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 | |
une |
1. num. feminine singular of un | |
2. art. a / an (feminine indefinite article) | |
3. n-f. front page (of a publication) | |
façon |
1. n-f. way; manner; fashion | |
Je n'aime pas la façon dont tu me parles. - I don't like the way you speak to me. | |
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 | |
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 à la tête. - 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 - It’s wrong to infinitive | |
C'est mal de infinitive - It’s wrong to infinitive | |
parler |
1. v. to speak, talk | |
Il a commencé à parler à l’âge de quatre ans. - He began to speak at the age of four. | |
Ils ont parlé plusieurs heures avant d’aller se coucher. - They spoke several hours before going to sleep. | |
2. v. to be able to communicate in a language; to speak | |
Elle parle couramment français. - She speaks French fluently | |
3. v. (heraldry) to cant; (of a coat of arms) to make a pun of its bearer's name | |
Armes parlantes. | |
4. v. takes a reflexive pronoun | |
se parler à soi-même - to talk to oneself | |
5. n-m. parlance | |
6. n-m. vernacular, dialect | |