Paul part ; je dis : « À bientôt ! »

Because the subject is Paul, which is third-person singular: he.

The verb is partir and its present-tense forms are:

• je pars
• tu pars
• il / elle / on part
• nous partons
• vous partez
• ils / elles partent

So with Paul, you need part:

• Paul part

If the speaker were leaving, it would be:

• Je pars

Because je dis is the correct first-person singular form of dire in the present tense.

Present tense of dire:

• je dis
• tu dis
• il / elle / on dit
• nous disons
• vous dites
• ils / elles disent

So:

• je dis = I say
• il dit = he says

A learner often mixes up dis and dit, but they match different subjects.

French often uses the present tense for actions happening right now or in a simple narration of events.

In this sentence:

• Paul part = Paul is leaving / leaves
• je dis = I say / I’m saying

This is very natural in French. English may sometimes prefer is leaving in a similar context, but French commonly uses the simple present.

The semicolon links two closely related parts of the sentence:

• Paul part
• je dis : « À bientôt ! »

It shows a pause stronger than a comma, but not as final as a period.

So it suggests:

• Paul leaves;
• at that moment, I say something.

A period would also be possible in many contexts:

• Paul part. Je dis : « À bientôt ! »

The semicolon just gives a slightly more connected feel.

The colon introduces direct speech.

So je dis : means:

• I say:

and then the exact words follow:

• « À bientôt ! »

This is similar to English writing:

• I say: See you soon!

In French, the colon is a common way to introduce what someone says directly.

Those are the standard French quotation marks, called guillemets.

So in French, direct speech is often written like this:

• « À bientôt ! »

Instead of English-style punctuation:

• “See you soon!”

This is mainly a writing convention. It does not change the meaning.

Because standard French typography usually puts a space before certain punctuation marks, especially:

• ;
• :
• !
• ?

So this is normal in French:

• Paul part ; je dis : « À bientôt ! »

In careful typography, that space is often a non-breaking space or a thin space, but in ordinary typed text it is often just shown as a regular space.

This is different from standard English, where you normally do not put a space before those marks.

Because in French, capital letters keep their accents.

So:

• à becomes À
• not plain A

This is correct and important in careful writing. French does not drop accents just because a letter is capitalized.

Because À bientôt ! is a fixed farewell expression.

Literally, it is built around à + bientôt, but learners should treat it as a complete expression meaning something like a parting formula used when leaving.

French often uses short expressions like this without a full subject and verb, just as English does with phrases like See you soon!

Other similar farewell expressions are:

• À demain !
• À tout à l’heure !
• À plus tard !

Not exactly.

• Au revoir ! is a general goodbye.
• À bientôt ! suggests see you soon and implies that you expect to meet again before too long.

So À bientôt ! feels a bit warmer or more specific about meeting again.

Yes. French offers several natural alternatives depending on style and context.

For example:

• Paul part. Je dis : « À bientôt ! »
• Paul s’en va ; je dis : « À bientôt ! »
• Comme Paul part, je dis : « À bientôt ! »

Each version is grammatical, but the original is simple and natural for showing:

1. Paul leaves.
2. I say the farewell.