When to use it
Use it at the reception when something is wrong in your room and you want to complain.
The sentence in English — “How do I make a complaint at the hotel?”
"How do I make a complaint at the hotel?" uses "do" to make the question and "make a complaint" as a fixed expression. "At the hotel" says where.
- How
- adverbquestion word asking about the way or manner
- do
- auxiliary verbdo · tense: present · auxiliary that makes the question
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- make
- verbmake · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · "make an appointment" and "make a complaint" are fixed expressions
- a
- determinerindefinite article
- complaint
- nounnoun
- at
- prepositionpreposition of place
- the
- determinerdefinite article
- hotel
- nounnoun
The sentence in French — “Comment faire une réclamation à l'hôtel ?”
"Comment faire une réclamation à l'hôtel ?" asks with the infinitive "faire". "Réclamation" is the formal word for complaint. "L'" is the article "le" shortened before the vowel sound of "hôtel".
- Comment
- adverbquestion adverb: "how"
- faire
- verbfaire · form: infinitive · "to make", "to do"
- une
- determinerindefinite article, feminine: "a"
- réclamation
- nounfeminine noun: "complaint"
- à
- prepositionpreposition: "at"
- l'
- determinerdefinite article before a vowel or silent h: "the"
- hôtel
- nounmasculine noun: "hotel"
English × French — What changes from one language to the other
French can ask with only the infinitive; English needs "how do I…". Both use the verb "make/faire" with complaint. French shortens the article before a vowel: "l'hôtel".
Example conversation
— Comment faire une réclamation à l'hôtel ?
— How do I make a complaint at the hotel?
— Vous pouvez parler au responsable à la réception.
— You can speak to the manager at the reception.