Learn Hardcore French: Pourriez-vous retirer ce colis au guichet, s’il vous plaît? - Could you pick up this package at the counter, please?

Because French often uses the conditional to soften requests. Pouvez-vous… is acceptable and polite, but Pourriez-vous… sounds more courteous and less direct, roughly like “Could you…?” vs “Can you…?” in English. It’s standard in service contexts and formal speech.

Could I say Est-ce que vous pourriez… or just Vous pourriez…? instead?

Yes.

Est-ce que vous pourriez retirer… ? is neutral and common.
Vous pourriez retirer… ? with rising intonation is more colloquial. All three are fine; the inversion Pourriez-vous… ? is a bit more formal/literary.

Why is there a hyphen in Pourriez-vous?

It’s required by the inversion rule for yes–no questions with a pronoun subject: verb + hyphen + subject pronoun (here, vous). Examples:

Avez-vous… ?
Pourrait-il… ? (note the inserted euphonic -t- with 3rd-person singular when the verb ends in a vowel) Without inversion you’d use Est-ce que… or just statement word order with intonation.

How would this change with informal tu?

Use the singular conditional and the informal “please”:

Pourrais-tu retirer ce colis au guichet, s’il te plaît ? You can also say Est-ce que tu pourrais… or Tu pourrais… ? (more casual).

If the parcel has already been mentioned, where do I put the object pronoun?

Before the infinitive:

Pourriez-vous le retirer au guichet ? (“it” = the parcel) If you also add an indirect object: Pourriez-vous me le retirer au guichet ? Pronoun order: me/te/se/nous/vous + le/la/les + lui/leur + y + en.

Why ce colis and not cet colis or ceci?

ce is the masculine demonstrative determiner before a consonant: ce colis.
cet is used before a masculine noun starting with a vowel or mute h: cet appel, cet hôtel.
ceci is a pronoun (“this”), not a determiner, so it can’t modify colis.

Could I say paquet instead of colis?

Sometimes, but nuance differs. Colis is the standard word for a mailed/shipped parcel. Paquet is a more general “package/pack,” and in a postal or pick-up context colis is the safest choice.

Does retirer only mean “to pick up,” or are there other meanings?

It also means “to withdraw/remove” in many contexts:

retirer de l’argent = withdraw money
retirer ses chaussures = take off one’s shoes
retirer du feu = take off the heat For “pick up/collect,” you can also hear récupérer or aller chercher:
Pourriez-vous récupérer/aller chercher le colis… ? (a bit more informal/natural in speech)

Why au guichet and not à le guichet or du guichet?

au = contraction of à + le; à le guichet is ungrammatical.
au guichet means “at the service window/counter.”
du = de + le (“from the”); retirer du guichet would mean “remove from the counter,” which is not the intended meaning here.

What’s the difference between guichet, comptoir, and accueil?

guichet: a service window or ticket counter (post office, bank, station).
comptoir: a counter or bar top (store, café), not specifically a service window.
accueil: reception/front desk (information/help desk).

What exactly does s’il vous plaît mean, and can it change?

Literally “if it pleases you,” it’s the standard way to say “please.” With informal tu it becomes s’il te plaît. You can place it at the end or at the beginning:

S’il vous plaît, pourriez-vous… ?
Pourriez-vous…, s’il vous plaît ?

Is the comma before s’il vous plaît necessary? Where can I put it?

It’s customary to set off s’il vous plaît with a comma because it’s a parenthetical politeness marker, especially at the end of the sentence. You can also put it at the start followed by a comma:

S’il vous plaît, pourriez-vous… ? At the very end, many writers also keep the comma before the question mark.

Do I need a space before the question mark in French?

Typographically, French uses a (thin) non‑breaking space before ; : ? !. In plain text, you’ll often see no space. In careful typesetting: … s’il vous plaît ? (thin space). In everyday typing: … s’il vous plaît?

Why is there an apostrophe in s’il? Does si always contract?

si elides to s’ only before il and ils (and expressions like s’il y a). It does not elide before elle/on:

s’il vient, s’ils partent
but si elle vient, si on veut (no elision)

How do you pronounce the tricky parts?

Approximate guide:

Pourriez-vous: [puʁ-je vu] (the final -ez is [e]; the -z is silent)
retirer: [ʁə-ti-ʁe]
colis: [ko-li] (final -s silent)
guichet: [gi-shé] (the -u- in gui is not pronounced; hard g)
s’il vous plaît: [sil vu plɛ] Note: no liaison in s’il vous plaît; you’ll hear one in phrases like vous avez → [vu.za.ve].