# A question for Quebec dopers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574 "2023-03-02T03:21:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/1 "2023-03-02T03:21:22Z")
I’m a born and raised Canadian, I’ve had French language instruction throughout public and high school. In the military (including Royal Military College) I’ve taken a ton of French language instruction and had a zillion Francophone colleagues. And I have lived in Montreal for a total of about 15 years. I practice as much as I can. However, I was recently corrected by a Brit new coworker who has been in Canada for all of a month or two, knows almost no French, but conveniently happened to read something about which I was corrected. So here’s my question (for Anglos and Francos, if sufficiently experienced with living in a Quebecois mileu) - if you are in a restaurant and want to order something, in French, what would you say to or ask of the server. Assume that you are ordering an all-dressed pizza. I’m not giving a multiple choice selection as I don’t want to “lead the witness.” Thank you very much ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/2 "2023-03-02T03:56:54Z")
Sidebar… > [@velomont](#): > > an all-dressed pizza Just to clarify: Is this what we in the Lower 48 call a pizza “with everything on it”? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/3 "2023-03-02T04:51:46Z")
It’s been a while since I lived in Quebec but I’d ask for pizza toute-garnie: “Je prends une pointe toute-garnie, s’il vous plaît.” ( for a single slice) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/4 "2023-03-02T04:54:25Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Is this what we in the Lower 48 call a pizza “with everything on it ? Bien sûr! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/5 "2023-03-02T15:35:42Z")
I was taught in French class that I would start out, “Je voudrais …” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/6 "2023-03-02T16:06:00Z")
I’m not from Quebec and I’d almost certainly use a sentence fragment like “Un pizza, s’il vous plait”. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Is this what we in the Lower 48 call a pizza “with everything on it”? There’s a very catchy Quebecois rock song about a guy promising to spoil his girl with the finest things in life, like all-dressed hot dogs. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/noohazEhDRo/hqdefault.jpg "Bleu Jeans Bleu - J'te Gâte All Dressed - (Clip Officiel)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noohazEhDRo) ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/7 "2023-03-02T16:15:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > “Je voudrais …” Moi aussi 🙂. Were you taught in Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/8 "2023-03-02T16:16:32Z")
Los Angeles by an American who learned French as a second language. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/9 "2023-03-02T17:52:59Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > …a guy promising to spoil his girl with the finest things in life, like all-dressed hot dogs. Damn! Why can’t I ~~meat~~ _meet_ guys like that? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/10 "2023-03-02T18:41:05Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > > Je voudrais …” > > Moi aussi 🙂. Were you taught in Canada? And I got corrected the first time I used that construction when ordering in a food court mall in Quebec City. “Just say ‘je prends’.” Plus “s’il vous plaît”. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/11 "2023-03-02T19:47:30Z")
As an aside: “Dressed” (but not “all dressed”) is used in the New Orleans area to indicate that a (po’ boy) sandwich will come with lettuce, tomatoes, and certain condiments. I wonder if that usage of “dressed” harkens back to the French language in any way? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/12 "2023-03-02T20:33:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Just say ‘je prends’.” I got in trouble when practicing the conditional. “Cad, how would you order a steak?” “Donnes-moi un bifteck maintenant.” ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/13 "2023-03-03T03:51:11Z")
J’aimerais une pizza toute garnie, svp (ou bien, stp.) Je voudrais prendre une pizza végé. Je t’en pris, donnez-moi la pizza all-dresse’. I might go so far as to say ‘Je vais prendre…’, but I wouldn’t say ‘Je prends…’, myself - I know it’s done, but it’s not my style. If someone wants to call me out for being too formal, I’ll live with it… ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-quebec-dopers/980574/14 "2023-03-03T04:11:29Z")
I would say _j’voudrais_… I have lived in Quebec but do not presume to speak for Québécois. J’voudrais une moyenne pizza… toute garnie ou je m’en fous…