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1 impersonal
[im'pə:sənl]1) (not showing, or being affected by, personal feelings: His manner was formal and impersonal.) impersonnel2) ((of a verb) having a subject which does not refer to a person, thing etc: In the sentence `It snowed last night', `snowed' is an example of an impersonal verb.) impersonnel•- impersonality -
2 one
one [wʌn]1. adjective• one hot summer afternoon she... par un chaud après-midi d'été, elle...► one... the other• one girl was French, the other was Swiss une des filles était française, l'autre était suisse• the sea is on one side, the mountains on the other d'un côté, il y a la mer, de l'autre les montagnes► one thing ( = something that)one thing I'd like to know is where he got the money ce que j'aimerais savoir, c'est d'où lui vient l'argent• if there's one thing I can't stand it's... s'il y a une chose que je ne supporte pas, c'est...► one person ( = somebody that)one person I hate is Roy s'il y a quelqu'un que je déteste, c'est Royb. ( = a single) un seul• the one man/woman who could do it le seul/la seule qui puisse le faire• the one and only Charlie Chaplin! le seul, l'unique Charlot !c. ( = same) même2. noun• one, two, three un, deux, trois• I for one don't believe it pour ma part, je ne le crois pas━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• any one of them n'importe lequel (or laquelle)3. pronoun━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• would you like one? en voulez-vous un(e) ?► adjective + one━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► one is not translated.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• that's a difficult one! ( = question) ça c'est difficile !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The article and adjective in French are masculine or feminine, depending on the noun referred to.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I'd like a big one ( = glass) j'en voudrais un grand• I'd like the big one ( = slice) je voudrais la grosse► the one + clause, phrase• the one who or that... celui qui (or celle qui)...• the one on the floor celui (or celle) qui est par terre• is this the one you wanted? c'est bien celui-ci (or celle-ci) que vous vouliez ?► one another l'un (e) l'autre4. compounds• his company is a one-man band (inf) il fait marcher l'affaire tout seul ► one-man show noun [of performer] spectacle m solo, one-man show m• it's a one-off (object) il n'y en a qu'un comme ça ; (event) ça ne va pas se reproduire ► one-on-one, one-one (US) adjective= one-to-one(US) = one-off► one-to-one, one-on-one, one-one (US) adjective [conversation] en tête-à-tête ; [training, counselling] individuel• to have a one-track mind n'avoir qu'une idée en tête ► one-upmanship (inf) noun art m de faire mieux que les autres• it's a one-way ticket to disaster (inf) c'est la catastrophe assurée ► one-woman adjective [business] individuel* * *Note: When one is used as a personal pronoun it is translated by on when it is the subject of the verb: one never knows = on ne sait jamais. When one is the object of the verb or comes after a preposition it is usually translated by vous: it can make one ill = cela peut vous rendre maladeFor more examples and all other uses, see the entry below[wʌn] 1.1) ( single) un/une2) (unique, sole) seulshe's one fine artist — US c'est une très grande artiste
3) ( same) même4) ( for emphasis)2.1) ( indefinite) un/une m/fcan you lend me one? — tu peux m'en prêter un/une?
every one of them — tous/toutes sans exception (+ v pl)
2) ( impersonal) ( as subject) on; ( as object) vousone would like to think that... — on aimerait penser que...
you're a one! — (colloq) toi alors!
I for one think that... — pour ma part je crois que...
4) ( demonstrative)the grey one — le gris/la grise
this one — celui-ci/celle-ci
which one? — lequel/laquelle?
that's the one — c'est celui-là/celle-là
5) ( in knitting)knit one, purl one — une maille à l'endroit, une maille à l'envers
6) ( in currency)one-fifty — ( in sterling) une livre cinquante; ( in dollars) un dollar cinquante
7) (colloq) ( drink)he's had one too many — il a bu un coup (colloq) de trop
8) (colloq) ( joke)have you heard the one about...? — est-ce que tu connais l'histoire de...?
