serait |
1. v. third-person singular conditional 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 | |
il |
1. pron. he (third-person singular masculine subject pronoun for human subject) | |
Il est parti. - He left. | |
2. pron. it (third-person singular subject pronoun for grammatically masculine objects) | |
Je cherche mon livre. Où est-il ? - I'm looking for my book. Where is it? | |
3. pron. (impersonal pronoun) Impersonal subject; it | |
Il pleut. - It’s raining. | |
acceptable |
1. adj. acceptable | |
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 | |
en |
1. prep. in (used to indicate space, also see usage notes) | |
J'habite en Angleterre. - I live in England. | |
2. prep. to (indicates direction towards certain very large locations, see usage notes) | |
Il est allé en France. - He went to France. | |
3. prep. by (used to indicate means) | |
aller en bus - go by bus | |
partir en voiture - leave by car | |
4. prep. as | |
Il me traite en ami. - He treats me as a friend. | |
habillé en père Noël - dressed as Father Christmas | |
5. prep. at (used to describe an ability) | |
fort en histoire - good at history | |
6. prep. of, made of (used to describe composition) | |
une chaise en hêtre - a chair made of beech/a beech chair | |
une fourchette en métal - a fork made of metal/a metal fork | |
7. prep. in (during the following time (used for months and years)) | |
en 1993 - in 1993 | |
en janvier - in January | |
en septembre 2001 - in September 2001 | |
8. prep. (followed by a gerund) while | |
9. prep. (followed by a gerund) by, in describing a way of getting something | |
C'est en trichant qu'il est devenu champion. - It was by cheating that he became champion. | |
10. prep. in (used to describe color) | |
une photo en noir et blanc - a photo in black and white | |
11. prep. in (used to describe feelings) | |
en détresse - in distress | |
12. prep. in (as part of something) | |
en équipe - on a team | |
13. pron. (Used as the object of a verb to indicate an indefinite quantity; of it, of them. Replaces the partitive article (du, de la, etc.)) | |
Essaies-en ! - Try some (of it / them)! | |
Tu as combien de livres ? J'en ai trois. - How many books do you have? I have three (of them). | |
Y a-t-il beaucoup de pièces ? Oui. Il y en a beaucoup. - Are there many rooms? Yes, there are many (of them). | |
Martin a trois sandwichs, mais j'en ai seulement deux. - Martin has three sandwiches, but I have only two (of them). | |
Il y en a combien ? - How many of them are there? | |
Je bois de l'alcool parce que j'en ai besoin - I drink alcohol because I need (of) it. | |
14. pron. Adverbial preposition indicating movement away from a place already mentioned; from there, from it. Replaces the phrase de là or d’ici. | |
Est-ce qu'elle vient de Barcelone ? Oui, elle en vient. - Does she come from Barcelona? Yes, she comes (from there). | |
d'en |
1. contraction. de + en | |
arriver |
1. v. to arrive (often followed by a location) | |
On est arrivés à Paris vers 9 heures. - We arrived in Paris around 9 o'clock. | |
Ils sont arrivés avant moi. - They got there before me. | |
Je n'arriverai pas à temps pour voir le début du film. - I won't arrive in time to see the start of the film.arriverai pas à temps pour voir le début du film., I won't arrive in time to see the | |
2. v. (impersonal) to happen (unlike other translations of happen, can be used with an indirect object to specify something/somebody affected by the action; it may also be used with a relative clause in the | |
Ça ne m'arrive jamais. - That never happens to me.arrive jamais., t=That never happens to me. | |
Il arrive souvent qu'il soit en retard. - It often happens that he is late. | |
3. v. (informal) to cope, to manage | |
J' sais pas quoi faire... J'arrive plus. - I don't know what to do... I can't do it anymore.arrive plus., t=I don't know what to do... I can't do it anymore. | |
4. v. to be able to, to manage (to do something successfully) | |
Je suis finalement arrivé à réparer cette porte. - I finally managed to repair that door. | |
5. v. to obtain a level of success or fame | |
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 | |
un |
1. art. an, a | |
2. num. number box, fr | |
3. num. one | |
4. pron. one, someone | |
5. n-m. one (the number or figure) | |
conflit |
1. n-m. conflict (clash or disagreement) | |
larvé |
1. adj. latent | |
parce |
1. prep. only used in, parce que | |
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. | |
parce que |
1. conj. because | |
un |
1. art. an, a | |
2. num. number box, fr | |
3. num. one | |
4. pron. one, someone | |
5. n-m. one (the number or figure) | |
débat |
1. n-m. debate | |
2. v. third-person singular present indicative of débattre | |
débattre |
1. v. to negotiate | |
2. v. (indtr, sur) to discuss, debate | |
3. v. to struggle | |
public |
1. adj. public (various meanings) | |
2. adj. (relational) of the people as a whole; public datedef, from 1238 | |
l'intérêt public - the public interest | |
le bien public - the public good | |
La voix publique est pour lui. - The public voice is for him. | |
3. adj. public; seen or known by everyone (datedef, from 1330) | |
C'est une nouvelle qui est déjà publique. - It's already public news. | |
