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1 informally
1 ( without ceremony) [dress] en tenue décontractée ; [speak, meet] en toute simplicité ; [greet] sans cérémonie ;2 ( unofficially) [act, agree, arrange, discuss, suggest] officieusement ; to invite sb informally [statesman] inviter qn à titre privé. -
2 informally
informally [ɪnˈfɔ:məlɪ]* * *[ɪn'fɔːməlɪ]1) ( without ceremony) [dress] en tenue décontractée; [speak, meet] en toute simplicité2) ( unofficially) [act, discuss] officieusement -
3 informally
informally [ɪn'fɔ:məlɪ](a) (casually → entertain, discuss) sans cérémonie; (→ behave) simplement, avec naturel; (→ dress) simplement(b) (unofficially) officieusement(c) (colloquially) familièrement, avec familiarité -
4 informally
adverb sans cérémonie -
5 informally
à l'amiable -
6 attempt, to, resolve, informally
tentative f de règlement à l'amiableEnglish-French legislative terms > attempt, to, resolve, informally
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7 resolve, informally, to
régler à l'amiable -
8 Usage note : be
I am tired= je suis fatiguéCaroline is French= Caroline est françaisethe children are in the garden= les enfants sont dans le jardinIt functions in very much the same way as to be does in English and it is safe to assume it will work as a translation in the great majority of cases.Note, however, that when you are specifying a person’s profession or trade, a/an is not translated:she’s a doctor= elle est médecinClaudie is still a student= Claudie est toujours étudianteThis is true of any noun used in apposition when the subject is a person:he’s a widower= il est veufButLyons is a beautiful city= Lyon est une belle villeFor more information or expressions involving professions and trades consult the usage note Shops, Trades and Professions.For the conjugation of the verb être see the French verb tables.Grammatical functionsThe passiveêtre is used to form the passive in French just as to be is used in English. Note, however, that the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject:the rabbit was killed by a fox= le lapin a été tué par un renardthe window had been broken= la fenêtre avait été casséetheir books will be sold= leurs livres seront vendusour doors have been repainted red= nos portes ont été repeintes en rougeIn spoken language, French native speakers find the passive cumbersome and will avoid it where possible by using the impersonal on where a person or people are clearly involved : on a repeint nos portes en rouge.Progressive tensesIn French the idea of something happening over a period of time cannot be expressed using the verb être in the way that to be is used as an auxiliary verb in English.The presentFrench uses simply the present tense where English uses the progressive form with to be:I am working= je travailleBen is reading a book= Ben lit un livreIn order to accentuate duration être en train de is used: je suis en train de travailler ; Ben est en train de lire un livre.The futureFrench also uses the present tense where English uses the progressive form with to be:we are going to London tomorrow= nous allons à Londres demainI’m (just) coming!= j’arrive!I’m (just) going!= j’y vais!The pastTo express the distinction between she read a newspaper and she was reading a newspaper French uses the perfect and the imperfect tenses: elle a lu un journal/elle lisait un journal:he wrote to his mother= il a écrit à sa mèrehe was writing to his mother= il écrivait à sa mèreHowever, in order to accentuate the notion of describing an activity which went on over a period of time, the phrase être en train de (= to be in the process of) is often used:‘what was he doing when you arrived?’‘he was cooking the dinner’= ‘qu’est-ce qu’il faisait quand tu es arrivé?’ ‘il était en train de préparer le dîner’she was just finishing her essay when …= elle était juste en train de finir sa dissertation quand …The compound pastCompound past tenses in the progressive form in English are generally translated by the imperfect in French:I’ve been looking for you= je te cherchaisFor progressive forms + for and since (I’ve been waiting for an hour, I had been waiting for an hour, I’ve been waiting since Monday etc.) see the entries for and since.ObligationWhen to be is used as an auxiliary verb with another verb in the infinitive ( to be to do) expressing obligation, a fixed arrangement or destiny, devoir is used:she’s to do it at once= elle doit le faire tout de suitewhat am I to do?= qu’est-ce que je dois faire?he was to arrive last Monday= il devait arriver lundi derniershe was never to see him again= elle ne devait plus le revoir.In tag questionsFrench has no direct equivalent of tag questions like isn’t he? or wasn’t it? There is a general tag question n’est-ce pas? (literally isn’t it so?) which will work in many cases:their house is lovely, isn’t it?