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Je voudrais payer l'addition, s'il vous plaît.

Je voudrais payer l'addition, s'il vous plaît.
I would like to pay the bill, please.
From Lesson 51:Polite requests (je voudrais)·French

Questions & Answers about Je voudrais payer l'addition, s'il vous plaît.

Why do we say Je voudrais instead of Je veux here?
Je voudrais means "I would like", which is much more polite than Je veux ("I want"). When asking for things or making requests in French, especially in a restaurant or store, Je voudrais is the standard way to be polite.
Why is payer in its full dictionary form here?
When you have two verbs back-to-back in French, only the first verb changes to match the person doing the action. The second verb stays in its dictionary form (called the infinitive), which translates to "to pay". Here, voudrais is the first verb, so payer stays exactly as it is.
Does l'addition just mean the math term "addition"?
It comes from the same idea of adding up numbers, but in a French restaurant, l'addition is the specific everyday word used for the bill or check.
Why is it l'addition instead of la addition?
Addition is a feminine word, so you might expect la addition. However, because addition starts with a vowel, French drops the a in la and replaces it with an apostrophe to make it flow smoothly when spoken.
Why do we use the vous form in s'il vous plaît?
S'il vous plaît literally translates to "if it pleases you". We use vous here because asking for the bill usually happens with a waiter, where you use the formal "you". If you were saying please to a close friend, you would use the informal version: s'il te plaît.

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