4. adj. public; representing the state on behalf of the community (datedef, from 1390) | |
pouvoirs publics - public powers | |
notaire public - public notary | |
5. adj. public; open to all (datedef, from 1538) | |
lieu public - public place | |
fille publique - public girl | |
6. n-m. public (people in general) (datedef, from 1320) | |
7. n-m. audience (datedef, from 1671) | |
Il devait plaire à son public. - He had to please his audience. | |
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. | |
aurait |
1. v. third-person singular conditional of avoir | |
avoir |
1. n-m. asset, possession | |
2. v. to have (to own; to possess) | |
J'aimerais avoir 20 dollars. - I would like to have 20 dollars. | |
3. v. (auxiliary) to have (auxiliary verb to form compound past tenses of most verbs) | |
J'ai parlé. - I have spoken, I spoke. | |
Qu'est-ce que vous m'avez fait ? - What have you done to me? | |
4. v. to have (a condition) | |
J'ai faim. - I have hunger. | |
J'ai soif. - I have thirst. | |
J'ai froid. - I have cold. | |
J'ai chaud. - I have hot. | |
J'ai la chiasse. - I have the shits. | |
J'ai le rhume. - I have a cold. | |
J'ai le SIDA. - I have AIDS. | |
J'ai de la fièvre. - I've got a fever. | |
5. v. to have (a measure or age) | |
Elle a 19 ans. - She has 19 years. | |
6. v. to have (to trick) | |
Tu t'es fait avoir. - You've been had. | |
7. v. to have (to participate in an experience) | |
avoir des relations sexuelles - to have sexual relations | |
8. v. (indtr, à) to have (to), must +preo, à, infinitive | |
J'ai à vous parler. - I have to talk to you. | |
pu |
1. Participle. past participle of pouvoir | |
2. Participle. falconry past participle of paître | |
3. adv. (Quebec, colloquial) Alternative form of plus, id=no longer | |
paître |
1. v. to graze | |
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 | |
déboucher |
1. v. to unblock; to clear | |
2. v. to uncork (a bottle) | |
3. v. to culminate, to finish | |
la guerre débouche sur l'indépendance - the war culminated in independence | |
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 | |
les |
1. art. plural of le: the | |
2. art. plural of la: the | |
3. pron. plural of le: them | |
4. pron. plural of la: them | |
mesures |
1. n. plural of mesure | |
2. v. second-person singular present of mesurer | |
mesurer |
1. v. to measure | |
Il mesure 1,81 mètres - He measures 1.81 metres | |
2. v. to measure | |
mesure |
1. n-f. measure | |
2. n-f. measurement | |
3. v. first-person singular present of mesurer | |
4. v. third-person singular present of mesurer | |
5. v. second-person singular imperative of mesurer | |
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 | |
prendre |
1. v. to take | |
prends ma main - take my hand | |
2. v. to eat; to drink | |
elle prend un café - she is drinking a coffee | |
3. v. to get; to buy | |
Je vais prendre le plat du jour. - I'll get the dish of the day. | |
4. v. to rob; to deprive | |
prendre quelque chose à quelqu'un | |
5. v. to make | |
prendre une décision - to make a decision | |
prendre des mesures draconiennes - to take draconian measures | |
6. v. to catch, to work, to start | |
le feu ne prend pas - the fire won't start | |
la sauce ne prend pas - the sauce isn't thickening | |
ma mayonnaise ne prend pas - my mayonnaise isn't setting | |
ça ne prend pas avec moi - that won't wash with me | |
7. v. to get (something) caught (in), to jam | |
je me suis pris la main dans la porte - I caught my hand in the door | |
je me suis pris la porte dans la figure | |
8. v. indtr, à | |
Qu'est-ce qui t'a pris ? Qu'est-ce qui t'est passé par la tête ? - What were you thinking? What got into you? What came over you? | |
Qu'est-ce qui lui a pris ? Quelle mouche l'a piqué ? - What was he thinking? What got into him? | |
bien lui en prit | |
mal lui en prit | |
9. v. to start having a negative feeling towards someone | |
prendre en aversion | |
prendre en grippe | |
prendre en dégoût | |
10. v. (followed by a partitive, in various idiomatic expressions) to gain | |
prendre de la vitesse - to gain speed | |
prendre du galon - to gain a promotion | |
prendre de l'avance - to gain ground | |
prendre du retard - to fall behind schedule, to run late, to drop behind | |
prendre de la hauteur - to gain some perspective | |
prendre du recul - to take a step back | |
prendre de la bouteille - to gain experience | |
en prendre de la graine - to take away a lesson | |
prendre du poids - to gain weight | |
prendre de la masse - to build muscle | |
prendre de la brioche, prendre du bide, prendre du ventre - to get a paunch | |
prendre du bouchon | |
prendre de l'élan - to gain momentum | |
prendre de l'âge | |
prendre de la valeur - to gain value | |
prendre de l'importance | |
11. v. (colloquial ; impersonal) to take (a certain amount of time) | |
Ça va me prendre au moins deux heures pour le mettre à jour. | |
12. v. (colloquial ; impersonal ; by extension) to take (a certain number or amount of) | |
Pour finir dans deux heures, ça prend trois personnes. - To finish in two hours, it'll take three people. | |
13. v. (impersonal) to come over (to arise in and gain some control over one's thoughts and/or actions) | |
il prend quelque chose à quelqu'un - something comes over someone | |
Il lui prend une fantaisie de mettre le feu à la maison. | |