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| ce |
| 1. det. this, that | |
| 2. pron. (subject of ĂȘtre, with predicative adjectives or relative clauses, singular only) it, this, that (see § Usage notes, below) | |
| C'est beau ! - It is beautiful! | |
| est-ce que...? - is it that...? | |
| ce dont je parlais - that which I was speaking of | |
| C'eût été avec plaisir, mais... - It would have been with pleasure, but... | |
| C'eût été dommage... - It would have been a pity... | |
| 3. pron. (subject of ĂȘtre, with predicate nouns) he, she, it, this, that | |
| C'est un/une célébrité. - He/she is a celebrity. | |
| Ce sont des célébrités. - These are celebrities. | |
| Ce sont des gens bien. - These are good people. | |
| ce semble - it seems | |
| ce peuvent ĂȘtre... - these may be... | |
| ne |
| 1. part. (literary) not (used alone to negate a verb; now chiefly with only a few particular verbs: see usage notes) | |
| 2. part. not, no (used before a verb, with a coordinating negative element usually following; see Usage Notes, below) | |
| 3. part. (Used in a subordinate clause before a subjunctive verb (especially when the main verb expresses doubt or fear), to provide extra overtones of doubt or uncertainty (but not negating its verb); the so- | |
| 4. part. In comparative clauses usually translated with the positive sense of the subsequent negative | |
| Apprendre le français est plus facile qu'on ne pense. - Learning French is easier than you (might) think. | |
| est |
| 1. adj. east | |
| 2. n-m. east | |
| 3. v. third-person singular present indicative of ĂȘtre | |
| ĂȘtre |
| 1. v. to be | |
| Vous devez ĂȘtre plus clairs. - You must be clearer. | |
| 2. v. (auxiliary) Used to form the perfect and pluperfect tense of (including all reflexive verbs) | |
| AprĂšs ĂȘtre allĂ© au yoga, je suis rentrĂ© chez moi. - After having gone to yoga, I came back home. | |
| 3. v. (semi-auxiliary) to be (Used to form the passive voice) | |
| Il peut ĂȘtre battu ce soir. - He can be beaten this evening. | |
| 4. n-m. being, creature | |
| 5. n-m. being, the state or fact of existence | |
| pas |
| 1. n-m. step, pace, footstep | |
| 2. n-m. (geography) strait, pass | |
| Pas de Calais - Strait of Dover | |
| 3. n-m. thread, pitch (of a screw or nut) | |
| 4. adv. The most common adverb of negation in French, typically translating into English as not, don't, doesn't, etc. | |
| Je ne sais pas. - I don't know | |
| Ma grande sĆur n'habite pas avec nous. - My big sister doesn't live with us. | |
| Jâveux pas travailler. - I don't wanna work. | |
| Mal |
| 1. Proper noun. Section of Tongres in Belgium | |
| 2. n-m. (as in the phrase: avoir du mal) trouble, difficulty | |
| J'ai du mal à m'imaginer ça. - I have trouble imagining that. | |
| 3. n-m. pain | |
| J'ai mal Ă la tĂȘte. - I have pain at the head. | |
| 4. n-m. evil | |
| Le philosophe abordait de grandes questions du bon et du mal. - The philosopher discussed broad questions of good and evil. | |
| 5. n-m. damage, harm | |
| Le mal est fait. - The damage is done. | |
| 6. adv. badly | |
| C'est mal fait. - It's done badly. | |
| 7. adj. (in set phrases and limited constructions) bad | |
| bon an, mal an - good year, bad year | |
| bon gré, mal gré - willy-nilly | |
| Il est mal de infinitive - Itâs wrong to infinitive | |
| C'est mal de infinitive - Itâs wrong to infinitive | |
| pas mal |
| 1. adv. (litotes) not badly (reasonably well) | |
| 2. adj. (litotes) not bad (reasonably good) | |
| une fille pas mal - a fairly pretty girl | |
| 3. pron. (idiomatic, informal) quite a bit, quite a few (a decent amount) | |
| tourné |
| 1. Participle. past participle of tourner | |
| tourner |