= leur maison est très belle, n’est-ce pas?he’s a doctor, isn’t he?= il est médecin, n’est-ce pas?it was a very good meal, wasn’t it?= c’était un très bon repas, n’est-ce pas?However, n’est-ce pas can very rarely be used for positive tag questions and some other way will be found to express the extra meaning contained in the tag: par hasard ( by any chance) can be very useful as a translation:‘I can’t find my glasses’ ‘they’re not in the kitchen, are they?’= ‘je ne trouve pas mes lunettes’ ‘elles ne sont pas dans la cuisine, par hasard?’you haven’t seen Gaby, have you?= tu n’as pas vu Gaby, par hasard?In cases where an opinion is being sought, si? meaning more or less or is it? or was it? etc. can be useful:it’s not broken, is it?= ce n’est pas cassé, si?he wasn’t serious, was he?= il n’était pas sérieux, si?In many other cases the tag question is simply not translated at all and the speaker’s intonation will convey the implied question.In short answersAgain, there is no direct equivalent for short answers like yes I am, no he’s not etc. Where the answer yes is given to contradict a negative question or statement, the most useful translation is si:‘you’re not going out tonight’ ‘yes I am’= ‘tu ne sors pas ce soir’ ‘si’In reply to a standard enquiry the tag will not be translated:‘are you a doctor?’ ‘yes I am’= ‘êtes-vous médecin?’ ‘oui’‘was it raining?’ ‘yes it was’= ‘est-ce qu’il pleuvait?’ ‘oui’ProbabilityFor expressions of probability and supposition ( if I were you etc.) see the entry be.Other functionsExpressing sensations and feelingsIn expressing physical and mental sensations, the verb used in French is avoir:to be cold= avoir froidto be hot= avoir chaudI’m cold= j’ai froidto be thirsty= avoir soifto be hungry= avoir faimto be ashamed= avoir hontemy hands are cold= j’ai froid aux mainsIf, however, you are in doubt as to which verb to use in such expressions, you should consult the entry for the appropriate adjective.Discussing health and how people areIn expressions of health and polite enquiries about how people are, aller is used:how are you?= comment allez-vous?( more informally) comment vas-tu?( very informally as a greeting) ça va?are you well?= vous allez bien?how is your daughter?= comment va votre fille?my father is better today= mon père va mieux aujourd’huiDiscussing weather and temperatureIn expressions of weather and temperature faire is generally used:it’s cold= il fait froidit’s windy= il fait du ventIf in doubt, consult the appropriate adjective entry.Visiting somewhereWhen to be is used in the present perfect tense to mean go, visit etc., French will generally use the verbs venir, aller etc. rather than être:I’ve never been to Sweden= je ne suis jamais allé en Suèdehave you been to the Louvre?= est-ce que tu es déjà allé au Louvre?or est-ce que tu as déjà visité le Louvre?Paul has been to see us three times= Paul est venu nous voir trois foisNote too:has the postman been?= est-ce que le facteur est passé?The translation for an expression or idiom containing the verb to be will be found in the dictionary at the entry for another word in the expression: for to be in danger see danger, for it would be best to … see best etc.This dictionary contains usage notes on topics such as the clock, time units, age, weight measurement, days of the week, and shops, trades and professions, many of which include translations of particular uses of to be. -
9 cottage
cottage [ˈkɒtɪdʒ]► cottage industry noun (at home) industrie f familiale ; (informally organized) activité f artisanale* * *['kɒtɪdʒ]weekend cottage — maison f de campagne
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10 debate
debate [dɪˈbeɪt][+ question] discuter3. noun• the debate was about... la discussion portait sur...• to be in debate [fact, statement] être controversé* * *[dɪ'beɪt] 1.noun (formal, about an issue) débat m (on, about sur); ( informal discussion) discussion f ( about à propos de)2.to hold a debate on — débattre de [issue]
transitive verb gen, Politics ( formally) débattre de [issue, bill]; ( informally) discuter de [question]3. -
11 unofficially
unofficially [ˈʌnəˈfɪ∫əlɪ]a. ( = informally) [ask, report] de façon non officielleb. ( = off the record) unofficially, he supports the proposals en privé, il soutient ces propositions* * *[ˌʌnə'fɪʃəlɪ]adverb [tell, estimate] officieusement -
12 vouch for
vouch for [somebody/something]1) ( informally) répondre de [person]; témoigner de [fact]2) ( officially) se porter garant de -
13 we