9) (colloq) ( blow)to land ou sock somebody one — en coller une à quelqu'un (colloq)
10) (colloq) (question, problem)3.1) ( number) un m; ( referring to feminine) une fto throw a one — ( on dice) faire un un
2) ( person)4.her loved ones — ceux qui lui sont/étaient chers
as one adverbial phrase [rise] comme un seul homme; [shout, reply] tous ensemble5.one by one adverbial phrase [pick up, wash] un par un/une par une••to be one up on somebody — (colloq) avoir un avantage sur quelqu'un
to have a thousand ou million and one things to do — avoir un tas de choses à faire
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3 there
there [ðεər]1. adverb• down or over there là-bas► there is ( = there exists) → be► to be there ( = exist) exister• if the technology is there, someone will use it si la technologie existe, quelqu'un l'utiliserab. (other uses) there he is! le voilà !• hurry up there! eh ! dépêchez-vous !• you've got me there! alors là, ça me dépasse ! (inf)• there comes a time when... il vient un moment où...• you press this switch and there you are! tu appuies sur ce bouton et ça y est !• there you are, I told you that would happen tu vois, je t'avais bien dit que ça allait arriver• there they go! les voilà qui partent !• I had hoped to finish early, but there you go j'espérais finir tôt mais tant pis2. exclamation• there, what did I tell you? alors, qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit ?• there, there, don't cry! allons, allons, ne pleure pas !• there now, that didn't hurt, did it? eh bien, ça n'a pas fait si mal que ça, si ?* * *Note: there is generally translated by là after prepositions: near there = près de là etc and when emphasizing the location of an object/a point etc visible to the speaker: put them there = mettez-les làRemember that voilà is used to draw attention to a visible place/object/person: there's my watch = voilà ma montre, whereas il y a is used for generalizations: there's a village nearby = il y a un village tout prèsthere when unstressed with verbs such as aller and être is translated by y: we went there last year = nous y sommes allés l'année dernière, but not where emphasis is made: it was there that we went last year = c'est là que nous sommes allés l'année dernièreFor examples of the above and further uses of there see the entry below[ðeə(r)] 1.pronoun ( as impersonal subject) ilthere seems ou appears to be — il semble y avoir
2.there is/are — il y a
1) ( that place or point) làup to there —
in there please — ( ushering somebody) par là s'il vous plaît
2) ( at or to that place) làit's there that — gen c'est là que; ( when indicating) c'est là où
take the offer while it's there — fig profite de l'occasion pendant que c'est possible
3) ( to draw attention) (to person, activity etc) voilà; ( to place) làthere you go again — fig ça y est, c'est reparti
there you are — ( seeing somebody arrive) vous voilà; ( giving object) tenez, voilà; ( that's done) et voilà
4) ( indicating arrival) là5) ( indicating juncture) là6) (colloq) ( emphatic)3.there and then adverbial phrase directement4.there again adverbial phrase ( on the other hand) d'un autre côté5.there there! — ( soothingly) allez! allez!
there! — ( triumphantly) voilà!
there, I told you! — voilà, je te l'avais bien dit!
there, you've woken the baby! — c'est malin, tu as réveillé le bébé!
