c'est |
1. contraction. it is (used to define the preceding word) | |
Le temps, c'est de l'argent. - Time is money. | |
2. contraction. it is (used to introduce a focus) | |
3. contraction. this is | |
ce |
1. det. this, that | |
2. pron. (subject of être, 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 être, 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 être... - these may be... | |
est |
1. adj. east | |
2. n-m. east | |
3. v. third-person singular present indicative of être | |
être |
1. v. to be | |
Vous devez être plus clairs. - You must be clearer. | |
2. v. (auxiliary) Used to form the perfect and pluperfect tense of (including all reflexive verbs) | |
Après être allé au yoga, je suis rentré 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 être battu ce soir. - He can be beaten this evening. | |
4. n-m. being, creature | |
5. n-m. being, the state or fact of existence | |
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 | |
être à |
1. v. to pertain to; to belong to; to be one's | |
Ce monde a été à nous, mais maintenant c’est à vous. - This world was ours, but now it’s yours. | |
toi |
1. pron. you (informal second-person singular personal pronoun) | |
J'ai besoin de toi. - I need you | |
Et toi, ça va comment ? - And you, how are you? | |
Souviens-toi de ce qui est vraiment important. - Remember what is really important. | |
Attends, tu m'as dit qu'il y a dans cette maison plus de deux-cents livres. Est-ce qu'ils sont tous à toi ? - Wait, you told me that there are more than two hundred books in this house. Are the | |
Toi, t'es quelque chose de différent. - You are something different. | |
de |
1. prep. of (expresses belonging) | |
Paris est la capitale de la France. - Paris is the capital of France. | |
2. prep. of (used to express property or association) | |
Œuvres de Fermat - Fermat’s Works | |
Elle est la femme de mon ami. - She is my friend’s wife. | |
le voisin de Gabriel - Gabriel's neighbor | |
3. prep. from (used to indicate origin) | |
Elle vient de France. - She comes from France. | |
Êtes-vous de Suisse ? - Are you from Switzerland? | |
Ce fromage vient d’Espagne. - This cheese is from Spain. | |
C’est de l’ouest de la France. - It’s from the west of France. | |
Le train va de Paris à Bordeaux. - The train goes from Paris to Bordeaux. | |
4. prep. of (indicates an amount) | |
5 kilos de pommes. - 5 kilograms of apples. | |
Un verre de vin - A glass of wine | |
Une portion de frites - A portion of fries | |
5. prep. used attributively, often translated into English as a compound word | |
Un jus de pomme - Apple juice | |
Un verre de vin - A glass of wine | |
Une boîte de nuit - A nightclub | |
Un chien de garde - A guarddog | |
Une voiture de sport - A sportscar | |
Un stade de football - A football stadium | |
6. prep. from (used to indicate the start of a time or range) | |
De 9:00 à 11:00 je ne serai pas libre. - From 9 to 11 I won’t be free. | |
Je travaille de huit heures à midi. - I work from 8 o'clock to noon. | |
un groupe de cinq à huit personnes - a group of from five to eight people | |
7. prep. used after certain verbs before an infinitive, often translated into English as a gerund or an infinitive | |
J’ai arrêté de fumer. - I stopped smoking. | |
Il continue de m’embêter. - He keeps annoying me. | |
Elle m’a dit de venir. - She told me to come. | |
Nous vous exhortons de venir. - We urge you to come. | |
8. prep. by (indicates the amount of change) | |
Boire trois tasses par jour réduirait de 20 % les risques de contracter une maladie. - Drinking three cups a day would reduce the risks of catching an illness by 20%. | |
9. art. Used in the plural with prepositioned adjectives. | |
Ce sont de bons enfants. - They are good children. | |
Il y a d’autres exemples. - There are other examples. | |
10. art. Used in negated sentences with the grammatical object. | |
Elle n’a pas de mère. - She doesn’t have a mother. | |
Il ne mange pas de viande. - He doesn’t eat meat. | |
Il n’y a pas de problèmes. - There are no problems. | |
11. n-f. abbreviation of dame | |
savoir |
1. v. to know (something) | |
Savais-tu qu'il parle si bien l'anglais? - Did you know that he speaks English so well? | |
Comment savait-il que j'étais là? - How did he know that I was there? | |
Il est difficile de savoir si elle ment. - It's difficult to know if she's lying. | |
Il tire cette approche en inventant une situation initiale, dans laquelle on interrogerait les individus sur la forme qu'ils voudraient d'une société sans qu'ils sachent quelle place ils y aura | |
Difficile à savoir (expression; compare Difficile à dire, voir, faire) | |
2. v. to know how (to do something) | |
Savez-vous nager? - Do you know how to swim? | |
3. v. to be able to, to be apt to (especially in the negative or interrogative conditional; used in the positive in Belgium) | |
Il ne saurait tarder que... - It cannot/will not be long before... | |
4. v. to find out | |
Nous devons savoir pourquoi il a fait ça. - We have to find out why he did this. | |
5. n-m. knowledge | |
si |
1. conj. if, whether | |
