Writing a proposal or complaint in French

Level B2

Writing a proposal or complaint in French

You have a paid library membership and write to the library management because it closed early on two Tuesdays. Your purpose is to recover the advertised evening access. Build the message around facts, impact, a solution and a request; repeat a noun when a pronoun would be unclear.

Choose a recipient and a purpose

Je vous écris au sujet de… means ‘I am writing to you about…’; vous addresses the library management courteously. Horaires d'ouverture means opening hours, and bibliothèque means library, not bookshop. Recover the conditional in je préférerais (I would prefer) and pourriez-vous (could you): these soften a preference or request without changing the facts. Begin the email with Madame, Monsieur (Dear Sir or Madam) and close with Cordialement (Kind regards).

Read the complete complaint

Listen to the eight sentences in order, imagining five paragraphs: sentence 1 gives the purpose; 2–3 give the facts and their contrast; 4 gives the impact; 5–7 offer and justify the solution; 8 asks for written confirmation. Here the membership is paid, so remboursement means a refund of the membership fee. The writer wants the advertised Tuesday access restored and prefers that to a refund. The text reports two closures, not the library's motives or a permanent policy.

Evidence before accusation

Deux mardis de suite means two consecutive Tuesdays; dix-huit heures is six p.m., and vingt heures is eight p.m. Affichés means posted, and indiquent means state or indicate. Cependant (however) contrasts the observed six p.m. closures with the advertised eight p.m. closing time. A fermé reports completed events, while indiquent describes what the posted hours say. In a real message, replace the two Tuesdays with their exact dates and cite or attach the notice if you have it; do not invent evidence.

Keep the reference visible

Ces fermetures anticipées means these early closures: it gathers the two closing events into a noun phrase. M'empêchent d'étudier means prevent me from studying; après le travail means after work. Ce changement (this change) names the proposed evening opening, and cette solution (this solution) refers to that remedy. In the last line, la replaces solution, a feminine singular noun, before confirmer; it does not replace the plural horaires. If another feminine singular noun could be meant, repeat cette solution instead of using la.

nom explicite → reprise nominale ou pronominale claire

Propose a remedy and explain its benefit

Je propose une ouverture jusqu'à vingt heures le mardi means I propose opening until eight p.m. on Tuesdays; le mardi here is recurring, unlike the two past Tuesdays. Ce changement me permettrait de… means this change would allow me to…: the conditional presents an expected benefit, not an accomplished result. Préférer cette solution à un remboursement means prefer this solution to a refund; French uses à here, where English uses to. Pourriez-vous la confirmer par écrit? asks management to confirm the solution in writing. This is one concrete proposal, not a list of unrelated demands.

Je propose une solution. Ce changement me permettrait de faire quelque chose.

Recognize legal wording

Sous réserve de mes droits means without prejudice to my rights, or without waiving my rights. It is marked legal wording shown only for recognition. The model complaint uses ordinary administrative French; you are not asked to add this formula or memorize it.

Your turn: write the last two paragraphs

You remain the library subscriber writing to management; the facts and the recipient stay the same. Before opening the examples, write these first-person intentions in French: ‘I propose opening until eight p.m. on Tuesdays. This change would allow me to study after work. I would prefer this solution to a refund.’ Then ask management to confirm that solution in writing, using la before confirmer in the next sentence to refer back to solution. All the words and structures appear above; compare your four sentences with the models and listen again.

Check the message as a whole

Check five jobs: purpose, observable facts, personal impact, a feasible alternative and a precise request. Each paragraph should move toward the same purpose; however must connect genuinely contrasting facts. For each ces, ce, cette or la, identify the earlier event or noun it resumes. Keep vous and the courteous request consistent, and keep the legal phrase outside your production task. You can then transfer this structure to another service with new, verified facts.

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