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4 there
❢ There is generally translated by là after prepositions: near there = près de là etc and when emphasizing the location of an object/point etc visible to the speaker: put them there = mettez-les là. Remember that voilà is used to draw attention to a visible place/object/person: there's my watch = voilà ma montre, whereas il y a is used for generalizations: there's a village nearby = il y a un village tout près. there when unstressed with verbs such as aller and être is translated by y: we went there last year = nous y sommes allés l'année dernière, but not where emphasis is made: it was there that we went last year = c'est là que nous sommes allés l'année dernière. For examples of the above and further uses of there see the entry below.A pron ( as impersonal subject) il ; there seems ou appears to be il semble y avoir ; there is/are il y a ; there are many reasons il y a beaucoup de raisons ; there is some left il en reste ; once upon a time there was il était une fois ; there'll be a singsong later on va chanter plus tard ; there's no denying that personne ne peut nier que ; suddenly there appeared a fairy littér soudain est apparue une fée ; there arose cries from the audience littér des cris sont montés de la salle.B adv1 ( that place or point) là ; far from/near/two kilometres from there loin de/près de/à deux kilomètres de là ; up to there, down to there jusque là ; put it in there mettez-le là-dedans ; in there please ( ushering sb) par là s'il vous plaît ; we left there on Thursday nous sommes partis de là jeudi ;2 ( at or to that place) là ; stop there arrêtez-vous là ; sign there please veuillez signer là s'il vous plaît ; stand there mettez-vous là ; go over there va là-bas ; are you still there? ( on phone) est-ce que tu es toujours là? ; since we were last there depuis la dernière fois que nous y sommes allés ; it's there that gen c'est là que ; ( when indicating) c'est là où ; to go there and back in an hour faire l'aller et retour en une heure ; take the offer while it's there fig profite de l'occasion pendant que c'est possible ;3 ( to draw attention) (to person, activity etc) voilà ; ( to place) là ; what have you got there? qu'est-ce que tu as là? ; there they go les voilà qui s'en vont ; there goes the coach voilà le car qui s'en va ; there you go again fig ça y est c'est reparti ; there you are ( seeing sb arrive) vous voilà ; ( giving object) tenez, voilà ; ( that's done) et voilà ; there is a hammer/are some nails voilà un marteau/des clous ; there's a bus coming voilà un bus ; listen, there's my sister calling tiens, voilà ma sœur qui appelle ; that paragraph/sales assistant there ce paragraphe/vendeur ; my colleague there will show you mon collègue va vous montrer ; which one? this one or that one there? lequel? celui-ci ou celui-là? ; what does it say there? qu'est-ce qui est marqué là? ; there's why! ça explique tout! ;4 ( indicating arrival) là ; will she be there now? est-ce qu'elle y est maintenant? ; when do they get there? quand est-ce qu'ils arrivent là-bas? ; there I was at last j'étais enfin là-bas ; the train won't be there yet le train ne sera pas encore là ; we get off there c'est là qu'on descend ;5 ( indicating juncture) là ; there we must finish nous devons nous arrêter là ; I'd like to interrupt you there là je me permets de vous interrompre ; there was our chance c'était notre chance ; I think you're wrong there je crois que là tu te trompes ; so there we were in the same cell et comme ça on s'est retrouvés dans la même cellule ;6 ○ ( emphatic) that there contraption ce truc-là ○ ; hello there! salut! ; hey you there! eh toi là-bas!E excl there there! ( soothingly) allez! allez! ; there! ( triumphantly) voilà! ; there, I told you! voilà, je te l'avais bien dit! ; there, you've woken the baby! c'est malin, tu as réveillé le bébé! ; ⇒ so. -
5 BE
be [bi:]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. link verb3. modal verb6. compounds━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. link verba. être• who is that? -- it's me! qui est-ce ? -- c'est moi !• if I were you I would refuse si j'étais vous, je refuserais━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The following translations use ce + être because they contain an article or possessive in French.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► No article is used in French, unless the noun is qualified by an adjective.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• how are you? comment allez-vous ?d. ( = cost) coûter• how much is it? combien ça coûte ?e. ( = equal) fairef.