| le |
| 1. art. the (definite article) | |
| Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
| 2. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
| L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
| 3. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
| Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
| 4. art. (before units) a, an | |
| Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
| 5. pron. (direct object) him, it | |
| Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas. - Where is Malik? I don't see him. | |
| Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture. - My bag? I'm going to put it in the car. | |
| 6. pron. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English | |
| Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. - ... and he is it too | |
| affaire |
| 1. n-f. business; matter; affair | |
| affaire importante - important business | |
| C'est une affaire d'honneur. - It is a matter of honor. | |
| C'est l'affaire d'une minute. - It's a matter of a minute. | |
| C'est mon affaire, pas la vôtre. - It's my business, not yours. | |
| 2. n-f. deal, transaction, bargain | |
| conclure une affaire - to close a deal | |
| 3. n-f. business, enterprise | |
| monter une affaire - to set up a business | |
| Ils ont repris l'affaire familiale. - They took over the family business. | |
| 4. n-f. affair, scandal | |
| l'affaire Dreyfus - the Dreyfus affair | |
| Affaire Fillon - Fillon affair | |
| 5. n-f. (law) case, trial | |
| L'affaire O.J. Simpson fut une des plus médiatisées. - The O. J. Simpson case was one of the most publicized. | |
| 6. n-f. (informal) things; stuff | |
| 7. n-f. (informal, chiefly in the plural) belonging (something physical that is owned) | |
| 8. n-f. (informal, Quebec) thingamajig | |
| 9. n-f. (informal, Louisiana French) thing | |
| prend |
| 1. v. third-person singular present indicative of prendre | |
| prendre |
| 1. v. to take | |
| prends ma main - take my hand | |
| 2. v. to eat; to drink | |
| elle prend un café - she is drinking a coffee | |
| 3. v. to get; to buy | |
| Je vais prendre le plat du jour. - I'll get the dish of the day. | |
| 4. v. to rob; to deprive | |
| prendre quelque chose à quelqu'un | |
| 5. v. to make | |
| prendre une décision - to make a decision | |
| prendre des mesures draconiennes - to take draconian measures | |
| 6. v. to catch, to work, to start | |
| le feu ne prend pas - the fire won't start | |
| la sauce ne prend pas - the sauce isn't thickening | |
| ma mayonnaise ne prend pas - my mayonnaise isn't setting | |
| ça ne prend pas avec moi - that won't wash with me | |
| 7. v. to get (something) caught (in), to jam | |
| je me suis pris la main dans la porte - I caught my hand in the door | |
| je me suis pris la porte dans la figure | |
| 8. v. indtr, à | |
| Qu'est-ce qui t'a pris ? Qu'est-ce qui t'est passé par la tête ? - What were you thinking? What got into you? What came over you? | |
| Qu'est-ce qui lui a pris ? Quelle mouche l'a piqué ? - What was he thinking? What got into him? | |
| bien lui en prit | |
| mal lui en prit | |
| 9. v. to start having a negative feeling towards someone | |
| prendre en aversion | |
| prendre en grippe | |
| prendre en dégoût | |
| 10. v. (followed by a partitive, in various idiomatic expressions) to gain | |
| prendre de la vitesse - to gain speed | |
| prendre du galon - to gain a promotion | |
| prendre de l'avance - to gain ground | |
| prendre du retard - to fall behind schedule, to run late, to drop behind | |
| prendre de la hauteur - to gain some perspective | |
| prendre du recul - to take a step back | |
| prendre de la bouteille - to gain experience | |
| en prendre de la graine - to take away a lesson | |
| prendre du poids - to gain weight | |
| prendre de la masse - to build muscle | |
| prendre de la brioche, prendre du bide, prendre du ventre - to get a paunch | |
| prendre du bouchon | |
| prendre de l'élan - to gain momentum | |
| prendre de l'âge | |
| prendre de la valeur - to gain value | |
| prendre de l'importance | |
