When to use it
Use it in a shop or with customer service when you want your money back for a purchase.
The sentence in English: “How can I get a refund?”
"How can I get a refund?" uses "can" before the subject "I". "Get" here means obtain, and "a refund" is the money given back.
- How
- adverbquestion word asking about the way or manner
- can
- auxiliary verbcan · tense: present · modal verb of ability or permission
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- get
- verbget · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · here it means "obtain"
- a
- determinerindefinite article
- refund
- nounnoun; money given back
The sentence in French: “Comment puis-je obtenir un remboursement ?”
"Comment puis-je obtenir un remboursement ?" uses inversion: the verb "puis" comes before the pronoun "je", joined by a hyphen. "Puis" is an older form of "peux" used in this inverted question. "Obtenir" means to obtain.
- Comment
- adverbquestion adverb: "how"
- puis
- verbpouvoir · tense: present · mood: indicative · person: first · number: singular · old form of "peux", used in inverted questions: "puis-je"
- -je
- pronounpersonal pronoun "je" placed after the verb to form the question
- obtenir
- verbobtenir · form: infinitive · "to get", "to obtain"
- un
- determinerindefinite article, masculine: "a"
- remboursement
- nounmasculine noun: "refund"
What changes from one language to the other: English × French
Both languages put the verb before the subject in this question, but French joins them with a hyphen and uses the special form "puis". English uses the very common "get"; French uses the more precise "obtenir".
Example conversation
— Comment puis-je obtenir un remboursement ?
— How can I get a refund?
— Vous avez le ticket de caisse ?
— Do you have the receipt?