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• to be cold/hot/hungry/thirsty/ashamed/right/wrong avoir froid/chaud/faim/soif/honte/raison/tort━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Note how French makes the person, not the part of the body, the subject of the sentence in the following.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━g. (with age) avoir• how old is he? quel âge a-t-il ?► to be + -ing━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► French does not distinguish between simple and continuous actions as much as English does.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I'm coming! j'arrive !• what have you been doing this week? qu'est-ce que tu as fait cette semaine ?• will you be seeing her tomorrow? est-ce que vous allez la voir demain ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► être en train de + infinitive emphasizes that one is in the middle of the action.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I haven't got time, I'm cooking the dinner je n'ai pas le temps, je suis en train de préparer le repas━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The imperfect tense is used for continuous action in the past.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► have/had been +... for/since━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► French uses the present and imperfect where English uses the perfect and past perfect.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I'd been at university for six weeks when my father got ill j'étais à l'université depuis six semaines quand mon père est tombé malade• he's a friend of yours, isn't he? c'est un ami à toi, n'est-ce pas ?• she wasn't happy, was she? elle n'était pas heureuse, n'est-ce pas ?• so it's all done, is it? tout est fait, alors ?• you're not ill, are you? tu n'es pas malade j'espère ?c. (in tag responses) they're getting married -- oh are they? ils vont se marier -- ah bon ?• he's going to complain about you -- oh is he? il va porter plainte contre toi -- ah vraiment ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• he's always late, isn't he? -- yes, he is il est toujours en retard, n'est-ce pas ? -- oui• is it what you expected? -- no it isn't est-ce que tu t'attendais à ça ? -- non━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The past participle in French passive constructions agrees with the subject.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The passive is used less in French than in English. It is often expressed by on + active verb.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• it is said that... on dit que...━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The reflexive can be used to describe how something is usually done.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━3. modal verb► am/are/is to + infinitivea. ( = will)• now the old lady has died, her house is to be sold maintenant que la vieille dame est décédée, sa maison va être mise en venteb. ( = must) you are to follow these instructions exactly tu dois suivre ces instructions scrupuleusementc. ( = should) he is to be pitied il est à plaindre• not to be confused with... à ne pas confondre avec...d. ( = be destined to) this was to have serious repercussions cela devait avoir de graves répercussionse. ( = can) these birds are to be found all over the world on trouve ces oiseaux dans le monde entiera. être ; ( = take place) avoir lieu• he is there at the moment, but he won't be there much longer il est là en ce moment mais il ne va pas rester très longtemps► there is/are ( = there exist(s)) il y a• here you are at last! te voilà enfin !• here you are! ( = take this) tiens (or tenez) !b. ► to have been (to a place)• where have you been? où étais-tu passé ?a. (weather, temperature) faire• it's fine/cold/dark il fait beau/froid/nuit• it's windy/foggy il y a du vent/du brouillard• it was then we realized that... c'est alors que nous nous sommes rendu compte que...• it was they who suggested that... ce sont eux qui ont suggéré que...• why is it that she is so popular? pourquoi a-t-elle tant de succès ?6. compounds* * *noun: abrév bill of exchange -
6 be
be [bi:]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. link verb3. modal verb6. compounds━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. link verba. être• who is that? -- it's me! qui est-ce ? -- c'est moi !• if I were you I would refuse si j'étais vous, je refuserais━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The following translations use ce + être because they contain an article or possessive in French.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► No article is used in French, unless the noun is qualified by an adjective.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• how are you? comment allez-vous ?d. ( = cost) coûter• how much is it? combien ça coûte ?e. ( = equal) fairef.