Перевод: с английского на французский

с французского на английский

С французского на:
Английский
С английского на:
Все языки
Испанский
Французский

(used to form perfect tenses)

Толкование Перевод

1 have

have [hæv]

verbe auxiliaire ⇒ 1 avoir ⇒ 1, 2A (a)-(c), 2B (b)-(e), 2C (a), 2C (b), 2F (a), 2F (d), 2F (h), 2F (i) être ⇒ 1 posséder ⇒ 2A (a) disposer de ⇒ 2A (b) prendre ⇒ 2B (c) passer ⇒ 2B (d) recevoir ⇒ 2C (a), 2C (b) vouloir ⇒ 2C (c), 2F (f) tenir ⇒ 2D (a) faire faire ⇒ 2E (b), 2E (c) placer ⇒ 2F (b) devoir ⇒ 2G (a), 2G (b) concerner ⇒ 2G (c)

ⓘ GRAM Les formes négatives, haven't et hasn't, s'écrivent have not and has not dans un style plus soutenu.

ⓘ GRAM Most French verbs will conjugate with avoir to form the perfect tense. However, all reflexive verbs and many intransitive verbs - mainly of motion - will conjugate with être.

(3rd pers sing pres has [hæz], pt & pp had [hæd])

1 auxiliary verb

(a) (used to form perfect tenses) avoir, être;

∎ to have finished avoir fini;

∎ to have left être parti;

∎ to have sat down s'être assis;

∎ to have been/had avoir été/eu;

∎ has she slept? a-t-elle dormi?;

∎ have they arrived? sont-ils arrivés?;

∎ he has been ill il a été malade;

∎ when you've calmed down quand vous vous serez calmé;

∎ I will have forgotten by next week j'aurai oublié d'ici la semaine prochaine;

∎ the children will have gone to bed by the time we arrive les enfants seront couchés quand nous arriverons;

∎ you were silly not to have accepted tu es bête de ne pas avoir accepté;

∎ after or when you have finished, you may leave quand vous aurez fini, vous pourrez partir;

∎ she was ashamed of having lied elle avait honte d'avoir menti;

∎ she felt she couldn't change her mind, having already agreed to go elle sentait qu'elle ne pouvait pas changer d'avis, étant donné qu'elle avait dit être d'accord pour y aller;

∎ I have been thinking j'ai réfléchi;

∎ he has been working here for two months il travaille ici depuis deux mois, il y a deux mois qu'il travaille ici;

∎ I have known her for three years/since childhood je la connais depuis trois ans/depuis mon enfance;

∎ I had known her for years cela faisait des années que je la connaissais, je la connaissais depuis des années;

∎ she claimed she hadn't heard the news elle a prétendu ne pas avoir entendu la nouvelle;

∎ I had already gone to bed when he arrived j'étais déjà couché quand il est arrivé;

∎ we had gone to bed early nous nous étions couchés de bonne heure;

∎ when he had given his speech, I left une fois qu'il eut terminé son discours, je partis;

∎ had I known, I wouldn't have insisted si j'avais su, je n'aurais pas insisté;

∎ if I had known, I wouldn't have said anything si j'avais su, je n'aurais rien dit;

∎ they would have been happy if it hadn't been for the war ils auraient vécu heureux si la guerre n'était pas survenue;

∎ why don't you just leave him and have done with it? pourquoi donc est-ce que vous ne le quittez pas, pour en finir?;

∎ I'd as soon not j'aimerais mieux pas;

∎ he'd rather or sooner stay at home than go out dancing il aimerait mieux rester ou il préférerait rester à la maison qu'aller danser;

∎ familiar he's had it (is in trouble) il est fichu ou foutu; (is worn out) il est à bout;

∎ familiar I've had it with all your complaining! j'en ai jusque-là de tes jérémiades!;

∎ familiar I've had it up to here with him j'en ai jusque-là de ce type-là;

∎ familiar the car has just about had it la voiture va bientôt rendre l'âme;