| 1. v. to turn (left, right etc.) | |
| 2. v. to stir (e.g. ingredients) | |
| 3. v. to tour, to go on tour | |
| 4. v. (film) to film, to shoot a film | |
| 5. v. (computing, ambitransitive) to run, to execute (a program, an application etc.) | |
| Faire tourner un programme sur son ordinateur. - To run a program on one's computer. | |
| 6. v. to lathe | |
| Š |
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| mais |
| 1. conj. but, although | |
| 2. interj. an expression of surprise, disbelief, or frustration roughly equivalent to the English well, or sometimes yeah | |
| Mais qu'est-ce que tu fais ? - What the heck are you doing? | |
| 3. n. plural of mai | |
| Ă |
| 1. Notes. In Canada, Ă and a are not homophones, Ă a, a ÉË. | |
| 2. prep. to (destination) | |
| aller au bout - go to the end / go all the way | |
| Je vais Ă Paris. - I am going to Paris. | |
| 3. prep. to (until) | |
| Le spectacle sera de 18h Ă 21h. - The show will be from 6 pm to 9 pm. | |
| 4. prep. on the, to (some directions) | |
| Tournez Ă gauche ! - Turn to the left! | |
| Ne tournez pas encore Ă droite ! - Don't turn to the right yet! | |
| Le vent vire au nord. - The wind turns north. | |
| L'Ă©cole est Ă gauche. - The school is on the left. | |
| 5. prep. at (said of a particular time) | |
| Ă dix heures et quart - at quarter past ten | |
| Je pars à cinq heures précises. - I am leaving at exactly five o'clock. | |
| 6. prep. at, in, on (said of a particular place) | |
| Ă la maison - at home | |
| Ă l'hĂŽtel - at the hotel | |
| au comptoir du bar - at the bar | |
| au bois - in the woods | |
| J'habite Ă un demi-kilomĂštre d'ici. - I live half a kilometer from here. | |
| La maison qui a été détruite hier soir ne se trouvait qu'à trois kilomÚtres de chez nous. - The house that was destroyed last night was only three kilometers from our place.à trois kilomÚtres d | |
| 7. prep. Used in various interjections used as warnings or exhortations | |
| au voleur ! - stop thief! | |
| Ă l'assassin ! - murderer! | |
| au meurtre ! - murder! murderer! | |
| Ă moi ! - help! | |
| Ă l'aide ! - help! | |
| au secours ! - help! | |
| au feu ! - fire! | |
| aux armes ! - to arms! | |
| Ă l'attaque ! - attack! forward! charge! up and at 'em! | |
| Ă l'abordage ! - on board! | |
| au boulot ! - get to work! let's get to work! | |
| au travail ! - get to work! let's get to work! | |
| 8. prep. from (origin) | |
| Nous prenons de l'eau au puits. - We get water from the well. | |
| Je l'ai eu Ă la bibliothĂšque. - I got it from the library. | |
| Voilà la femme à laquelle j'ai acheté mon chien - There's the woman I bought my dog from. | |
| 9. prep. of (belonging to) | |
| C'est un ami Ă moi. - This is a friend of mine. | |
| Cette voiture est Ă John. - This is John's car. | |
| le chien Ă Marie - Mary's dog nonstandard: one normally would use de here | |
| 10. prep. till, until (used in farewells) | |
| Ă plus tard - see you later | |
| Ă bientĂŽt - see you soon | |
| Salut, donc. Ă demain. - Bye, then. 'Til tomorrow / see you tomorrow. | |
| 11. prep. (cuisine) cooked in or with | |
| 12. prep. Used to make compound nouns to state what something is used for | |
| moulin Ă poivre - pepper mill | |
| sac Ă dos - backpack | |
| boite Ă musique - music box | |
| 13. prep. (before an infinitive) to (used to express something not completed) | |
| l'Ă©quipe Ă battre - the team to beat | |
| Il n'y a jamais grand-chose Ă faire par ici. - There's never much to do around here. | |
| LĂ oĂč tu ne vois pas grand-chose, je ne trouve qu'une grande abondance de choses qui restent Ă faire. - Where you see nothing great, I only see a great abundance of things that need doing. | |
