Learn Hardcore French: Je veux parler avec quelqu'un ce soir.

Je veux parler avec quelqu’un ce soir.
- Literally: I want to talk with someone tonight.
- Sounds direct, like stating a personal desire. Perfect in casual conversation.
Je voudrais parler avec quelqu’un ce soir.
- Literally: I would like to talk with someone tonight.
- More polite/softened, often used when making a request or being more formal.

If you’re speaking to a stranger, a teacher, or in a polite context, je voudrais is usually safer. With friends/family, je veux is totally fine.

Can I say parler à quelqu’un instead of parler avec quelqu’un? What’s the difference?

Both are possible, but they don’t feel identical:

parler à quelqu’un
- Literally “to speak to someone”
- Focuses more on you addressing that person.
parler avec quelqu’un
- Literally “to speak with someone”
- Emphasizes a two-way conversation, more like “have a talk with”.

In many contexts, they can both work, but:

Je veux parler avec quelqu’un. suggests “I need to have a (mutual) conversation with someone.”
Je veux parler à quelqu’un. can feel slightly more like “I need to speak to someone (to tell them something).”

Neither is wrong; it’s a nuance of emphasis and habit.

Why is it parler avec quelqu’un and not parler de quelqu’un?

Different prepositions change the meaning of parler:

parler avec quelqu’un – to talk with someone (have a conversation with them)
parler à quelqu’un – to talk to someone (address that person)
parler de quelqu’un / de quelque chose – to talk about someone / something

So:

Je veux parler avec quelqu’un. – I want to talk with someone.
Je veux parler de quelqu’un. – I want to talk about someone.

In your sentence, you’re not specifying the topic, just that you want a conversation, so avec (or à) is appropriate, not de.

What does quelqu’un literally mean, and why is there an apostrophe?

Quelqu’un means someone or somebody.

It comes from:

quelque – some
un – one

These merge into one word: quelqu’un.

The apostrophe (quelqu’ + un) is mostly historical and phonetic; you don’t say quelque un, you say quelqu’un as one unit. Spelling:

Correct: quelqu’un
Incorrect: quelqun, quel que un, quelque’un, etc.

Is quelqu’un masculine or feminine, and does it change form?

Quelqu’un is grammatically masculine singular by default:

You treat it like a masculine singular noun for agreement:
- Quelqu’un est arrivé. Il est à l’heure. – Someone arrived. He is on time.
  (You use il, not elle, unless you know it’s a woman.)

It does not change form:

No feminine form like quelqu’une in standard French.
No plural form like quelques uns in this usage (that would be something different).

So you always use quelqu’un, even if you later find out it was a woman.

Can I omit avec and just say Je veux parler quelqu’un ce soir?

No. That’s incorrect in French.

With a person, parler needs a preposition:

parler à quelqu’un – speak to someone
parler avec quelqu’un – speak with someone

You cannot say parler quelqu’un the way English says “talk someone” (which English doesn’t, either—English also needs “to”). So you must keep à or avec:

Je veux parler à quelqu’un ce soir.
Je veux parler avec quelqu’un ce soir.

Could I say Je veux ce soir parler avec quelqu’un, and is that normal?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct; French word order is somewhat flexible:

Je veux parler avec quelqu’un ce soir. (most natural, neutral)
Je veux ce soir parler avec quelqu’un. (also correct, slightly more formal/literary or emphatic on ce soir)
Ce soir, je veux parler avec quelqu’un. (very natural, emphasis on “tonight”)

Moving ce soir around is mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not grammar correctness.

What exactly does ce soir mean—“tonight” or “this evening”? Is there a difference?

Ce soir can mean both this evening and tonight. French doesn’t always make a strict distinction here.

If it’s after work but before late night, English might choose either “this evening” or “tonight”, depending on context.
French ce soir comfortably covers that entire period.

So:

Je veux parler avec quelqu’un ce soir.
can be translated as either:
- I want to talk with someone this evening.
- I want to talk with someone tonight.

What’s the difference between soir and soirée?

They’re related but not identical:

le soir – the evening (time of day, more neutral)
la soirée – the evening as an event/duration, or a social evening/party

Examples:

Ce soir, je reste à la maison. – This evening / tonight, I’m staying home.
Je passe une bonne soirée. – I’m having a good evening.
Je vais à une soirée. – I’m going to a (party-type) evening event.

In your sentence, you’re just locating the action in time, so ce soir (with soir) is the normal choice.

Do I always have to say je, or can I drop the subject pronoun like in Spanish?

In standard French, you must include the subject pronoun:

Je veux parler… – correct
Veux parler… – incorrect in normal French

French is not a “pro-drop” language like Spanish or Italian. The subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles) are normally obligatory in speech and writing.

Is Je veux parler avec quelqu’un ce soir polite, or could it sound rude?

By itself, it’s not rude, but je veux can sound quite direct depending on context and tone of voice.

With friends/family: totally fine, sounds like a normal statement.
In a service/formal situation (e.g. to a receptionist, a stranger, or in an email), you’d usually soften it:
- Je voudrais parler avec quelqu’un ce soir. – I would like to talk with someone tonight.
- Est-ce que je pourrais parler avec quelqu’un ce soir ? – Could I talk with someone tonight?

So grammatically it’s fine; politeness depends on who you’re talking to and how you say it.

How would I say this sentence in the negative: “I don’t want to talk to anyone tonight”?

You need ne … pas for “not” and personne for “anyone / no one” in a negative sentence:

Je ne veux parler avec personne ce soir.
- Literally: I don’t want to speak with nobody tonight (double negative in French, but it’s standard).

You can also use à instead of avec:

Je ne veux parler à personne ce soir.

Key points:

ne … personne = no one / nobody / anyone (in negative sentences)
Word order:
- Je ne veux parler avec personne ce soir.
  (ne before veux, personne after the infinitive parler)

How is the sentence pronounced, especially veux, quelqu’un, and ce soir?

Approximate pronunciation in standard French:

Je veux – [ʒə vø]
- je: like “zhuh”
- veux: “vø” (like “vuh” but with rounded lips; the x is silent)
parler – [paʁle]
- final -er sounds like -é (as in “they” without the “th”)
avec quelqu’un – [avɛk kɛlkœ̃]
- avec: “ah-vek” (final c pronounced [k])
- quelqu’un: “kel-kœ̃” (nasal vowel at the end; you don’t fully pronounce the n)
ce soir – [sə swaʁ] (or in casual speech [s swaʁ])
- ce: “suh” (sometimes the vowel is very reduced, almost just “s”)
- soir: “swar”

Full sentence (carefully pronounced):
[ʒə vø paʁle avɛk kɛlkœ̃ sə swaʁ]