∎ familiar this plant has had it cette plante est fichue

(b) (elliptical uses)

∎ have you ever had the measles? - yes, I have/no, I haven't avez-vous eu la rougeole? - oui/non;

∎ she hasn't finished - yes, she has! elle n'a pas fini - (mais) si!;

∎ you've forgotten his birthday - no, I haven't! tu as oublié son anniversaire - mais non!;

∎ have you ever considered going into politics? if you have.../if you haven't… avez-vous déjà envisagé de rentrer dans la vie politique? si oui…/si non…;

∎ you've forgotten your gloves - so I have! vous avez oublié vos gants - en effet! ou tiens, c'est vrai!

(c) (in tag questions)

∎ you've read 'Hamlet', haven't you? vous avez lu 'Hamlet', n'est-ce pas?;

∎ he hasn't arrived, has he? il n'est pas arrivé, si?;

∎ so she's got a new job, has she? elle a changé de travail alors?

2 transitive verb

A.

(a) (be in possession of, own) avoir, posséder;

∎ do you have or have you got a car? avez-vous une voiture?;

∎ they have (got) a lot of friends/money ils ont beaucoup d'amis/d'argent;

∎ they don't have or they haven't got any more ils n'en ont plus;

∎ she shares everything she has (got) with them elle partage tout ce qu'elle a avec eux;

∎ he has (got) £10 left il lui reste 10 livres;

∎ we have (got) six of them left il nous en reste six;

∎ do you have or have you got any children? if you have... avez-vous des enfants? si vous en avez ou si oui...;

∎ they have (got) a 50 percent interest in the business ils ont ou détiennent 50 pour cent des intérêts dans l'affaire;

∎ I have (got) a lot of work to finish j'ai beaucoup de travail à finir;

∎ do we have or have we got any milk in the house? est-ce qu'on a du lait ou est-ce qu'il y a du lait à la maison?;

∎ she has (got) a baker's shop/bookshop elle tient une boulangerie/librairie;

∎ do you have or have you got the time? avez-vous l'heure?;

∎ he doesn't have or hasn't got a job il n'a pas de travail, il est sans travail;

∎ we have (got) a deadline to meet nous avons un délai à respecter;

∎ I've got it! ça y est, j'ai trouvé ou j'y suis!;

∎ paper, envelopes and what have you du papier, des enveloppes et je ne sais quoi encore;

∎ proverb you can't have your cake and eat it on ne peut pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre;

∎ familiar give it all you have or all you've got! mets-y le paquet!

(b) (enjoy the use of) avoir, disposer de;

∎ we had a couple of hours to do our errands nous disposions de ou nous avions quelques heures pour faire nos courses;

∎ I don't have time or I haven't got time to stop for lunch je n'ai pas le temps de m'arrêter pour déjeuner;

∎ he has (got) a month to finish il a un mois pour finir;

∎ he hasn't (got) long to live il ne lui reste pas longtemps à vivre;

∎ do you have or have you (got) a minute (to spare)? tu as une minute?;

∎ she had the house to herself elle avait la maison pour elle toute seule;

∎ such questions have an important place in our lives ce genre de questions occupe une place importante dans notre vie;

∎ he has (got) nothing to do/to read il n'a rien à faire/à lire

(c) (possess as quality or attribute) avoir;

∎ she has (got) red hair elle a les cheveux roux, elle est rousse;

∎ you have (got) beautiful eyes tu as de beaux yeux;

∎ the ticket has (got) a name on it il y a un nom sur le billet;

∎ to have good taste avoir bon goût;

∎ to have a bad temper avoir mauvais caractère;

∎ she has (got) a reputation for being difficult elle a la réputation d'être difficile;

∎ the house has (got) a beautiful view of the mountains de la maison, on a une belle vue sur les montagnes;

∎ she has (got) what it takes or she has it in her to succeed elle a ce qu'il faut pour réussir;

∎ you've never had it so good! vous n'avez jamais eu la vie si belle!;

∎ familiar he really has it bad for Emma il a complètement craqué pour Emma

(d) (possess knowledge or understanding of)

∎ do you have or have you got any experience of teaching? avez-vous déjà enseigné?;

∎ she has (got) a clear sense of what matters elle sait très bien ce qui est important;

∎ he has some Greek and Latin il connaît un peu le grec et le latin;

∎ I have a little Spanish je parle un peu espagnol

B.

