Learn French: J'aimerais une signature sur ce formulaire, s'il vous plaît. - I would like a signature on this form, please.

J'aimerais une signature sur ce formulaire, s'il vous plaît.

I would like a signature on this form, please.

Breakdown of J'aimerais une signature sur ce formulaire, s'il vous plaît.

Questions & Answers about J'aimerais une signature sur ce formulaire, s'il vous plaît.

Why use j'aimerais here instead of je veux ("I want")?

J'aimerais is the conditional form of the verb aimer, meaning "I would like". In French, just like in English, using the conditional makes a request much softer and more polite than saying je veux ("I want").

Since j'aimerais translates to "I would like", could I also use je voudrais?

Yes, absolutely! Both j'aimerais and je voudrais (from the verb vouloir) mean "I would like" and are perfect for making polite requests. They are virtually interchangeable in this kind of sentence.

Does formulaire mean "formula"?

Not quite! While they look similar, un formulaire is a document with blank spaces to fill in, which we call a "form" in English. If you need a mathematical or scientific "formula", you would use the word une formule.

Why is the word for "this" ce instead of cet or cette?

Formulaire is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, so it takes the standard masculine word for "this": ce. You use cette for feminine nouns, and cet for masculine nouns that start with a vowel or a silent 'h' (like cet homme).