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• to be cold/hot/hungry/thirsty/ashamed/right/wrong avoir froid/chaud/faim/soif/honte/raison/tort━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Note how French makes the person, not the part of the body, the subject of the sentence in the following.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━g. (with age) avoir• how old is he? quel âge a-t-il ?► to be + -ing━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► French does not distinguish between simple and continuous actions as much as English does.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I'm coming! j'arrive !• what have you been doing this week? qu'est-ce que tu as fait cette semaine ?• will you be seeing her tomorrow? est-ce que vous allez la voir demain ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► être en train de + infinitive emphasizes that one is in the middle of the action.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I haven't got time, I'm cooking the dinner je n'ai pas le temps, je suis en train de préparer le repas━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The imperfect tense is used for continuous action in the past.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► have/had been +... for/since━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► French uses the present and imperfect where English uses the perfect and past perfect.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I'd been at university for six weeks when my father got ill j'étais à l'université depuis six semaines quand mon père est tombé malade• he's a friend of yours, isn't he? c'est un ami à toi, n'est-ce pas ?• she wasn't happy, was she? elle n'était pas heureuse, n'est-ce pas ?• so it's all done, is it? tout est fait, alors ?• you're not ill, are you? tu n'es pas malade j'espère ?c. (in tag responses) they're getting married -- oh are they? ils vont se marier -- ah bon ?• he's going to complain about you -- oh is he? il va porter plainte contre toi -- ah vraiment ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• he's always late, isn't he? -- yes, he is il est toujours en retard, n'est-ce pas ? -- oui• is it what you expected? -- no it isn't est-ce que tu t'attendais à ça ? -- non━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The past participle in French passive constructions agrees with the subject.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The passive is used less in French than in English. It is often expressed by on + active verb.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• it is said that... on dit que...━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The reflexive can be used to describe how something is usually done.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━3. modal verb► am/are/is to + infinitivea. ( = will)• now the old lady has died, her house is to be sold maintenant que la vieille dame est décédée, sa maison va être mise en venteb. ( = must) you are to follow these instructions exactly tu dois suivre ces instructions scrupuleusementc. ( = should) he is to be pitied il est à plaindre• not to be confused with... à ne pas confondre avec...d. ( = be destined to) this was to have serious repercussions cela devait avoir de graves répercussionse. ( = can) these birds are to be found all over the world on trouve ces oiseaux dans le monde entiera. être ; ( = take place) avoir lieu• he is there at the moment, but he won't be there much longer il est là en ce moment mais il ne va pas rester très longtemps► there is/are ( = there exist(s)) il y a• here you are at last! te voilà enfin !• here you are! ( = take this) tiens (or tenez) !b. ► to have been (to a place)• where have you been? où étais-tu passé ?a. (weather, temperature) faire• it's fine/cold/dark il fait beau/froid/nuit• it's windy/foggy il y a du vent/du brouillard• it was then we realized that... c'est alors que nous nous sommes rendu compte que...• it was they who suggested that... ce sont eux qui ont suggéré que...• why is it that she is so popular? pourquoi a-t-elle tant de succès ?6. compounds* * *[biː, bɪ]1) gen êtreit's me —
2) ( in probability)were it not that... — si ce n'était que...
had it not been for Frank, I'd have missed the train — sans Frank j'aurais raté le train
3) ( phrases)let ou leave him be — laisse-le tranquille
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7 Usage note : it