(a) (indicating experience of a specified situation)

∎ to have a dream/nightmare faire un rêve/cauchemar;

∎ I have no regrets je n'ai aucun regret ou pas de regrets;

∎ I didn't have any trouble in finding it je n'ai eu aucune peine à le trouver;

∎ we have (got) nothing or we don't have anything against dogs on n'a rien contre les chiens;

∎ I've had my appendix out je me suis fait opérer de l'appendicite;

∎ he had all his money stolen il s'est fait voler ou on lui a volé tout son argent;

∎ I love having my back rubbed j'adore qu'on me frotte le dos;

∎ they had some strange things happen to them il leur est arrivé de drôles de choses

(b) (be infected with, suffer from) avoir;

∎ to have a cold avoir un rhume, être enrhumé;

∎ do you have or have you got a headache? avez-vous mal à la tête?;

∎ he has (got) problems with his back il a des problèmes de dos

(c) (perform, take part in → bath, lesson) prendre; (→ meeting) avoir;

∎ we had our first argument last night nous nous sommes disputés hier soir pour la première fois;

∎ to have a stroll se promener, faire un tour;

∎ I want to have a think about it je veux y réfléchir;

∎ to have a party (organize) organiser une fête; (celebrate) faire la fête;

∎ I'll have no part in it je refuse de m'en mêler

(d) (pass, spend) passer, avoir;

∎ I had a horrible day at work j'ai passé une journée atroce au travail;

∎ have a nice day! bonne journée!;

∎ to have a good time s'amuser;

∎ did you have a good time? c'était bien?, tu t'es bien amusé?;

∎ a good time was had by all tout le monde s'est bien amusé;

∎ she's had a hard time of it lately elle vient de traverser une mauvaise passe

(e) (exhibit, show) avoir, montrer;

∎ have mercy on us! ayez pitié de nous!;

∎ he had the nerve to refuse il a eu le culot de refuser;

∎ he didn't even have the decency to apologize il n'a même pas eu la décence de s'excuser

C.

(a) (obtain, receive) avoir, recevoir;

∎ I'd like him to have this picture j'aimerais lui donner cette photo;

∎ I'd like to have your advice on something j'aimerais que vous me donniez un conseil à propos de quelque chose;

∎ we had a phone call from the mayor nous avons reçu ou eu un coup de fil du maire;

∎ they've still had no news of the lost plane ils n'ont toujours pas de nouvelles de l'avion (qui a) disparu;

∎ I have it on good authority je le tiens de bonne source;

∎ I must have your answer by tomorrow il me faut votre réponse pour demain;

∎ let me have your answer by next week donnez-moi votre réponse avant la semaine prochaine;

∎ let me have your keys donne-moi tes clefs;

∎ let me have the book back when you've finished rends-moi le livre quand tu auras fini;

∎ she let them have the wardrobe for £300 elle leur a laissé ou cédé l'armoire pour 300 livres;

∎ there are plenty of flats to be had il y a plein d'appartements;

∎ familiar I let him have it (attacked him) je lui ai réglé son compte; (told him off) je lui ai passé un savon;

∎ familiar you had it coming! tu ne l'as pas volé!

(b) (invite) recevoir, avoir;

∎ she's having some people (over) for or to dinner elle reçoit ou elle a du monde à dîner;

∎ let's have him round for a drink et si on l'invitait à prendre un pot?;

∎ did you have any visitors? avez-vous eu de la visite?;

∎ after the movie we had them back for coffee après le cinéma, nous les avons invités à venir prendre le café chez nous

(c) (accept, take) vouloir;

∎ he'd like to marry but nobody will have him! il aimerait se marier mais personne ne veut de lui!;

∎ do what you want, I'm having nothing more to do with your schemes fais ce que tu veux, je ne veux plus être mêlé à tes combines

D.