| 11. v. (colloquial ; impersonal) to take (a certain amount of time) | |
| Ça va me prendre au moins deux heures pour le mettre à jour. | |
| 12. v. (colloquial ; impersonal ; by extension) to take (a certain number or amount of) | |
| Pour finir dans deux heures, ça prend trois personnes. - To finish in two hours, it'll take three people. | |
| 13. v. (impersonal) to come over (to arise in and gain some control over one's thoughts and/or actions) | |
| il prend quelque chose à quelqu'un - something comes over someone | |
| Il lui prend une fantaisie de mettre le feu à la maison. | |
| couleur |
| 1. n-f. color, colour | |
| 2. n-f. (poker) a flush | |
| 3. n-f. (cards) suit | |
| 4. n-f. (heraldry) tincture, colour | |
| on |
| 1. pron. (indefinite) one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual) | |
| On ne peut pas pêcher ici - You can’t fish here | |
| 2. pron. (personal, informal) we | |
| On s’est amusés. - We had fun. | |
| commence |
| 1. v. first-person singular present of commencer | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present of commencer | |
| 3. v. second-person singular imperative of commencer | |
| commencer |
| 1. v. to begin, commence | |
| à |
| 1. Notes. In Canada, à and a are not homophones, à a, a ɑː. | |
| 2. prep. to (destination) | |
| aller au bout - go to the end / go all the way | |
| Je vais à Paris. - I am going to Paris. | |
| 3. prep. to (until) | |
| Le spectacle sera de 18h à 21h. - The show will be from 6 pm to 9 pm. | |
| 4. prep. on the, to (some directions) | |
| Tournez à gauche ! - Turn to the left! | |
| Ne tournez pas encore à droite ! - Don't turn to the right yet! | |
| Le vent vire au nord. - The wind turns north. | |
| L'école est à gauche. - The school is on the left. | |
| 5. prep. at (said of a particular time) | |
| à 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) | |
| à la maison - at home | |
| à l'hôtel - at the hotel | |
| au comptoir du bar - at the bar | |
| au bois - in the woods | |
| J'habite à un demi-kilomètre d'ici. - I live half a kilometer from here. | |
| La maison qui a été détruite hier soir ne se trouvait qu'à trois kilomètres de chez nous. - The house that was destroyed last night was only three kilometers from our place.à trois kilomètres d | |
| 7. prep. Used in various interjections used as warnings or exhortations | |
| au voleur ! - stop thief! | |
| à l'assassin ! - murderer! | |
| au meurtre ! - murder! murderer! | |
| à moi ! - help! | |
| à l'aide ! - help! | |
| au secours ! - help! | |
| au feu ! - fire! | |
| aux armes ! - to arms! | |
| à l'attaque ! - attack! forward! charge! up and at 'em! | |
| à 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 à la bibliothèque. - 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 à moi. - This is a friend of mine. | |
| Cette voiture est à John. - This is John's car. | |
| le chien à Marie - Mary's dog nonstandard: one normally would use de here | |
| 10. prep. till, until (used in farewells) | |
| à plus tard - see you later | |
| à bientôt - see you soon | |
| Salut, donc. À 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 à poivre - pepper mill | |
| sac à dos - backpack | |
| boite à musique - music box | |
| 13. prep. (before an infinitive) to (used to express something not completed) | |
| l'équipe à battre - the team to beat | |
| Il n'y a jamais grand-chose à faire par ici. - There's never much to do around here. | |
| Là où tu ne vois pas grand-chose, je ne trouve qu'une grande abondance de choses qui restent à faire. - Where you see nothing great, I only see a great abundance of things that need doing. | |
| Il reste deux tâches à finir. - There are two things left to finish. | |
| Il y a de la bière à 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 à quatre pattes - a four-legged animal | |
| une femme au visage pâle - a pale-faced woman | |
| un homme à longue barbe - a long-bearded man — a man with a long beard | |
| une chemise à 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 à peu - bit by bit | |
| petit à petit - little by little | |