When it is used as a subject pronoun to refer to a specific object (or animal) il or elle is used in French according to the gender of the object referred to:‘where is the book/chair?’ ‘it’s in the kitchen’= ‘où est le livre/la chaise?’ ‘il/elle est dans la cuisine’‘do you like my skirt?’ ‘it’s lovely’= ‘est-ce que tu aimes ma jupe?’ ‘elle est très jolie’However, if the object referred to is named in the same sentence, it is translated by ce (c’ before a vowel):it’s a good film= c’est un bon filmWhen it is used as an object pronoun it is translated by le or la (l’ before a vowel) according to the gender of the object referred to:it’s my book/my chair and I want it= c’est mon livre/ma chaise et je le/la veuxNote that the object pronoun normally comes before the verb in French and that in compound tenses like the perfect and the past perfect, the past participle agrees with it:I liked his shirt - did you notice it?= j’ai aimé sa chemise - est-ce que tu l’as remarquée? or l’as-tu remarquée?In imperatives only, the pronoun comes after the verb:it’s my book - give it to me= c’est mon livre - donne-le-moi (note the hyphens)When it is used vaguely or impersonally followed by an adjective the translation is ce (c’ before a vowel):it’s difficult= c’est difficileit’s sad= c’est tristeBut when it is used impersonally followed by an adjective + verb the translation is il:it’s difficult to understand how…= il est difficile de comprendre comment …If in doubt consult the entry for the adjective in question.For translations for impersonal verb uses (it’s raining, it’s snowing) consult the entry for the verb in question.it is used in expressions of days of the week (it’s Friday) and clock time (it’s 5 o’clock). This dictionary contains usage notes on these and many other topics. For other impersonal and idiomatic uses see the entry it.When it is used after a preposition in English the two words (prep + it) are often translated by one word in French. If the preposition would normally be translated by de in French (e.g. of, about, from etc.) the prep + it = en:I’ve heard about it= j’en ai entendu parlerIf the preposition would normally be translated by à in French (e.g. to, in, at etc.) the prep + it = y:they went to it= ils y sont allésFor translations of it following prepositions not normally translated by de or à (e.g. above, under, over etc.) consult the entry for the preposition. -
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 one
❢ When one is used as a personal pronoun it is translated by on when it is the subject of the verb: one never knows = on ne sait jamais. When one is the object of the verb or comes after a preposition it is usually translated by vous: it can make one ill = cela peut vous rendre malade.For more examples and all other uses, see the entry below.A det1 ( single) un/une ; one car une voiture ; one dog un chien ; twenty-one flowers vingt et une fleurs ; to raise one hand lever la main ; no one person can do it alone personne ne peut faire cela tout seul ;2 (unique, sole) seul ; my one and only tie ma seule et unique cravate ; her one vice/pleasure son seul vice/plaisir ; she' s the one person who can help c'est la seule personne qui puisse nous aider ; the one and only Edith Piaf l'incomparable Edith Piaf ; she's one fine artist US c'est une très grande artiste ; ⇒ hell ;3 ( same) même ; in the one direction dans la même direction ; at one and the same time en même temps ; to be one and the same thing être exactement la même chose ; they're one and the same person il s'agit de la même personne ; two offers in the one day deux offres dans la même journée ; to be of one mind être d'accord ; it's all one to me ça m'est égal ;4 ( in expressions of time) one day/evening un jour/soir ; one hot summer's day par une chaude journée d'été ; one of these days un de ces jours ;5 ( for emphasis) one Simon Richard un certain Simon Richard.B pron1 ( indefinite) un/une m/f ; can you lend me one? tu peux m'en prêter un/une? ; one of them ( person) l'un d'eux/l'une d'elles ; ( thing) l'un/l'une m/f ; she's one of my best customers c'est une de mes meilleures clientes ; one after the other l'un/l'une après l'autre ; I can't tell one from the other je ne peux pas les distinguer (l'un de l'autre) ; every one of them was broken ils étaient tous cassés sans exception ; one was grey and the other was pink l'un était gris et l'autre était rose ; two volumes in one deux tomes en un volume ; it's a two-in-one whisk and blender cela fait à la fois batteur et mixeur ; Merry Christmas one and all Joyeux Noël à tous ; she's one of us elle est des nôtres ; ⇒ any ;2 ( impersonal) ( as subject) on ; ( as object) vous ; one would like to think that on aimerait penser que ; one can't help wondering on ne peut pas s'empêcher de se demander ; if one wanted si on voulait ; it's enough to make one despair cela suffit pour vous démoraliser ;3 ( referring to a specific person) the advice of one who knows les conseils de quelqu'un qui s'y connaît ; for one who claims to be an expert pour quelqu'un qui prétend être expert ; like one possessed comme un possédé ; I'm not one for doing ce n'est pas mon genre de faire ; she's a great one for doing elle est très douée pour faire ; I'm not one for football je ne suis pas amateur de foot ; he's one for the ladies c'est un homme à femmes ; she's a clever one elle est intelligente ; you're a one ○ ! toi alors! ; I for one think that personnellement or pour ma part je crois que ; ‘who disagrees?’