| si |
| 1. conj. if, whether | |
| Je me demande si elle sera seule. - I wonder if she'll be alone. | |
| Je veux savoir si tu viendras ou non. - I want to know if you're coming or not. | |
| 2. conj. if (assuming that) | |
| Si j'avais ses pouvoirs, je créerais un monde où le mal n'existe pas. - If I had his power, I'd create a world where evil didn't exist. | |
| Si tu n'avais pas appelé, je serais morte. - If you hadn't called, I'd be dead. | |
| 3. conj. even if | |
| 4. conj. although, while | |
| 5. interj. yes (used to contradict a negative statement) | |
| Tu ne m’aimes pas, n’est-ce pas ? — Si ! - You don’t like me, do you? — Yes, I do! | |
| Moi, je n'ai rien fait ! — Si ! - I didn't do anything! — Yes, you did! | |
| 6. adv. so, such (intensifier) | |
| J’étais si fatigué ces jours-ci que je n’avais pas le courage de vous écrire. - I was so tired those days that I didn't have the energy to write to you. | |
| Cela n'aurait pas été une si bonne idée. - That wouldn't have been such a good idea. | |
| 7. adv. (si + adjective/adverb + que ...) however (to whatever extent or degree) | |
| Si bavard qu'il soit, il ne dit rien de stupide. - However talkative he may be, he doesn't say anything stupid. | |
| 8. n-m. (music) si, the note 'B' | |
| je |
| 1. pron. I | |
| pensais |
| 1. v. first-person singular imperfect indicative of penser | |
| 2. v. second-person singular imperfect indicative of penser | |
| penser |
| 1. v. to think, reflect, concentrate one's mind on something | |
| Penser tout haut. - Think aloud, speak one's mind freely. | |
| 2. v. to estimate, imagine, believe | |
| Vous n'en êtes pas où vous pensez. - You are not where you think you are. | |
| Il y a, je pense, dix kilomètres de chez vous chez moi. - It is ten kilometres, I estimate, from your place to my place. | |
| J'irai vous voir demain, je pense. - I will see you tomorrow, I suppose. | |
| La chose n'est pas si facile qu'on le pense. - The thing is not as simple as one might believe. | |
| Je ne pensais pas que vous vous méprendriez sur le sens de mes paroles. - I didn't imagine you would be mistaken on the sense of my words. | |
| 3. v. (originally with a que sentence) to be of the opinion that, believe | |
| Je pensais qu'il était de vos amis. - I thought he was a friend. | |
| Je veux être d'accord avec toi, mais je ne pense pas que nous ayons besoin de son aide. - I want to agree with you, but I don't think we need his help. | |
| Je pense comme vous. - I agree with your view. | |
| Il ne dit rien qu'il ne pense. - He doesn't say anything he doesn't believe. | |
| Dites librement ce que vous pensez. - Cavalierly state your opinion. | |
| J'espère qu'il ne pense pas ce qu'il dit. - I hope he doesn't believe what he is saying. | |
| Faites-moi connaître votre façon de penser. - Tell me how you think about it. | |
| Pensez-vous ? - Do you really believe that? (1935, punning at the dialogue partner's missing belief in his own statement) | |
| 4. v. to be absorbed by a worry or depressing thoughts | |
| 5. v. to conceive a project | |
| 6. v. (with de + object) to evoke the image or remembrance of someone in one's mind | |
| Penser d'aucun. | |
| 7. v. (with à + object) to attach one's thinking to someone, especially lovingly | |
| Pensez à moi. - Think of me. | |
| Il ne pense qu'à celle qu'il aime. - He only thinks but of his beloved. | |
| 8. v. (with infinitive) to believe being or doing something | |
| Il pense être plus habile que les autres. - He believes being smarter than others. | |
| Il ne pensait pas être observé. - He didn't think he was being observed. | |
| J'ai pensé mourir. - I thought I was going to die. | |
| 9. v. (with mal or bien + de + object) to think well or badly, to have a high or low opinion of someone | |
| C'est un homme qui pense toujours mal des autres. - It's a man who always thinks badly of others. | |
| Je ne pense de cette affaire ni bien ni mal. - I don't think neither well nor badly of this affair. | |
| Que pensez-vous de cet homme ? - What do you think about this man? | |
| 10. v. (with de + infinitive) to try or prepare to do something | |
| Penser de faire qqc. | |
| 11. v. to reflect on something | |
| Soi penser qqc. | |
| 12. v. (with à + object) to bear, keep something in mind, to consider something | |
| Le mal vient sans qu'on y pense. - Evil comes without one thinking of it. | |
| Faire ou dire une chose sans penser à mal. - Do or say something without meaning to harm. | |
| À quoi pensez-vous ? - What are you thinking? | |
| 13. v. (with infinitive) to intend to do, aim at doing something | |
| Je pensais aller vous voir. - I fancied paying you a visit. | |
