on |
1. pron. (indefinite) one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual) | |
On ne peut pas pêcher ici - You can’t fish here | |
2. pron. (personal, informal) we | |
On s’est amusés. - We had fun. | |
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. | |
peut |
1. v. third-person singular present 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 | |
retenir |
1. v. to retain, hold | |
2. v. to hold back, rein in | |
3. v. to keep, detain, hold up | |
4. v. to remember | |
5. v. to accept (que that) | |
6. v. to uphold | |
7. v. to restrain oneself, hold back | |
Je n'ai pas pu me retenir, je n'ai pas pu m'en empêcher. - I couldn't help myself. | |
ses |
1. det. his, her, its, their, one's (when referring to a plural noun) | |
Alicia dîne chez ses parents. - Alicia is having dinner at her parents' house. | |
Thomas a perdu ses clés. - Thomas has lost his keys. | |
Tout le monde doit apporter ses documents. - Everyone needs to bring their documents. | |
larmes |
1. n. plural of larme | |
larme |
1. n-f. tear; teardrop | |
2. n-f. drop (small amount of a beverage) | |
quand |
1. conj. when | |
Appelez-moi quand vous arriverez chez vous - Call me when you get home | |
2. adv. when | |
Quand est-il mort ? - When did he die? | |
Je ne sais pas quand est-ce qu'il est mort. - I don't know when it was that he died. | |
Quand est-ce que vous voulez partir ? - When do you want to leave? | |
on |
1. pron. (indefinite) one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual) | |
On ne peut pas pêcher ici - You can’t fish here | |
2. pron. (personal, informal) we | |
On s’est amusés. - We had fun. | |
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 | |
voit |
1. v. third-person singular present indicative of voir | |
voir |
1. v. to see (visually) | |
Je vois ma mère là-bas. - I see my mother over there. | |
On ne voit pas souvent de la neige par ici. - One doesn't often see snow around here. | |
2. v. to see (to understand) | |
Tu vois que tu avais tort ? - Do you see that you were wrong? | |
3. v. to see (to visit, to go and see) | |
4. adv. (Louisiana French) please (used to mark the imperative) | |
Viens voir ici. - Come here please. | |
épancher |
1. v. to erupt, spit out, spurt out | |
2. v. to emit (an odour, sound, visual effect) | |
3. v. to pour out (sound) | |
4. v. to give off (odour) | |
5. v. to reflect (visual effect) | |
6. v. pour out, pour forth (emotions) | |
7. v. to flow, spread | |
8. v. to spill out, flow out | |
9. v. to pour one's heart out | |
son |
1. n-m. sound | |
Le son de ce piano est agréable. (The sound of this piano is nice.) | |
2. det. (possessive) his, her, their, its (used to qualify masculine nouns and before a vowel) | |
Elle a perdu son chapeau. - She lost her hat. | |
Il a perdu son chapeau. - He lost his hat. | |
J'aime son amie. - I like his/her girlfriend. | |
La décision a été prise pendant son absence. - The decision was taken in her/his absence. | |
3. n-m. bran | |
Ceci est du pain de son. - This bread is done with bran. | |
coeur |
1. n-m. nonstandard spelling of cœur | |
cœur |
1. n-m. (anatomy) heart | |
2. n-m. (geometry) heart, heart shape | |
3. n-m. heart (love) | |
4. n-m. (card games) hearts (the suit) | |
5. n-m. (physics) the core of a nuclear reactor | |
sur |
1. prep. on, upon | |
2. prep. on top of | |
3. prep. from on top of | |
4. prep. above | |
5. prep. out of | |
sept sur dix - seven out of ten | |
6. prep. in the case of | |
7. prep. about, concerning | |
8. prep. (informal, France) in (a place) | |
sur Paris - in Paris | |
9. adj. sour | |
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 | |
vieilles |
1. adj. feminine plural of vieux | |
vieux |
1. adj. old | |
2. n-m. old person | |
3. n-m. (slang) parents (when in the plural), father | |
mes vieux - my mom and dad | |
4. n-m. old chap | |
– Je ne veux pas t'empêcher de travailler, vieux. Je vois que tu es très occupé. | |
femmes |
1. n. plural of femme | |
femme |
1. n-f. woman | |
2. n-f. wife | |
3. n-f. (LGBT, rare) Alternative form of fem, , femme, feminine lesbian (contrast butch) | |
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. | |
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 | |
nourrissait |
1. v. third-person singular imperfect indicative of nourrir | |
nourrir |
1. v. to feed (provide with nourishment), nourish | |
2. v. to nurture, to fuel | |
3. v. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to eat, to feed oneself | |