couple of stars

promettre quelque chose à quelqu'un — to promise somebody something

je ne (te) promets rien — I can't promise anything

je te promets qu'il le regrettera — he'll regret it, I guarantee you

une soirée qui promet bien des surprises — an evening that holds a few surprises in store

voilà qui nous promet de nombreux débats télévisés — it looks as though we'll be getting a lot of televised debates

cette grève nous promet une belle pagaille — this strike is guaranteed to cause chaos

un jeune musicien qui promet — a promising young musician

un film qui promet — a film which sounds interesting

cet enfant promet! — that child is going to be a handful!

ça promet! — that's going to be fun!

se promettre du bon temps — to decide to have a bit of fun

se promettre de faire — to resolve to do

se promettre de faire — to promise each other to do

ils se sont promis de ne plus se quitter — they (have) vowed never to be parted

On m'a promis une augmentation. — They promised me a pay rise.

Elle m'a promis de me téléphoner. — She promised to phone me.

promettre à qn de faire — to promise sb that one will do

faire promettre qch à qn — to make sb promise sth

he told her to be home by 11 — le dijo que volviera antes de las 11

they should be there by now — ya deberían estar allí

will it be ready by 5? — ¿estará listo para las 5?

by the time he arrived, Ann had left — cuando llegó, Ann se había ido

by day/night — de día/noche

Rome by night — Roma de noche

it's right by the door — está justo al lado de la puerta

I always keep some money by me — siempre llevo algo de dinero encima

I said hello, but he walked right by me — lo saludé pero él pasó de largo

I came in by the back door — entré por la puerta de atrás

by land/sea/air — por tierra/mar/avión

she was brought up by her grandmother — la crió su abuela, fue criada por su abuela

she was accompanied by her father — iba acompañada de su padre

a play by Shakespeare — una obra de Shakespeare

it was written by Pinter — fue escrita por Pinter

made by hand — hecho a mano

to travel by carain — viajar en cocheen

to pay by credit card — pagar* con tarjeta de crédito

to navigate by the stars — guiarse* por las estrellas

by moonlight — a la luz de la luna

by -ing: you won't get anywhere by shouting no vas a conseguir nada con gritar; I'll begin by introducing myself — empezaré por presentarme

by chance — por casualidad

she is Spanish by birth — es española de nacimiento

by -ing: by specializing, she has limited her options al especializarse, ha restringido sus posibilidades; they have lost public support by being too extreme — han perdido apoyo popular por ser demasiado extremistas

by that clock it's almost half past — según ese reloj son casi y media

that's fine by me — por mí no hay problema

I swear by Almighty God... — juro por Dios Todopoderoso...

by God, you'll be sorry you said that! — te juro que te vas a arrepentir de haber dicho eso

we are paid by the hour — nos pagan por hora(s)

they make them by the thousand — hacen miles y miles de ellos

we missed the train by seconds — perdimos el tren por unos segundos

I'm taller than you by an inch or two — soy una pulgada o dos más alto que tú

one by one — uno por uno

they went in two by two — entraron de dos en dos

multiply two by three — multiplica dos por tres

a room 20ft by 12ft — una habitación de 20 pies por 12

north by northeast — nornor(d)este

by oneself — (alone, without assistance) solo

I need to be by myself — necesito estar solo or a solas

they do their homework by themselves — hacen los deberes solos

let me by! — déjenme pasar!

she rushed by without seeing me — pasó corriendo y no me vio

they watched the parade march by — vieron pasar el desfile

I put a little money by each week — ahorro un poco de dinero cada semana

I've got it by me — lo tengo a mi lado

the house by the river — la casa que hay junto al río

a holiday by the sea — unas vacaciones en la costa

he came in by the back door/by the window — entró por la puerta de atrás/por la ventana

I went by Dover — fui por Dover

she walked by me — pasó por delante de mí

he rushed by me without seeing me — pasó deprisa por delante de mí sin verme

we drove by the cathedral — pasamos con el coche por delante de la catedral

by day — de día

by night — de noche

by day he's a bank clerk and by night he's a security guard — de día es un empleado de banco y de noche es guarda de seguridad

a postcard of London by night — una postal nocturna de Londres

we must be there by four o'clock — tenemos que estar allí para las cuatro

can you finish it by tomorrow? — ¿puedes terminarlo para mañana?

applications must be submitted by 21 April — las solicitudes deben presentarse antes del 21 de abril

it'll be ready by the time you get back — estará listo para cuando regreses

by tomorrow/Tuesday, I'll be in France — mañana/el martes ya estaré en Francia

by yesterday it was clear that... — ayer ya se veía claro que...

by 30 September we had spent £500 — a 30 de septiembre habíamos gastado 500 libras

by 1998 the figure had reached... — en 1998 la cifra había llegado a...

by 2010 the figure will have reached... — hacia el año 2010 la cifra habrá llegado a...

to reduce sth by a third — reducir algo en una tercera parte

to rent a house by the month — alquilar una casa por meses

letters were arriving by the sackload — las cartas llegaban a montones

it seems to be getting bigger by the minute/day — parece que va creciendo minuto a minuto/día a día

the thieves were caught by the police — los ladrones fueron capturados por la policía, la policía capturó a los ladrones

surrounded by enemies — rodeado de enemigos

a painting by Picasso — un cuadro de Picasso

who's that song by? — ¿de quién es esa canción?

he had a daughter by his first wife — tuvo una hija con su primera mujer