| Que pensez-vous faire ? - What do you intend to do? | |
| 14. v. to have something in one's mind (c. 1220 in Barlaam et Josaphat, ed. C. Appel, 5623) | |
| C'est un homme qui ne dit jamais ce qu'il pense. - That's a man who never says what he thinks. | |
| Il pense beaucoup de choses qu'il ne dit pas. - He thinks a lot of things he doesn't say. | |
| 15. v. (with à + infinitive) to intend to do, aim at doing something | |
| À quoi pensez-vous de vous conduire ainsi ? - What are you aiming at by behaving like this? | |
| Je suis trop de vos amis pour avoir pensé à vous nuire. - I am too much your friend to think of harming you. | |
| Je pensais à aller vous voir hier. - I considered to visit you yesterday. | |
| 16. v. (with mal, obsolete) to intend to do something bad | |
| Penser mal. | |
| 17. v. (with à + object) to take care of | |
| Il nous a reçus admirablement, il a pensé à tout. - He has welcomed us admirably, he has thought of everything. | |
| 18. v. (with bien, in politics, religion, moral) to have opinions in accordance with the agreed principles | |
| Bien penser. | |
| 19. v. (with adverb or adverbial expression) to have a certain intellectual tendency, preference or property | |
| Penser finement, noblement, singulièrement, hardiment. - To think finely, nobly, in a singular way, boldly. | |
| Penser avec justesse. - To think with accuracy. | |
| Penser juste. - To think in the right way. | |
| 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. | |
| Le |
| 1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
| 2. art. the (definite article) | |
| Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
| 3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
| L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
| 4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
| Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
| 5. art. (before units) a, an | |
| Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
| 6. pron. (direct object) him, it | |
| Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas. - Where is Malik? I don't see him. | |
| Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture. - My bag? I'm going to put it in the car. | |
| 7. pron. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English | |
| Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. - ... and he is it too | |
| souverain |
| 1. adj. sovereign | |
| 2. n-m. sovereign | |
| bien |
| 1. adj. good, all right, great | |
| 2. adj. good looking, nice | |
| 3. adv. well | |
| Ça va bien ? - It goes well? | |
| Il joue vraiment bien au football. - He plays soccer really well. | |
| 4. adv. indeed; so | |
| Bien, on peut partir maintenant ? - So, can we leave now? | |
| 5. adv. (followed by de, des, or du) a lot (of) | |
| Macy Gray a traversé bien des épreuves. - Macy Gray got through a lot of ordeals. | |
| 6. adv. very; really | |
| C'est bien aimable à vous. - it's very considerate of you. | |
| C'est bien beau, mais... - It's all very well, but... | |
| Je te trouve bien silencieux aujourd'hui. - You seem very quiet today. | |
| Il est bien moche, ce type. Ce type est vraiment moche. - That guy is really ugly. | |
| 7. adv. (in comparisons) much (more, less, better, etc.) | |
| Jérémie est bien plus fort que moi. - Jérémie is much stronger than me. | |
| bien meilleur que ... - much better than ..., much better than ... | |
| 8. n-m. good as opposed to evil | |
| 9. n-m. a commodity, a good | |
| 10. n-m. a possession | |
| fût |
| 1. n-m. bole (of tree) | |
| 2. n-m. keg, cask, draft | |
| 3. v. third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of être | |
| Ne fût-ce que je n'ai pas fait l'amour avec elle. - If only Were it only that I did not make love with her. | |
| 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 | |
| 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' | |
| joie |
| 1. n-f. joy (feeling of happiness or elation) | |
| 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. | |
| douterais |
| 1. v. first-person singular conditional of douter | |
| 2. v. second-person singular conditional of douter | |
| douter |
| 1. v. to doubt | |
| Il ne faut pas douter de la bonne foi de son interlocuteur. - One must not doubt the intention of one's interlocutor. | |
| Je doute qu'il y parvienne. - I doubt that he will manage. | |
| J'en doute. - I doubt that. | |
| 2. v. to suspect, to have an inkling | |
| Je me doutais qu'il n'allait pas bien, mais je ne savais pas que c'était à ce point-là. - I suspected that he was not doing well, but I did not know that it was to that degree. | |
| Il s'en doute bien. - He is well aware. | |
| point |
