Shops and eating out

The -erie ending names the shop

French builds shop names off the product or the shopkeeper with -erie. You already have la boulangerie from L14; the pattern is completely regular.

shopsellsfrom
la boulangeriebreadle boulanger, L45
la boucheriemeatle boucher
la pâtisseriecakes and pastriesle pâtissier
l'épiceriegroceriesl'épicier

la pâtisserie names both the shop and the cake you buy in it — une pâtisserie on a plate is a single pastry.

She bought a cake at the cake shop.
Elle a acheté un gâteau à la pâtisserie.

dîner is a verb here

dîner is the verb to have dinner. The noun le dîner is the meal itself, spelled the same, and the circumflex sits on the î in both.

Nous dînons au restaurant.We are having dinner at the restaurant.
Le dîner est prêt.Dinner is ready.

It joins déjeuner (L20), which works exactly the same way.

We are having dinner at the restaurant this evening.
Nous dînons au restaurant ce soir.

le frigo is the everyday word

le frigo is the short, ordinary word for a fridge — the full le réfrigérateur exists but sounds like an appliance manual. Shortenings like this are extremely common in spoken French, and you will meet more of them shortly.

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