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? | |
je |
1. pron. I | |
sens |
1. n-m. meaning, sense | |
le sens ultime de la vie - the ultimate meaning of life | |
Les mots ont un sens. - Words have meanings. | |
2. n-m. sense, sensation | |
3. n-m. sense, intelligence | |
bon sens - common sense | |
Je préfère fréquenter ceux qui manquent de bon sens. | |
4. n-m. direction of circulation | |
voie à sens unique | |
en tous sens, dans tous les sens | |
5. v. first-person singular present indicative of sentir | |
6. v. second-person singular present indicative of sentir | |
7. v. second-person singular imperative of sentir | |
sentir |
1. v. to smell (to have a certain odor) | |
Ça sent bon. - It smells good. | |
2. v. to taste | |
3. v. to feel (physical perception) | |
4. v. to smell of, taste of | |
Ce repas sent l’ail. - This meal smells/tastes of garlic. | |
5. v. to smack of; to indicate, foreshadow | |
Ça sent la pluie. - It looks like rain. | |
6. v. to have the character, manner, feeling or appearance of; to give a feeling of | |
7. v. to feel, be aware of, be conscious of | |
8. v. to feel (in oneself) | |
9. v. to show, be felt (of effect, improvement etc.) | |
pour |
1. prep. for (meant for, intended for) (followed by a noun or pronoun) | |
J'ai un cadeau pour toi. - I've got a gift for you. | |
2. prep. for (in support of) | |
Pourquoi voter pour lui ? - Why did you vote for him? | |
3. prep. for (as a consequence for) | |
Il faut le punir pour ses crimes. - He must be punished for his crimes. | |
4. prep. for (an intended destination) | |
Sébastien est parti pour Londres. - Sébastien left for London. | |
5. prep. to (to bring about an intended result) (followed by a verb in the infinitive) | |
Je veux chanter pour te faire revenir. - I want to sing to make you come back. | |
6. prep. for, to (according to) | |
Pour moi, ce film est trop irréaliste. - For me, this film is too unrealistic. | |
lui |
1. pron. him, he; the third-person masculine singular personal pronoun used after a preposition, or as the predicate of a linking verb, or when disjoined from a sentence, or as a stressed subject | |
J'habitais avec lui. - I was living with him. | |
C'est lui qui a dit cela. - It was him who said that. | |
Lui, il n'en sait rien. - He doesn't know anything about it. | |
2. pron. him, her; the third-person singular personal pronoun used as an indirect object | |
Je lui ai donné le livre. - I gave the book to him/her. | |
3. Participle. past participle of luire | |
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. | |
saurait |
1. v. third-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 | |
se |
1. pron. The third-person reflexive and reciprocal direct and indirect object pronoun. | |
2. pron. (to) himself | |
3. pron. (to) herself | |
4. pron. (to) oneself | |
5. pron. (to) itself | |
6. pron. (to) themselves | |
7. pron. (to) each other | |
8. pron. (Louisiana) (The second-person plural reflexive and reciprocal direct and indirect object pronoun.) | |
Je suis partie à la chasse et faut vous autres se comportes bien. - I'm going hunting and y'all need to behave yourselves. | |
exprimer |
1. v. to express | |
2. v. to express oneself | |
Je me suis mal exprimé. - I misspoke. | |
Il lui est parfois difficile de s'exprimer clairement à cause de sa forme particulière d'intelligence. - It's sometimes difficult for him to express himself clearly because of his peculiar form | |
Guardiola préfère les vestiaires et le terrain pour s'exprimer. - Guardiola prefers to express himself in the dressing room and on the pitch. | |