| 1. n-m. point (small mark) | |
| 2. n-m. (sports) point | |
| 3. n-m. full stop, period (punctuation mark) | |
| 4. n-m. (knitting) stitch pattern | |
| 5. n-m. dot (Morse code symbol) | |
| 6. adv. (literary, dialectal, usually with "ne") not | |
| Ne craignez point - Fear not | |
| 7. Participle. past participle of poindre | |
| 8. v. third-person singular present indicative of poindre | |
| poindre |
| 1. v. to prick, sting | |
| 2. v. to sting, afflict (of pain, love etc.) | |
| 3. v. to come up (of a plant), peep through | |
| 4. v. to break, dawn (of day); to break (of dawn) | |
| 5. v. to appear, spring up | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| dût |
| 1. v. third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of devoir | |
| devoir |
| 1. n-m. duty | |
| manquer à son devoir, manquer à tous ses devoirs - to fail in one's duty, duties | |
| Il est de mon devoir de protéger le roi. - It is my duty to protect the king. | |
| 2. n-m. exercise, assignment (set for homework) | |
| 3. v. must, to have to, should (as a requirement) | |
| Les auteurs d'un dictionnaire doivent déterminer au départ les catégories de mots à retenir, en fonction des limites imposées par l'éditeur et du public visé. - The authors of a dictionary have | |
| 4. v. (present) must | |
| 5. v. (conditional) should | |
| 6. v. must, to do or have with certainty | |
| 7. v. to owe (money, obligation and etc) | |
| 8. v. (literary, intransitive, in imperfect subjunctive, with inversion of subject) (even) though it be necessary (+ infinitive) | |
| 9. v. to have a duty to | |
| tâcher |
| 1. v. to try, attempt, endeavour (to do something) | |
| Tâchez de partir avant le matin. Try to leave before morning. | |
| 2. v. to ensure (que that, + subjunctive) | |
| Tâche qu'elle vienne. Make sure she comes. | |
| 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 | |
| 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. | |
| rendre |
| 1. v. to give back; to return, to restore | |
| 2. v. to render | |
| 3. v. to give | |
| rendre un avis favorable. - To give a favorable opinion. | |
| rendre sa décision. - To make a decision. | |
| 4. v. to make | |
| Tu me rends malade. - You make me ill. | |
| 5. v. to pay (a visit) | |
| L'amour vient rendre visite à mon âme. - Love comes to pay a visit to my soul. | |
| 6. v. to make one's way (to a place), to get oneself (into a place) (with dans) | |
| 7. v. (indtr, chez, .reflexive) to call on (someone) | |
| 8. v. to surrender, to give in, to give oneself up to | |
| Après trois longues heures d'attente, le voleur s'est finalement rendu. - After three long hours of waiting, the thief finally surrendered. | |
| joyeux |
| 1. adj. joyful, happy | |
| 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 | |
| quelque |
| 1. det. some (singular) | |
| prix |
| 1. n-m. prize | |
| Gagnez un des trois prix en argent de 5000$ avec le concours Acmeconc. - Win one of three cash prizes worth $5,000 in the Acmeconc competition. | |
| 2. n-m. price | |
| Ils vont augmenter leurs prix et dire que c'est ainsi que le système fonctionne. - They're only going to raise their prices and say that's how it goes. | |
| 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 |
| 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... | |
| pût |
| 1. v. third-person singular imperfect subjunctive 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 | |
| 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 | |
| et |
| 1. conj. and | |
| je |
| 1. pron. I | |
| approuverais |
| 1. v. first-person singular conditional of approuver | |
| 2. v. second-person singular conditional of approuver | |
| 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' | |
| brutalité |
| 1. n-f. brutality | |
| 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 | |
| ceux |
| 1. pron. masculine plural of celui | |
| celui |
| 1. pron. the one | |
| Le bon choix est celui que je vous ai indiqué. - The right choice is the one I have indicated to you. | |
| Les états paranoïaques, tels que ceux de schizophrénie, peuvent sembler superficiellement similaires mais sont caractéristiquement différents. - Paranoid states, such as those of schizophrenia | |
| Contrairement au modèle français, le Président du Conseil ne dispose pas de pouvoir formel, tel que celui de désigner ou renvoyer les autres, ou encore la capacité de dissoudre le Parlement. - | |
| qui |
| 1. pron. (interrogative) who, whom | |
| Tu as vu qui ? - Who have you seen? | |
| Je ne sais pas qui vous êtes. - I don't know who you are. | |
| 2. pron. (relative) who, whom (after a preposition), which, that | |
