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1 idiom
idiom [ˈɪdɪəm]a. ( = phrase) expression f idiomatiqueb. ( = language) idiome mc. ( = style) style m* * *['ɪdɪəm]1) ( phrase) idiome m2) ( language) ( of speakers) parler m; (of theatre, sport) langue f; ( of music) style m -
2 idiom
idiom n -
3 speaker
speaker ['spi:kə(r)](a) (gen) celui m /celle f qui parle; (in discussion) interlocuteur(trice) m,f; (in public) orateur(trice) m,f; (during debate, at conference) intervenant(e) m,f;∎ she's a good speaker elle sait parler ou s'exprimer en public;∎ the chairman called the next speaker le président a appelé l'orateur(trice) m,f suivant(e)(b) Linguistics locuteur(trice) m,f;∎ native speakers of English ceux dont la langue maternelle est l'anglais;∎ Spanish speaker hispanophone mf;∎ as a speaker of Italian or an Italian speaker myself… moi qui parle italien…;∎ my parents are Welsh speakers mes parents sont galloisants ou parlent (le) gallois;∎ there are very few surviving speakers of the language il reste très peu de personnes qui parlent cette langue∎ the Speaker (of the House of Commons) = le président de la Chambre des communes;∎ the Speaker of the House = le président de la Chambre des représentants américaine►► Speakers' Corner = angle nord-est de Hyde Park, à Londres, où chacun peut venir le week-end haranguer la foule sur des tribunes improvisées;speaker phone téléphone m avec haut-parleurⓘ SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE Le président de la Chambre des représentants est l'une des personnalités politiques les plus influentes à la Maison Blanche, et vient en deuxième position pour remplacer le président des États-Unis en cas de force majeure. -
4 English
English ['ɪŋglɪʃ]∎ the English les Anglais mpl2 noun(language) anglais m;∎ do or can you speak English? parlez-vous (l')anglais?;∎ to study English étudier ou apprendre l'anglais;∎ she speaks excellent English elle parle très bien (l')anglais;∎ we spoke (in) English to each other nous nous sommes parlé en anglais;∎ that's not good English ce n'est pas du bon anglais;∎ in plain or simple English clairement;∎ so what you mean, in plain or simple English, is that… autrement dit ou en d'autres termes, ce que vous voulez dire, c'est que…;∎ can you put that in plain or simple English? pouvez-vous vous exprimer plus clairement?;∎ why can't lawyers talk in plain or simple English? pourquoi les hommes de loi ne parlent-ils pas comme vous et moi?;∎ American/Australian English l'anglais m américain/australien;∎ the King's/Queen's English l'anglais m correct;∎ English as a Foreign Language anglais m langue étrangère;∎ English Language Teaching enseignement m de l'anglais;∎ English as a Second Language anglais m deuxième langueanglais►► English breakfast petit déjeuner m anglais ou à l'anglaise, breakfast m;the English Channel la Manche;the English disease (strikes) = terme faisant référence à la fréquence des grèves avant les lois anti-syndicales en Grande-Bretagne; (hooliganism) = expression qui fait référence aux violences auxquelles se livrent les supporters anglais;English English l'anglais m d'Angleterre;English Heritage = organisme britannique de protection du patrimoine historique;American English muffin muffin m;English National Opera opéra m national d'Angleterre;English Riviera = surnom donné à Torbay en raison de la douceur de son climat et de la popularité de ses stations balnéaires;English rose = le type idéal de la femme anglaise;English setter setter m anglais;American English sheepdog bobtail m;English speaker (as native speaker) anglophone mf; (as non-native speaker) personne f parlant anglais;American English for Speakers of Other Languages = anglais langue étrangère;English for special purposes = anglais spécialiséⓘ ENGLISH BREAKFAST Le petit déjeuner traditionnel anglais se compose d'un plat chaud (des œufs au bacon, par exemple), de céréales ou de porridge, et de toasts à la marmelade d'oranges, le tout accompagné de café ou de thé; aujourd'hui il est généralement remplacé par une collation plus légère. -
5 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. -
6 Usage note : let
When let is used in English with another verb in order to make a suggestion (let’s do it at once), the first person plural - ons of the appropriate verb can generally be used to express this in French: faisons-le tout de suite. (Note that the verb alone translates let us do and no pronoun appears in French.)In the spoken language, however, which is the usual context for such suggestions, French speakers will use the much more colloquial on + present tense or si on + imperfect tense:let’s do it at once= on le fait tout de suite? or si on le faisait tout de suite?let’s go to the cinema tonight= si on allait au cinéma ce soir?let’s go!= allons-y! or on y va!These translations can also be used for negative suggestions:let’s not take or don’t let’s take the bus - let’s walk= on ne prend pas le bus, on y va à pied or ne prenons pas le bus, allons-y à piedFor more examples and particular usages see A1 in the entry let1.When let is used in English with another verb to express defiance or a command (just let him try!) French uses the structure que + present subjunctive:just let him try!= qu’il essaie!don’t let me see you here again!= que je ne te revoie plus ici!For more examples and particular usages see A2 in the entry let1.When let is used to mean allow, it is generally translated by the verb laisser. For examples and particular usages see A3 in the entry let1.For translations of expressions such as let fly, let loose, let slip etc., consult the entry for the second word (fly, loose, slip etc.).
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