Learn Hardcore French: Pouvez-vous apporter le sac au supermarché, s'il vous plaît? - Can you bring the bag to the supermarket, please?

It means Can you. It’s the verb pouvoir (to be able/can) conjugated for vous: vous pouvez. To form a formal question, French often inverts the subject pronoun and the verb and links them with a hyphen: Pouvez-vous… ? Inversion is common in writing and polite speech. Note: the inserted -t- you may know from forms like aime-t-il is only used with il/elle/on when the verb ends in a vowel, so it’s not needed here.

Can I ask the same question without inversion?

Yes. Two very common alternatives:

Est-ce que vous pouvez apporter… ? (neutral, very common in speech)
Vous pouvez apporter… ? (statement with rising intonation, informal/conversational) All three mean the same thing; inversion simply sounds a bit more formal.

What’s the difference between Pouvez-vous and Pourriez-vous?

Pouvez-vous… literally asks about ability and is politely direct. Pourriez-vous… uses the conditional and is more deferential/softer, like Could you… in English. In many contexts, Pourriez-vous apporter… ? is the most polite everyday request.

When should I use vous versus tu here?

vous: to a stranger, someone older/higher status, or more than one person. Keep s’il vous plaît.
tu: to a friend, child, or peer. Then you’d say Peux-tu apporter le sac au supermarché, s’il te plaît ? or more casually Tu peux apporter… ?

What does s’il vous plaît literally mean, and why s’?

Literally, If it pleases you. si + il elides to s’il before a vowel sound; this elision works only with il/ils (you do not elide before elle/on). Informal version: s’il te plaît. It’s a set polite formula placed typically at the end (or the beginning) of a request.

How should I spell and punctuate s’il vous plaît?

Spelling: Traditional spelling is s’il vous plaît (with a circumflex on plaît). Modern reforms allow plait without the circumflex, but plaît is still very common and safe.
Punctuation: It’s often set off with a comma in writing: …, s’il vous plaît. In French typography there’s usually a thin space before the question mark, but in plain text people often omit it.

Why use apporter here instead of amener, emmener, or emporter?

apporter: bring an object to someone/somewhere (destination-focused). Suits this sentence well.
emporter: take/carry an object away with you (departure-focused).
amener: bring a person/animal.
emmener: take a person/animal away with you. In casual speech the pairs are sometimes blurred, but these are the core distinctions.

Could I say porter instead of apporter?

porter means to carry/wear (focus on the physical act), while apporter means to bring (focus on delivering to a destination). Porter le sac au supermarché is understandable, but apporter le sac au supermarché is the idiomatic way to request bringing it there.

What does au mean in au supermarché?

au is the contraction of à + le. Patterns to remember:

à + le → au (masc. singular): au supermarché
à + la → à la (fem. singular): à la pharmacie
à + l’ → à l’ (before vowel): à l’école
à + les → aux (plural): aux magasins

Why au supermarché and not dans le supermarché?

Use à (here, au) to express the destination to/at a place: au supermarché = to the supermarket. dans le supermarché emphasizes being inside once you’re there. For the idea of bringing something to that place, au supermarché is the default.

Why is it le sac and not un sac or mon sac?

le sac implies a specific, known bag (e.g., the reusable one you both know about). If you mean any bag, use un sac. If you want to specify whose bag, use a possessive: ton/votre sac, mon sac, etc.

How do I replace le sac with a pronoun?

Replace it with le (or l’ before a vowel sound):

With modal + infinitive, the pronoun goes before the infinitive: Pouvez-vous l’apporter au supermarché, s’il vous plaît ?
If you also add a person as an indirect object: Pouvez-vous me l’apporter au supermarché, s’il vous plaît ? (bring it to me at the supermarket)
Imperative (affirmative): Apportez-le au supermarché, s’il vous plaît.
Imperative (negative): Ne l’apportez pas au supermarché, s’il vous plaît.

Can I use the imperative for a direct but polite request?

Yes, add a politeness marker:

Formal/plural: Apportez le sac au supermarché, s’il vous plaît.
Informal: Apporte le sac au supermarché, s’il te plaît. Without the s’il vous/te plaît, the imperative can sound blunt.

Is there a more formal or very polite way to phrase it?

Yes:

Pourriez-vous apporter le sac au supermarché, s’il vous plaît ?
Voudriez-vous bien apporter le sac au supermarché ?
Very formal/written: Veuillez apporter le sac au supermarché. (no question mark; it’s a polite instruction)

How would I make it negative?

Inversion, negative: Ne pouvez-vous pas apporter le sac au supermarché, s’il vous plaît ?
More conversational: Vous ne pouvez pas apporter le sac au supermarché ? If you negate the imperative: N’apportez pas le sac au supermarché, s’il vous plaît.

Can I say chez with a supermarket?

Not with a generic common noun. Use au supermarché. chez works with people and many named businesses: chez Carrefour, chez Monoprix. For an unnamed or generic supermarket, stick to au supermarché.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

Pouvez-vous: poo-veh voo (no liaison of the -z; the final -z in pouvez is silent here)
apporter: ah-por-tay
le sac: lə sak (the e in le is very light)
au: oh
supermarché: soo-pehr-mar-shay
s’il vous plaît: seel voo pleh (the final t is pronounced; sounds like pleh)

What if I want to say bring it to me at the supermarket?

Use an indirect object pronoun for the person (me) and a direct object pronoun for the thing (it): Pouvez-vous me l’apporter au supermarché, s’il vous plaît ? The order with non-imperatives is me/te/se/nous/vous + le/la/les + (lui/leur) + y + en before the infinitive here.