we [wi:]• we went to the pictures nous sommes allés or on est allé au cinéma• as we say in England comme on dit chez nous, en Angleterre• we teachers understand that... nous autres professeurs, nous comprenons que...* * *[wiː, wɪ]Note: In standard French, we is translated by nous but in informal French on is frequently used: we're going to the cinema = nous allons au cinéma or ( more informally) on va au cinémaon is also used in correct French to refer to a large, vaguely defined group: we shouldn't lie to our children = on ne devrait pas mentir à ses enfants. For particular usages see the entry belowpronoun nouswe left at six — gen nous sommes partis à six heures; ( informal) on est parti (colloq) à six heures
we Scots like the sun — nous autres Écossais, nous aimons le soleil
we didn't say that — gen nous, nous n'avons pas dit cela; ( informal) nous, on n'a pas dit ça (colloq)
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14 your
your [jʊər]• your table ta or votre table• your clothes tes or vos vêtements• this is the best of your paintings c'est ton or votre meilleur tableau• give me your hand donne-moi or donnez-moi la main* * *[jɔː(r), jʊə(r)]determiner votre/vos; ( more informally) ton/ta/tes -
15 drop in
(to arrive informally to visit someone: Do drop in (on me) if you happen to be passing!) passer voir -
16 informal
[in'fo:ml]1) (not formal or official; friendly and relaxed: The two prime ministers will meet for informal discussions today; Will the party be formal or informal?; friendly, informal manners.) informel2) ((of speech or vocabulary) used in conversation but not usually when writing formally, speaking in public etc: `Won't' and `can't' are informal forms of `will not' and `cannot'.) familier•- informally -
17 man
[mæn] 1. plural - men; noun1) (an adult male human being: Hundreds of men, women and children; a four-man team.) homme2) (human beings taken as a whole; the human race: the development of man.) homme3) (obviously masculine male person: He's independent, tough, strong, brave - a real man!) (vrai) homme4) (a word sometimes used in speaking informally or giving commands to someone: Get on with your work, man, and stop complaining!) (mon) vieux5) (an ordinary soldier, who is not an officer: officers and men.) soldat6) (a piece used in playing chess or draughts: I took three of his men in one move.) pièce; pion2. verb(to supply with men (especially soldiers): The colonel manned the guns with soldiers from our regiment.) pourvoir en personnel- - man- manhood - mankind - manly - manliness - manned - man-eating - man-eater - manhandle - manhole - man-made - manpower - manservant - mansized - mansize - manslaughter - menfolk - menswear - as one man - the man in the street - man of letters - man of the world - man to man - to a man -
18 petrol station
( especially American filling station or informally gas station) (a garage where petrol is sold.) station-service -
19 slacks
noun plural (trousers, usually loose-fitting, worn informally by men or women: a pair of slacks.) pantalon -
20 slang
[slæŋ] 1. noun(words and phrases (often in use for only a short time) used very informally, eg words used mainly by, and typical of, a particular group: army slang; teenage slang; `stiff' is slang for `a corpse'.) argot2. verb(to speak rudely and angrily to or about (someone); to abuse: I got furious when he started slanging my mother.) traiter de tous les noms
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См. также в других словарях:
Informally — In*form al*ly, adv. In an informal manner. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
informally — adv. Informally is used with these verbs: ↑chat, ↑discuss … Collocations dictionary
informally — informal ► ADJECTIVE 1) relaxed, friendly, or unofficial. 2) (of clothes) suitable for everyday wear; casual. 3) referring to the language of everyday speech and writing, rather than that used in official and formal contexts. DERIVATIVES… … English terms dictionary
informally — adverb 1. without formality (Freq. 2) he visited us informally • Ant: ↑formally • Derived from adjective: ↑informal 2. with the use of colloquial expressions this building is colloquially referred to as The Barn … Useful english dictionary
informally — adverb see informal … New Collegiate Dictionary
informally — See informal. * * * … Universalium
informally — adverb In an irregular or informal manner; without the usual forms … Wiktionary
informally — adv. in an informal manner, casually, without ceremony … English contemporary dictionary
informally — in·formally … English syllables
informally — See: informal … English dictionary
Measure (mathematics) — Informally, a measure has the property of being monotone in the sense that if A is a subset of B, the measure of A is less than or equal to the measure of B. Furthermore, the measure of the empty set is required to be 0. In mathematical analysis … Wikipedia