(a) (clutch) tenir;

∎ to have sb in one's power avoir qn en son pouvoir;

∎ the teacher had (got) him by the arm/the ear le maître le tenait par le bras/l'oreille;

∎ he had (got) his assailant by the throat il tenait son agresseur à la gorge

(b) figurative (gain control or advantage over)

∎ you have me there! là vous me tenez!;

∎ I have (got) you right where I want you now! je vous tiens!;

∎ Sport the Bears have it! les Bears ont gagné!

(c) (bewilder, perplex)

∎ who won? - you've got me there qui a gagné? - là, tu me poses une colle

E.

(a) (cause to be)

∎ the news had me worried la nouvelle m'a inquiété;

∎ I'll have this light fixed in a minute j'en ai pour une minute à réparer cette lampe;

∎ we'll have everything ready tout sera prêt

(b) (with past participle) (cause to be done) to have sth done faire faire qch;

∎ I had my hair cut je me suis fait couper les cheveux;

∎ we must have the curtains cleaned nous devons faire nettoyer les rideaux ou donner les rideaux à nettoyer;

∎ three houses had their windows shattered trois maisons ont eu leurs fenêtres brisées;

∎ she had coffee brought up to the room elle a fait monter du café dans la chambre;

∎ I had my watch stolen je me suis fait voler ma montre

(c) (with infinitive) (cause to do) to have sb do sth faire faire qch à qn;

∎ she had him invite all the neighbours round elle lui a fait inviter tous les voisins;

∎ have them come in faites-les entrer;

∎ the boss had him up to his office le patron l'a convoqué dans son bureau;

∎ he soon had them all laughing il eut tôt fait de les faire tous rire;

∎ I had the children go to bed early j'ai couché les enfants de bonne heure;

∎ as he would have us believe comme il voudrait nous le faire croire

F.

(a) (consume → food, meal) avoir, prendre;

∎ we were having lunch nous étions en train de déjeuner;

∎ we're having dinner out tonight nous sortons dîner ce soir;

∎ to have breakfast in bed prendre le petit déjeuner au lit;

∎ would you like to have coffee? voulez-vous (prendre) un café?;

∎ do you have coffee or tea in the morning? prenez-vous du café ou du thé le matin?;

∎ I had tea with her j'ai pris le thé avec elle;

∎ we stopped and had a drink nous nous sommes arrêtés pour boire quelque chose;

∎ what will you have? - I'll have the lamb (in restaurant) qu'est-ce que vous prenez? - je vais prendre de l'agneau;

∎ we had fish for dinner nous avons mangé ou eu du poisson au dîner;

∎ he always has a cigarette after dinner il fume toujours une cigarette après le dîner;

∎ will you have a cigarette? voulez-vous une cigarette?

(b) (indicating location, position) placer, mettre;

∎ we'll have the wardrobe here and the table in there nous mettrons l'armoire ici et la table par là;

∎ she had her arm around his shoulders elle avait mis le bras autour de ses épaules;

∎ I had my back to the window je tournais le dos à la fenêtre;

∎ he had his head down il avait la tête baissée

(c) (be accompanied by)

∎ she had her mother with her sa mère était avec elle;

∎ I can't talk right now, I have someone with me je ne peux pas parler, je ne suis pas seul ou je suis avec quelqu'un

(d) (give birth to) avoir;

∎ she's had a baby elle a eu un bébé;

∎ she had her baby last week elle a accouché la semaine dernière;

∎ she's going to have a baby elle attend ou elle va avoir un bébé;

∎ he's had three children by her il a eu trois enfants d'elle;

∎ our dog has just had puppies notre chien vient d'avoir des petits

(e) (assert, claim) soutenir, maintenir;