Je me demande si elle sera seule. - I wonder if she'll be alone. | |
Je veux savoir si tu viendras ou non. - I want to know if you're coming or not. | |
2. conj. if (assuming that) | |
Si j'avais ses pouvoirs, je créerais un monde où le mal n'existe pas. - If I had his power, I'd create a world where evil didn't exist. | |
Si tu n'avais pas appelé, je serais morte. - If you hadn't called, I'd be dead. | |
3. conj. even if | |
4. conj. although, while | |
5. interj. yes (used to contradict a negative statement) | |
Tu ne m’aimes pas, n’est-ce pas ? — Si ! - You don’t like me, do you? — Yes, I do! | |
Moi, je n'ai rien fait ! — Si ! - I didn't do anything! — Yes, you did! | |
6. adv. so, such (intensifier) | |
J’étais si fatigué ces jours-ci que je n’avais pas le courage de vous écrire. - I was so tired those days that I didn't have the energy to write to you. | |
Cela n'aurait pas été une si bonne idée. - That wouldn't have been such a good idea. | |
7. adv. (si + adjective/adverb + que ...) however (to whatever extent or degree) | |
Si bavard qu'il soit, il ne dit rien de stupide. - However talkative he may be, he doesn't say anything stupid. | |
8. n-m. (music) si, the note 'B' | |
tu |
1. pron. you (singular); thou | |
2. Participle. past participle of taire | |
3. part. (Quebec, informal) (question marker) | |
C'est-tu possible ? - Is it possible? | |
taire |
1. v. to quieten, to shut up, to silence | |
Faites taire vos enfants ! - Shut your children up! | |
2. v. to shut up (one's self), to be quiet, to fall silent, to stop talking | |
Tais-toi! - Be quiet!/Shut up! | |
3. v. To keep (a matter) quiet, to keep secret, not to say | |
Je l'ai entendu de quelqu'un dont je préfère taire le nom. - I heard it from someone whose name I'd rather keep to myself. | |
veux |
1. v. first-person singular present indicative of vouloir | |
2. v. second-person singular present indicative of vouloir | |
3. v. second-person singular imperative of vouloir | |
vouloir |
1. v. to want, wish, desire | |
Je veux voir le soleil. - I want to see the sun. | |
Hitler voulait la guerre, mais beaucoup n'en étaient pas conscients. - Hitler wanted war, but many were not aware of it. | |
2. v. to see oneself as; to give the impression of, to seem | |
3. n-m. will | |
jouter |
1. v. to joust (participate in jousting) | |
avec |
1. prep. (accompaniment) with | |
Je suis revenu avec lui. - I have returned with him. | |
Voudriez-vous y aller avec moi ? - Would you like to come with me? | |
Ils m'ont dit qu'ils étaient avec toi. - They told me that they were with you. | |
2. prep. (manner, instrument) with | |
Je l'ai fait avec plaisir. - I did it with pleasure. | |
3. adv. (informal) too, also | |
Il en est vraiment content. —Bien, moi avec. - He's really happy about it. —Well, me too. | |
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) | |
diplomate |
1. n. diplomat | |
2. n. pastry made from leftover pastries, crushed biscuits | |
qui |
1. pron. (interrogative) who, whom | |
Tu as vu qui ? - Who have you seen? | |
Je ne sais pas qui vous êtes. - I don't know who you are. | |
2. pron. (relative) who, whom (after a preposition), which, that | |
La personne qui parle connait bien son sujet. - The person who speaks knows his/her subject well. | |
Cette voiture bleue qui passe me plait beaucoup. - This blue car which is passing I like a lot. | |
J’aime les chiens qui sont calmes. - I like dogs that are quiet. | |
Un homme à qui j’ai parlé. - A man to whom I spoke/have spoken. | |
Si lugubre que fût l’appartement, c’était un paradis pour qui revenait du lycée. - Gloomy as the apartment was, it was still a paradise for those who came back from school. | |
Rira bien qui rira le dernier. - Who laughs last laughs well. | |
3. conj. (Louisiana French, Cajun French) if | |
Qui elle en a, ça va faire. - If she has any, that will do. | |
Me |
1. n. Abbreviation of Maître/Maitre(, a title given to lawyers and notaries public.) | |
2. pron. (direct object) me | |
Est-ce que tu me vois ? - Do you see me? | |
3. pron. (indirect object) to me | |
Émilien me donne un peu d'argent. - Émilien gave some money to me. | |
paraît |
1. v. third-person singular present indicative of paraître | |
paraître |
1. v. to appear (become visible) | |
L'acteur parut sur l'écran. - The actor appeared on screen. | |
2. v. to be published | |
Ce texte est paru il y a longtemps. - This text was published long ago. | |
Le livre paraîtra en août. - The book will be published in August. | |
3. v. to appear, to seem | |
Il paraît avoir 40 ans. - He seems forty (years old). | |
4. v. (impersonal, with que) to be said that, to be rumored that | |
Il paraît que le vaccin fonctionne très bien. - It is said that that the vaccine works very well. | |
5. n-m. appearance | |
diablement |
1. adv. fiendishly, devilishly | |
roué |
1. n-m. roué (debauched or lecherous person) | |
2. Participle. past participle of rouer | |
rouer |
1. v. to curl up, roll up | |
2. v. to roll (of e.g. birds, to spin in the air) | |
3. v. to beat upon the breaking wheel | |
4. v. to run over (squash by driving over) | |
5. v. to abuse, beat (subject to a beating) | |