way to tell someone to stop what they are doing or saying.
- The word te in s'il te plaît comes from the Latin accusative 'tē', which functions as a direct object in the sentence. This means the phrase literally translates to 'if it pleases you'.
- French has a specific nuance for stopping: cesser is used for things that end naturally or permanently, while arrêter is used for a conscious decision to stop an action.
Examples in context
- S'il te plaît, arrête.Please stop.Tatoeba #5364367 by pititnatole, translation #2111569 by CK
- S'il te plaît, arrête de péter.Please stop farting.This sentence uses the phrase to ask someone to stop a specific action.Tatoeba #12066425 by Rovo, translation #12066013 by Amastan
- Peux-tu, s'il te plaît, arrêter de chanter ?Can you please stop singing?This sentence shows how to ask a question using the phrase to ask someone to stop an action.Tatoeba #1883809 by sacredceltic, translation #1883037 by Spamster
- Excusez-moi, pourriez-vous arrêter de parler aussi fort, s'il vous plaît ?Excuse me, could you please stop talking so loudly?
- Hé Pierre, arrête de faire du bruit, s'il te plaît !Hey Pierre, please stop making noise!
- Attends une minute, tu pourrais arrêter de raconter ça à tout le monde, s'il te plaît ?Wait a minute, could you please stop telling everyone about that?
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are at home playing a game.
- GabrielS'il te plaît, arrête de me bousculer, Manon.Please stop pushing me, Manon.
- ManonDésolée, je ne voulais pas te faire mal.Sorry, I didn't want to hurt you.
- GabrielC'est bon, mais sois plus prudente.It's okay, but be more careful.
- ManonD'accord, je vais faire attention.Okay, I will pay attention.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