| Il reste deux tĂąches Ă finir. - There are two things left to finish. | |
| Il y a de la biĂšre Ă boire. - There's some beer to drink. | |
| 14. prep. Used to describe a part of something, often translated into English as a compound adjective | |
| un animal Ă quatre pattes - a four-legged animal | |
| une femme au visage pĂąle - a pale-faced woman | |
| un homme Ă longue barbe - a long-bearded man â a man with a long beard | |
| une chemise Ă manches courtes - a short-sleeved shirt | |
| une maison aux murs de brique - a brick-walled house / a house with brick walls | |
| 15. prep. by | |
| peu Ă peu - bit by bit | |
| petit Ă petit - little by little | |
| minute Ă minute - minute by minute | |
| jour Ă jour - day by day | |
| un Ă un - one by one | |
| 16. prep. or, to (used to express an approximate number) | |
| six Ă sept personnes - six or seven people | |
| de vingt Ă trente ans - from twenty to thirty years | |
| tous les cinq Ă six ans - every five or six years | |
| 17. prep. Used to indicate the recipient of certain phrasal verb. | |
| mettre le feu Ă - to set fire to | |
| clouer le bec Ă - to shut (someone) up | |
| donner la chasse Ă - to give chase to | |
| 18. prep. with | |
| quoi |
| 1. pron. (interrogative, ;, for things) what | |
| 2. pron. (after a preposition) | |
| De quoi parle-t-il ? - What is he talking about? | |
| Ă quoi penses-tu ? - What are you thinking about? | |
| Ă quoi cela sert-il ? - What is this used for? | |
| Avec quoi cela se mange-t-il ? - What is this supposed to be eaten with? | |
| En vue de quoi fais-tu cela ? - What are you doing this for? | |
| 3. pron. (attributive, or direct object, ;, colloquial) | |
| C'est quoi ? (attributive) - What is this/that? (noncolloquial French: qu') (noncolloquial French: qu') | |
| Il dit quoi ? (direct object) - What does he say? (noncolloquial French: que) (noncolloquial French: que) | |
| 4. pron. (relative, ;, for things) what, (that) which | |
| 5. pron. (direct object) | |
| Je sais quoi faire. - I know what to do. | |
| Je ne sais pas quoi faire. - I don't know what to do. (more formal French: Je ne sais que faire.) (more formal French: Je ne sais que f | |
| 6. pron. (after a preposition) | |
| Laisse-moi te montrer ce sur quoi je travaille en ce moment. - ...that on which I am working... | |
| Et voilà à quoi nous avons passé notre temps. - And that's what we've spent our time on. | |
| Ils ont perdu beaucoup d'argent, en conséquence de quoi ils ont dû fermer le magasin. - They've lost a lot of money, in consequence of which they | |
| 7. pron. after de and before an infinitive verb | |
| 8. pron. enough (of something specific) | |
| Il y avait de quoi remplir trois boĂźtes. - There was enough to fill three boxes. | |
| 9. pron. nothing | |
| Il n'y a pas de quoi en faire tout un plat ! - There's nothing to make a big thing out of! | |
| Merci !âIl n'y a pas de quoi me remercier. - There is nothing to thank me for. | |
| 10. pron. (before a subjunctive verb) whatever | |
| 11. pron. (direct object) | |
| Quoi que je fasse, rien ne changera. - Whatever I may do, nothing will change. | |
| 12. pron. (subject of an impersonal verb) | |
| Quoi qu'il arrive, je serai lĂ . - Whatever may happen, I will be there. | |
| 13. adv. (colloquial) you know, like, y'know | |
| Alors, ce mec m'a dit de te donner son porte-monnaie, quoi. - So, this guy, like, told me to give you his wallet. | |
| 14. Phrase. what? say again? | |
| que |
| 1. conj. that (introduces a subordinate noun clause and connects it to its parent clause) | |
| Je vois que tu parles bien français. - I see that you speak French well. | |
| 2. conj. Substitutes for another, previously stated conjunction. | |
