Saurai gré or serai gré?

Gré comes from the Latin adjective gratis, grata, gratum which means pleasant, dear, loved or grateful, welcome or charming. In the GaffiotIt says "who receives a warm welcome".

To be grateful is precisely to be aware that something is pleasant.

When to use savoir gré?

The expression savoir gré is used to express gratitude or appreciation to someone. It can be used in different ways, for example :

- I'm grateful for your help": this phrase means that you are grateful for the help you have received from someone.

- I am grateful for your understanding": this expression shows that you are grateful for the understanding and empathy shown towards you. Saurai gré or serai gré? So there's no debate. Serai gré is incorrect.

Note that "savoir gré" is a verb transitive (i.e. it refers to an object) indirect (it is introduced by a preposition of the type de, à, etc.), which means that it must be followed by an indirect object complement (COI) introduced by the preposition "de". For example: "Je vous sais gré from your kindness".

I would be grateful or you would be grateful: mistakes not to be made

However, there are some common mistakes when using the expression "savoir gré". Here are a few examples:

- "Je vous sais gré pour votre aide": this sentence is incorrect, as "pour" cannot be used as a preposition with "savoir gré". The correct usage would be "Je vous sais gré de votre aide".

Am I grateful or am I grateful?

Please note that the expression "suis gré" has no meaning in French and should not be used. As stated in the Académie française "We must be careful not to make gré an attributive adjective or to substitute the verb to know for the verb to be...".

The expression is an old one, and there are many variations on the word gré: one can know gré, know bon gré, know mauvais gré, and so on.

Would you like me to or would you like me to?

In practice, the use of the expression can sometimes be disrespectful when it is precisely the person who is trying to show his or her appreciation. For example, it is not uncommon to read in administrative correspondence "I would be grateful if you would fill in this form...", a form of injunction whose meaning is easy to understand in context.

Compare "In view of what has happened, in future, I would be grateful if you could refrain from speaking" and "I would be grateful if you could give me a few minutes to discuss my proposal".

The use of the future tense sounds like an injunction that leaves no room for doubt. In the first case, it means "in future, we will ask you to keep quiet". In the second, we understand: I would like you to grant me an interview. The implication is obviously "if possible". Note the deliberate use of "we" in this example to distinguish easily between the future tense "we will ask you" and the conditional tense "we would ask you".

In a covering letter, to request an interview

So, in a cover letterDo not use the future tense. Use the conditional! For example, "I would be grateful if you could keep me informed of the outcome of my application...". If you want to use this expression to ask for an interview, never use it in the future tense. Don't say "I'll be grateful if you'll see me...", as the person you're speaking to could well tell you that. unwillingly! By using the conditional tense, "I would be grateful if you could tell me what I need to do to complete my application", you will be treating the person you are talking to with the deference they deserve.

Can we write "Je la sais grée "When talking about a woman?

No, gré remains invariable. Insofar as the expression is forged with know and not with be, gré is not an adjective and therefore cannot be an attribute of the subject or an epithet. Just remember that even if you're talking about the person responsible for human resources who gave you the warmest welcome, you won't be able to write: "I know how grateful she is.e for having received me. You should write: I am grateful to her for having received me.

I'm grateful to you for an alternative

You can express gratitude by using "savoir gré", but the French language has many other ways of expressing gratitude.

If you don't feel comfortable with this expression, keep it simple. Instead, use a more common expression like "I'm grateful to you for..." but this time, make the agreement: if you're a woman, then write "I'm grateful to you for...".e... "

This is how Michel Serres began his address to the Académie française acceptance speech on 31 January 1991: "As an equivalent to the word remerciement [...] the French language has the terms grâce or gré, used indifferently in a masculine and gentle logic of free exchanges: je vous make I thank you or I'm grateful to you.

To find out more about using the future or conditional tense, click here: I could or I will or here : i'll be where i'll be !

Other tips for writing french correctly are available on the CVsansfaute blog.