| 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. | |
| pouvais |
| 1. v. first-person singular imperfect indicative of pouvoir | |
| 2. v. second-person singular imperfect indicative of pouvoir | |
| pouvoir |
| 1. v. can, to be able to | |
| Je peux venir ce soir. - I can come this evening. | |
| 2. v. may | |
| désastre qui peut nous frapper - disaster which may strike us | |
| 3. v. (impersonal, reflexive) to be possible; may, could be | |
| Il se peut que je sois malade. - (literally) It could be that I'm ill / (more naturally) I may be ill. / I could be ill. | |
| 4. n-m. (or un) power | |
| prendre le pouvoir - to take power, to seize power | |
| 5. n-m. authority | |
| 6. n-m. (legal) power of attorney | |
| simplement |
| 1. adv. simply | |
| pas |
| 1. n-m. step, pace, footstep | |
| 2. n-m. (geography) strait, pass | |
| Pas de Calais - Strait of Dover | |
| 3. n-m. thread, pitch (of a screw or nut) | |
| 4. adv. The most common adverb of negation in French, typically translating into English as not, don't, doesn't, etc. | |
| Je ne sais pas. - I don't know | |
| Ma grande sœur n'habite pas avec nous. - My big sister doesn't live with us. | |
| J’veux pas travailler. - I don't wanna work. | |
| 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. | |
| tenir |
| 1. v. to have; to hold | |
| 2. v. to keep | |
| 3. v. to take (e.g., take into account, take into consideration); to consider; to account for; to reflect | |
| Peut-être devons-nous tenir compte de plusieurs problèmes. - Maybe we should take several issues into account. | |
| 4. v. to stay; to hold | |
| 5. v. to hold on | |
| Elle descend en se tenant aux racines. - She comes down using the roots for handles (holding on to the roots). | |
| 6. v. to hold oneself, to be standing | |
| Il se tenait dans le coin. - He stood in the corner. | |
| 7. v. to behave | |
| Tiens-toi bien. - Behave yourself. | |
| 8. v. to maintain, remain in a certain position or disposition | |
| Tiens-toi droit! - Keep yourself straight! | |
| Elle se tient immobile sur la corde raide. - She stays still on the tightrope. | |
| 9. v. (indtr, à) to be attached to something, to be fond of something, to hold something dear; to wish to | |
| 10. v. to hang out | |
| 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 | |
| tenir à |
| 1. v. to be attached to; to be joined to (literally, physically) | |
| 2. v. to be attached to (figuratively, emotionally), to like, to be fond of | |
| 3. v. to wish, to want, would like | |
| Je tiens à exprimer, en mon nom personnel et en celui de notre Parlement européen, l’expression de notre profonde sympathie et nos sincères condoléances à l’égard des familles des victimes. - I | |
| 4. v. (tenir à ce que + subjunctive / tenir à + infinitive) to insist on | |
| 5. v. (of abstracts) to derive from; to be born of; to be the result of | |
| 6. v. (impersonal) be up to (to be left to the whims of), for all ~ cares; to depend on gloss, to be contingent on | |
| il tient à + quelqu'un ou quelque chose + que + subjonctif | |
| il ne tient qu'à + quelque chose + que + subjonctif | |
| il ne tient qu'à + quelqu'un ou quelque chose + de + infinitif | |
| s'il ne tenait qu'à lui + conditionnel - if it were up to him + conditional | |
| 7. v. (takes a reflexive pronoun, s'en tenir à / se tenir à) (of persons) to stick to/with/within, to keep to, to limit oneself to, to be content with; (of abstracts) to stay in bounds of, to keep to | |
| distance |
| 1. n-f. distance (literal physical distance) | |
| On se tient à distance de deux kilomètres l'un de l'autre. - We stand at a distance of two kilometers from each other. | |
| 2. n-f. distance (metaphoric or figurative) | |
| Il convient de la tenir à une certaine distance. - It's suitable to maintain a certain distance. | |
| 3. v. first-person singular present of distancer | |
| 4. v. third-person singular present of distancer | |
| 5. v. second-person singular imperative of distancer | |
| distancer |
| 1. v. to distance, outdistance | |
