| 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... | |
| 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 était à peine parti qu’elle a téléphoné à 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 père. - 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 drôle, 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 très 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. | |
| ce que |
| 1. pron. (accusative, relative) what (relative pronoun - direct object) | |
| C'est ce que font les gens bien. - This is what good people do. | |
| Cela n'est pas ce que je voulais. - That isn't what I wanted. | |
| Il avait bien conscience de ce qu'il avait fait. - He knew perfectly well what he had done. | |
| Ce que dit le roi est vrai, parce que le roi le dit. - What the king says is true, because the king says it. | |
| A est à B ce que C est à D - A is to B as C is to D | |
| 2. pron. (accusative, interrogative) what (in indirect questions) | |
| Savez-vous ce qu’il dit ? - Do you know what he says? | |
| Savez-vous ce que vous faites ? - Do you know what you're doing? | |
| elle |
| 1. pron. she | |
| Je crois qu'elle est partie. - I think she left. | |
| 2. pron. it (feminine gender third-person singular subject pronoun) | |
| Voilà ma voiture. Elle a cinq ans. - That's my car. It is five years old. | |
| 3. pron. disjunctive form of elle; her; à elle = hers | |
| C’est à elle. - It's hers. | |
| sera |
| 1. v. third-person singular future indicative of être | |
| serait |
| 1. v. third-person singular conditional of être | |
| soit |
| 1. conj. or, meaning, that is to say | |
| 2. conj. either ... or | |
| Il veut adopter un animal de compagnie, soit un chat, soit un chien. - He wants to adopt a pet, either a cat, or a dog. | |
| Je lui ai dit que j'aimerais reprendre un de mes vieux passe-temps, soit jouer du piano, soit apprendre une langue. - I told him I want to take up one of my old hobbies agains, be that playing | |
| 3. v. third-person singular present subjunctive of être | |
| 4. v. (math) let be | |
| Soit f une fonction linéaire. - Let f be a linear function. | |
| 5. interj. OK; granted; so be it | |
| dit |
| 1. Participle. past participle of dire | |
| Il a dit son nom. - He said his name. | |
| 2. Participle. (in names) Indicating a surname used as a family name. | |
| 3. v. third-person singular present indicative of dire | |
| 4. v. third-person singular past historic of dire | |
| « Je m'appelle Paul, » dit-il. - “My name is Paul,” he said. | |
| dire |
| 1. v. to say, to tell | |
| 2. v. (informal) to be of interest to, to interest +preo, à, someone | |
| Ça te dit de regarder un film de science-fiction? - Do you want to watch a science fiction movie? What do you say to watching a science fiction movie? | |
| Ça vous dit ? - Are you interested in doing this? Are you up for it? | |
| Il m'a demandé si ça nous dirait de nous joindre à eux plus tard. - He asked me if we'd like to join them later. | |
| Ça ne me dit trop rien d'y aller. - I don't really want to go there. | |
| 3. v. (informal) to sound familiar +preo, à, someone | |
| Ça me dit quelque chose. - It rings a bell. | |
| Ça ne me dit rien. - It doesn't ring a bell. | |
| 4. n-m. saying (that which is said) | |
| 5. n-m. belief, opinion | |
| 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 | |
| vrai |
| 1. adj. true | |
| C'est vrai? - Really? | |
| Est-il vrai que vous ayez dit qu'il a besoin de notre aide ? - Is it true that you said he needs our help? | |
| Il est vrai que l'on a dit cela. - It is true that we said that. | |
| Il n'est pas vrai que l'on ait dit cela. - It is not true that we said that. | |
| 2. adj. real, proper | |
| 3. adj. honest, sincere, truthful | |
| 4. n-m. truth | |
| 5. adv. true; truly | |
| Raconter vrai (to retell truly, without errors) | |
| je |
| 1. pron. I | |
| 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. | |
| saurais |
| 1. v. first-person singular conditional of savoir | |
| 2. v. second-person singular conditional of savoir | |
| saurer |
| 1. v. to smoke (food etc.) | |
| 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 | |
| la |
| 1. art. the (definite article) | |
| 2. pron. her, it (direct object) | |
| Où est Judith ? Je ne la vois pas. - Where is Judith? I don't see her. | |
| Prends cette boîte et mets-la dans le coin. - Take that box and put it in the corner. | |
| 3. n-m. (music) la, the note 'A' | |
| démentir |
| 1. v. to contradict, gainsay (someone) | |
| 2. v. to deny, refute (rumour etc.) | |
| 3. v. to belie (appearances) | |