| Si le temps est beau et que tout le monde est d'accord, nous mangerons en plein air. - If the weather is nice and if everyone likes the idea, we'll eat outside. | |
| 3. conj. when, no sooner | |
| Il Ă©tait Ă peine parti quâelle a tĂ©lĂ©phonĂ© Ă la police. - No sooner had he left when she called the police. | |
| 4. conj. (Links two noun phrases in apposition forming a clause without a (finite) verb, such that the complement acts as predicate.) | |
| 5. conj. introduces a comparison | |
| 6. conj. (comparisons of superiority or inferiority) than | |
| Il est plus grand que son pĂšre. - He is taller than his father. | |
| 7. conj. (comparisons of equality) as | |
| Elle est aussi intelligente que toi. - She is as smart as you. | |
| 8. conj. (used with ne) only, just; but, nothing but | |
| Je ne mange que des fruits. - I eat nothing but fruit. | |
| 9. conj. how (in rhetorical interjections) | |
| Que c'est beau! - How beautiful it is! | |
| Mais que t'es drĂŽle, quoi. - Oh, how funny you are. | |
| 10. pron. (tlb, interrogative) | |
| 11. pron. (slightly formal, accusative) (The inanimate direct-object interrogative pronoun.) | |
| Que pensez-vous de cette peinture ? - What do you think of that painting? | |
| Qu'auriez-vous fait d'autre ? - What else would you have done? | |
| 12. pron. (slightly formal, nominative) (The inanimate subject or predicative interrogative pronoun.) | |
| Qu'est-il arrivé ? - What happened? | |
| Que me vaut cette visite ? - To what do I owe this visit? | |
| Que sommes-nous ? - What are we? | |
| 13. pron. (accusative, relative) (The direct object relative pronoun.) | |
| C'est un homme que je connais trĂšs bien. - He's a man whom I know very well. | |
| Je viens de lire la lettre que vous m'avez envoyée. - I've just read the letter that you sent me. | |
| quoi que |
| 1. pron. whatever (+ subjunctive) | |
| ça |
| 1. pron. (informal) that | |
| J'aimerais ça. - I'd like that. | |
| 2. pron. (informal) this | |
| Je veux ça. - I want this. | |
| 3. pron. it | |
| Ăa va. - It's okay. | |
| 4. pron. (non-gloss, used to indicate actions happening generally without specifying an agent, like on but with a greater suggestion of mass, generalized, unattributable, or confused action); people | |
| Partout ça criait, ça hurlait, ça se battait. - There was shouting, screaming, fighting everywhere. | |
| 5. pron. (Louisiana French) they | |
| 6. n-m. (psychoanalysis) id | |
| peut |
| 1. v. third-person singular present indicative of pouvoir | |
| pouvoir |
| 1. v. can, to be able to | |
| Je peux venir ce soir. - I can come this evening. | |
| 2. v. may | |
| désastre qui peut nous frapper - disaster which may strike us | |
| 3. v. (impersonal, reflexive) to be possible; may, could be | |
| Il se peut que je sois malade. - (literally) It could be that I'm ill / (more naturally) I may be ill. / I could be ill. | |
| 4. n-m. (or un) power | |
| prendre le pouvoir - to take power, to seize power | |
| 5. n-m. authority | |
| 6. n-m. (legal) power of attorney | |
| servir |
| 1. v. to serve (to help in a shop; to bring a meal to someone) | |
| Je suis allée en France avec ma mÚre l'année derniÚre et le serveur nous a servi des escargots! - I went to France last year with my mother and the waiter served us escargots! | |
| On vous a servie, madame? - Have you been helped, madam? | |
| 2. v. to be used for | |
| 3. v. (indtr, Ă ) to be useful for someone, to be of use, come in handy | |
| 4. v. (sports) to serve (start a point with service) | |
| 5. v. (sports) to set up (pass to, in order to give a scoring chance) | |
| 6. v. to help oneself, to serve oneself | |
| 7. v. (indtr, .reflexive) to use, make use of | |