| minute à minute - minute by minute | |
| jour à jour - day by day | |
| un à un - one by one | |
| 16. prep. or, to (used to express an approximate number) | |
| six à sept personnes - six or seven people | |
| de vingt à trente ans - from twenty to thirty years | |
| tous les cinq à six ans - every five or six years | |
| 17. prep. Used to indicate the recipient of certain phrasal verb. | |
| mettre le feu à - to set fire to | |
| clouer le bec à - to shut (someone) up | |
| donner la chasse à - to give chase to | |
| 18. prep. with | |
| en |
| 1. prep. in (used to indicate space, also see usage notes) | |
| J'habite en Angleterre. - I live in England. | |
| 2. prep. to (indicates direction towards certain very large locations, see usage notes) | |
| Il est allé en France. - He went to France. | |
| 3. prep. by (used to indicate means) | |
| aller en bus - go by bus | |
| partir en voiture - leave by car | |
| 4. prep. as | |
| Il me traite en ami. - He treats me as a friend. | |
| habillé en père Noël - dressed as Father Christmas | |
| 5. prep. at (used to describe an ability) | |
| fort en histoire - good at history | |
| 6. prep. of, made of (used to describe composition) | |
| une chaise en hêtre - a chair made of beech/a beech chair | |
| une fourchette en métal - a fork made of metal/a metal fork | |
| 7. prep. in (during the following time (used for months and years)) | |
| en 1993 - in 1993 | |
| en janvier - in January | |
| en septembre 2001 - in September 2001 | |
| 8. prep. (followed by a gerund) while | |
| 9. prep. (followed by a gerund) by, in describing a way of getting something | |
| C'est en trichant qu'il est devenu champion. - It was by cheating that he became champion. | |
| 10. prep. in (used to describe color) | |
| une photo en noir et blanc - a photo in black and white | |
| 11. prep. in (used to describe feelings) | |
| en détresse - in distress | |
| 12. prep. in (as part of something) | |
| en équipe - on a team | |
| 13. pron. (Used as the object of a verb to indicate an indefinite quantity; of it, of them. Replaces the partitive article (du, de la, etc.)) | |
| Essaies-en ! - Try some (of it / them)! | |
| Tu as combien de livres ? J'en ai trois. - How many books do you have? I have three (of them). | |
| Y a-t-il beaucoup de pièces ? Oui. Il y en a beaucoup. - Are there many rooms? Yes, there are many (of them). | |
| Martin a trois sandwichs, mais j'en ai seulement deux. - Martin has three sandwiches, but I have only two (of them). | |
| Il y en a combien ? - How many of them are there? | |
| Je bois de l'alcool parce que j'en ai besoin - I drink alcohol because I need (of) it. | |
| 14. pron. Adverbial preposition indicating movement away from a place already mentioned; from there, from it. Replaces the phrase de là or d’ici. | |
| Est-ce qu'elle vient de Barcelone ? Oui, elle en vient. - Does she come from Barcelona? Yes, she comes (from there). | |
| espérer |
| 1. v. to hope | |
| J’espère réussir. - I hope to succeed. | |
| J’espère qu’il viendra bientôt. - I hope he will come soon. | |
| 2. v. to hope for | |
| J’espère un succès rapide. - I hope for quick success | |
| 3. v. to have faith, to trust (with en) | |
| Il faut espérer. - You must have faith. | |
| Il faut espérer en Dieu. - You must trust in God. | |
| 4. v. (Louisiana French, Normandy) to wait | |
| Espere-voir un bout. - Please wait a bit. | |
| un |
| 1. art. an, a | |
| 2. num. number box, fr | |
| 3. num. one | |
| 4. pron. one, someone | |
| 5. n-m. one (the number or figure) | |
| bon |
| 1. adj. good | |
| (parasyn, bien) | |
| 2. adj. right, correct, appropriate | |
| (parasyn, exact) | |
| le bon usage - the correct usage | |
| être dans la bonne direction - to be going the right way, to be heading the right way | |
| Choisissez la bonne réponse. - Choose the correct response. | |
| 3. adj. (slang) sexy, hot, smoking hot | |
| Cette meuf est fin bonne ! - That chick is fine as hell! | |
| 4. n-m. voucher, ticket, coupon | |
| 5. interj. well; OK | |
| résultat |
| 1. n-m. outcome; result | |
| 2. n-m. (finance) bottom line | |