| La personne qui parle connait bien son sujet. - The person who speaks knows his/her subject well. | |
| Cette voiture bleue qui passe me plait beaucoup. - This blue car which is passing I like a lot. | |
| J’aime les chiens qui sont calmes. - I like dogs that are quiet. | |
| Un homme à qui j’ai parlé. - A man to whom I spoke/have spoken. | |
| Si lugubre que fût l’appartement, c’était un paradis pour qui revenait du lycée. - Gloomy as the apartment was, it was still a paradise for those who came back from school. | |
| Rira bien qui rira le dernier. - Who laughs last laughs well. | |
| 3. conj. (Louisiana French, Cajun French) if | |
| Qui elle en a, ça va faire. - If she has any, that will do. | |
| noient |
| 1. v. third-person plural present of noyer | |
| noyer |
| 1. n-m. walnut (tree) | |
| 2. v. to drown; to drown oneself | |
| Elle s'est noyée dans l'océan. - She drowned in the ocean. | |
| 3. v. to drown | |
| J'ai noyé mon chien dans le fleuve. - I drowned my dog in the river. | |
| 4. v. to dilute; to water down | |
| Il faut noyer le vin avec de l'eau. - You must water down the wine. | |
| leurs |
| 1. det. (possessive) plural of leur: their (used before a plural noun) | |
| Elles ont oublié leurs livres. - They forgot their books. | |
| 2. pron. (possessive) plural of leur: theirs (referring to a plural noun) | |
| Ce sont vos papiers ou les leurs ? - Are those your papers or theirs? | |
| Je préfère nos voisins aux leurs. - I prefer our neighbors over theirs. | |
| J'ai besoin de vos papiers, pas des leurs. - I need your papers, not theirs. | |
| déplaisirs |
| 1. n. plural of déplaisir | |
| déplaisir |
| 1. n-m. displeasure | |
| dans |
| 1. prep. (literal, figurative) in, inside (enclosed in a physical space, a group, a state) | |
| vieillir dans la misère - to grow old in poverty | |
| être dans l'infanterie - to be in the infantry | |
| avoir quelque chose dans la bouche - to have something in the mouth | |
| dans les circonstances d'une pandémie - under the circumstances of a pandemic | |
| Il habite dans le quartier le plus riche de Paris. - He lives in the richest district of Paris. | |
| Il nage comme un poisson dans l'eau. - He swims like a fish in the water. | |
| mettre l'argent dans la poche - to put money into one's pocket | |
| Bienvenue dans le meilleur bar de tout Paris. - Welcome to the best bar in all of Paris. | |
| 2. prep. to (indicates direction towards certain large subdivisions, see usage notes) | |
| Aujourd'hui, je vais dans le Maine, et demain, je vais dans l’État de New York. - Today, I'm going to Maine, and tomorrow, I'm going to New York. | |
| 3. prep. in, within (a longer period of time) | |
| Je serai prêt dans une heure. - I'll be ready in one hour. | |
| Il arrivera dans trois jours. - He will arrive in three days. | |
| 4. prep. (with respect to time) during | |
| dans un temps donné - during a given time | |
| dans ma jeunesse - in my youth | |
| 5. prep. out of, from | |
| boire dans une tasse - to drink from a cup | |
| Il prend le beurre dans le réfrigérateur. - He takes the butter out of the fridge. | |
| 6. prep. (metonymy) in; in the works of | |
| le marxisme dans Sartre - Marxism in the works of Sartre | |
| 7. prep. (colloquial) (Used in dans les) | |
| dans les trentes kilos - about thirty kilos | |
| dans les dix euros - about ten euros | |
| 8. n. plural of dan | |
| Le |
| 1. Proper noun. surname, from=Vietnamese | |
| 2. art. the (definite article) | |
| Le lait du matin. - The milk of the morning. | |
| 3. art. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English. | |
| L'amour est aveugle. - Love is blind. | |
| 4. art. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc. | |
| Il s’est cassé la jambe. - He has broken his leg. | |
| 5. art. (before units) a, an | |
| Cinquante kilomètres à l’heure. - fifty kilometres an hour | |
| 6. pron. (direct object) him, it | |
| Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas. - Where is Malik? I don't see him. | |
| Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture. - My bag? I'm going to put it in the car. | |
| 7. pron. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English | |
| Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi. - ... and he is it too | |
| vin |
| 1. n-m. wine | |
| ou |
| 1. conj. or | |
| 2. conj. either...or | |
| Ou il est fou ou il est bête. - Either he's mad or he's stupid. | |
| 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 | |
| étourdissent |
| 1. v. third-person plural present of étourdir | |
| 2. v. third-person plural imperfect subjunctive of étourdir | |
| étourdir |
| 1. v. to daze, to stun | |
| 2. v. (informal) to tire, to wear out | |