-‘I for one!’ ‘qui n'est pas d'accord?’-‘moi’ ; ⇒ never ;4 ( demonstrative) the grey one le gris/la grise ; the pink ones les roses ; my friend's one celui/celle de mon ami ; this one celui-ci/celle-ci ; that one celui-là/celle-là ; the one in the corner celui/celle qui est dans le coin ; which one? lequel/laquelle? ; that's the one c'est celui-là/celle-là ; he's the one who c'est lui qui ; buy the smallest one achète le/la plus petit/-e ; my new car is faster than the old one ma nouvelle voiture est plus rapide que l'ancienne ;6 ○ ( drink) he's had one too many il a bu un coup ○ de trop ; a quick one un pot ○ en vitesse ; make mine a large one sers-moi un grand verre ; ⇒ road ;7 ○ ( joke) that's a good one! elle est bien bonne celle-là! ; have you heard the one about…? est-ce que tu connais l'histoire de…? ;8 ○ ( blow) to land ou sock sb one en coller une à qn ○ ;9 ○ (question, problem) that's a tough ou tricky one c'est une colle ○ ; ask me another one pose-moi une autre question ;10 ( person one is fond of) her loved ou dear ones ceux qui lui sont chers ; to lose a loved one perdre un être cher ; the little ones les petits ;11 ( in knitting) knit one, purl one une maille à l'endroit, une maille à l'envers ; make one faire une augmentation.C n ( number) un m ; one, two, three, go! un, deux, trois, partez! ; to throw a one ( on dice) faire un un ; there are three ones in one hundred and eleven il y a trois fois le chiffre un dans cent onze ; one o'clock une heure ; to arrive in ones and twos arriver par petits groupes.E in one adv phr to down a drink in one boire un verre cul sec ○ ; you've got it in one tu as trouvé tout de suite.to be one up on sb ○ avoir un avantage sur qn ; to be at one with sb être en accord avec qn ; to go one better than sb faire mieux que qn ; to give sb one ◑ se faire qn ◑ ; to be a dictionary and grammar all in one ou all rolled into one être à la fois un dictionnaire et une grammaire ; all for one and one for all un pour tous et tous pour un ; to have a thousand ou million and one things to do avoir un tas de choses à faire. -
10 you
you [ju:](a) (as plural subject) vous; (as singular subject → polite use) vous; (→ familiar use) tu; (as plural object) vous; (as singular object → polite use) vous; (→ familiar use) te;∎ you didn't ask vous n'avez pas/tu n'as pas demandé;∎ don't you dare! je te le déconseille!;∎ you and I will go together vous et moi/toi et moi irons ensemble;∎ would you like a drink? voulez-vous boire/veux-tu boire quelque chose?;∎ you and yours vous et les vôtres/toi et les tiens;∎ you there! vous là-bas/toi là-bas!;∎ don't you say a word je t'interdis de dire quoi que ce soit;∎ did he see you? est-ce qu'il vous a vu/t'a vu?;∎ I'll get you some dinner je vais vous/te préparer à manger;∎ she gave you the keys elle vous a donné/elle t'a donné les clés∎ all of you vous tous;∎ with you avec vous/toi;∎ for you pour vous/toi;∎ that's men for you ah! les hommes!;∎ she gave the keys to you elle vous a donné/elle t'a donné les clés;∎ between you and me entre nous;∎ now there's a singer for you! ah, voilà un chanteur!;∎ now there's a typical politician for you voilà un politicien type;∎ now there's manners for you! ça au moins, c'est quelqu'un de bien élevé/ce sont des gens bien élevés!; ironic en voilà des manières!∎ you bloody fool! espèce de crétin!;∎ you sweetie! oh, le mignon/la mignonne!;∎ you Americans are all the same vous les Américains ou vous autres Américains, vous êtes tous pareils∎ you mean they chose you tu veux dire qu'ils t'ont choisi toi;∎ you wouldn't do that, would you? vous ne feriez pas cela/tu ne ferais pas cela, n'est-ce pas?;∎ silly/lucky (old) you! quel gros bêta/veinard tu fais!;∎ familiar that jacket/job wasn't you cette veste/ce travail n'était pas ton style;∎ just you try! essaye un peu pour voir!∎ you never know on ne sait jamais;∎ a hot bath does you a world of good un bon bain chaud vous fait un bien immense;∎ you take the first on the left prenez la première à gauche -
11 Usage note : have
When used as an auxiliary in present perfect, future perfect and past perfect tenses, have is normally translated by avoir:I have seen= j’ai vuI had seen= j’avais vuHowever, some verbs in French, especially verbs of movement and change of state (e.g. aller, venir, descendre, mourir), take être rather than avoir in these tenses:he has left= il est partiIn this case, remember the past participle agrees with the subject of the verb:she has gone= elle est alléeReflexive verbs (e.g. se lever, se coucher) always conjugate with être:she has fainted= elle s’est évanouieFor translations of time expressions using for or since (he has been in London for six months, he has been in London since June), see the entries for and since.For translations of time expressions using just (I have just finished my essay, he has just gone), see the entry just1.to have to meaning must is translated by either devoir or the impersonal construction il faut que + subjunctive:I have to leave now= il faut que je parte maintenant or je dois partir maintenantIn negative sentences, not to have to is generally translated by ne pas être obligé de e.g.you don’t have to go= tu n’es pas obligé d’y allerFor examples and particular usages see the entry have.When have is used as a straightforward transitive verb meaning possess, have (or have got) can generally be translated by avoir, e.g.I have (got) a car= j’ai une voitureshe has a good memory= elle a une bonne mémoirethey have (got) problems= ils ont des problèmesFor examples and particular usages see entry ; see also got.have is also used with certain noun objects where the whole expression is equivalent to a verb:to have dinner = to dineto have a try = to tryto have a walk = to walkIn such cases the phrase is very often translated by the equivalent verb in French (dîner, essayer, se promener). For translations consult the appropriate noun entry (dinner, try, walk).had is used in English at the beginning of a clause to replace an expression with if. Such expressions are generally translated by si + past perfect tense, e.g.had I taken the train, this would never have happened= si j’avais pris le train, ce ne serait jamais arrivéhad there been a fire, we would all have been killed= s’il y avait eu un incendie, nous serions tous mortsFor examples of the above and all other uses of have see the entry.
См. также в других словарях:
impersonal subject — noun a pronoun such as it use as the subject of a clause involving weather or time … Wiktionary
Impersonal verb — In linguistics, an impersonal verb is a verb that cannot take a true subject, because it does not represent an action, occurrence, or state of being of any specific person, place, or thing. The term weather verb is also sometimes used, since such … Wikipedia
Impersonal — Im*per son*al, a. [L. impersonalis; pref. im not + personalis personal: cf. F. impersonnel. See {Personal}.] Not personal; not representing a person; not having personality. [1913 Webster] An almighty but impersonal power, called Fate. Sir J.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Impersonal verb — Impersonal Im*per son*al, a. [L. impersonalis; pref. im not + personalis personal: cf. F. impersonnel. See {Personal}.] Not personal; not representing a person; not having personality. [1913 Webster] An almighty but impersonal power, called Fate … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
impersonal — [im pʉr′sə nəl] adj. [LL impersonalis] 1. not personal; specif., a) without connection or reference to any particular person [an impersonal comment] b) not existing as a person [an impersonal force] 2. not showing human feelings, esp. sympathy or … English World dictionary
impersonal — ► ADJECTIVE 1) not influenced by or involving personal feelings. 2) featureless and anonymous. 3) not existing as a person. 4) Grammar (of a verb) used only with a formal subject (in English usually it) and expressing an action not attributable… … English terms dictionary
Impersonal — (Impersonell, v. lat.), unpersönlich; daher Impersonale, Verbum, welches kein persönliches Subject zuläßt, z.B. es regnet … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
impersonal verb — In current English this term is restricted to verbs used in the third person singular with indefinite it as subject, e.g. it is snowing, when it rains, it makes no difference … Modern English usage
Impersonal passive voice — The impersonal passive voice is a verb voice that decreases the valency of an intransitive verb (which has valency one) to zero.The impersonal passive deletes the subject of an intransitive verb. In place of the verb s subject, the construction… … Wikipedia
subject — I adj. (cannot stand alone) subject to (subject to change) II n. topic, theme 1) to bring up, broach; pursue; tackle a subject 2) to address, cover, deal with, discuss, take up, treat a subject 3) to dwell on; exhaust; go into a subject 4) to… … Combinatory dictionary
impersonal — /ɪmˈpɜsənəl / (say im persuhnuhl) adjective 1. not personal; without personal reference or connection: an impersonal remark. 2. not exhibiting a warmth of feeling flowing from a personal involvement or interest: an impersonal greeting; an… …