∎ public opinion has it that he is not telling the truth on pense généralement qu'il ne dit pas la vérité;

∎ rumour has it that they're married le bruit court qu'ils sont mariés;

∎ as the government would have it comme dirait le gouvernement;

∎ as Plato has it comme dit Platon, comme l'a écrit Platon

(f) (with "will" or "would") (wish for) vouloir;

∎ what would you have me do? que voudriez-vous que je fasse?;

∎ I'll have you know I have a degree in French je vous fais remarquer que j'ai une licence de français

(g) (in negative) (allow, permit) I will not have him in my house! il ne mettra pas les pieds chez moi!;

∎ I won't have it! ça ne va pas se passer comme ça!;

∎ we can't have you sleeping on the floor nous ne pouvons pas vous laisser dormir par terre;

∎ familiar we tried to give the dog a bath but he wasn't having any of it! nous avons essayé de donner un bain au chien, mais rien n'y a fait!;

∎ familiar I'm not having any of your nonsense pas de bêtises

(h) (in passive) familiar (cheat, outwit) avoir;

∎ you've been had! tu t'es fait avoir!

(i) very familiar (sleep with) avoir

G.

(a) (with infinitive) (indicating obligation) to have (got) to do sth devoir faire qch, être obligé de faire qch;

∎ do you have to or have you got to leave so soon? êtes-vous obligé de partir ou faut-il que vous partiez si tôt?;

∎ I have (got) to go to the meeting il faut que j'aille ou je dois aller ou je suis obligé d'aller à la réunion;

∎ don't you have to or haven't you got to phone the office? est-ce que tu ne dois pas appeler le bureau?;

∎ he'll do it if he's got to il le fera s'il est obligé de le faire;

∎ you don't have to or you haven't got to go tu n'es pas obligé d'y aller;

∎ we had to take physics at school nous étions obligés de suivre des cours de physique à l'école;

∎ she had to take a blood test elle a été obligée de ou elle a dû faire un examen sanguin;

∎ I hate having to get up early j'ai horreur de devoir me lever tôt;

∎ I won't apologize - you have to je ne m'excuserai pas - il le faut;

∎ you've got to be joking! vous plaisantez!, c'est une plaisanterie!;

∎ you didn't have to tell your father what happened! tu n'avais pas besoin d'aller dire à ton père ce qui s'est passé!;

∎ ironic the train WOULD have to be late today of all days! il fallait que le train soit en retard aujourd'hui!;

∎ familiar that has (got) to be the stupidest idea I've ever heard! ça doit être l'idée la plus idiote que j'aie jamais entendue!

(b) (with infinitive) (indicating necessity) devoir;

∎ you have (got) to get some rest il faut que vous vous reposiez, vous devez vous reposer;

∎ I'll have to think about it il va falloir que j'y réfléchisse;

∎ I have (got) to know il faut que je le sache;

∎ we have to be careful about what we say on doit faire attention ou il faut qu'on fasse attention à ce qu'on dit;

∎ some problems still have to or have still got to be worked out il reste encore des problèmes à résoudre;

∎ if you finish the report this evening you won't have to come in to work tomorrow si vous finissez le rapport ce soir, vous n'aurez pas besoin de venir travailler demain;

∎ first the potatoes have (got) to be washed il faut d'abord laver les pommes de terre;

∎ I don't like housework but it has (got) to be done je n'aime pas faire le ménage mais il faut bien que quelqu'un le fasse;

∎ the plumbing has (got) to be redone la plomberie a besoin d'être refaite;

∎ you'd have to be deaf not to hear that noise il faudrait être sourd pour ne pas entendre ce bruit;

∎ do you have to turn the music up so loud? vous ne pourriez pas baisser un peu la musique?

(c) (with "to do") (idioms) the book has to do with archaeology ce livre traite de l'archéologie;

∎ their argument had to do with money ils se disputaient à propos d'argent;

∎ this has nothing to do with you ça ne te concerne ou regarde pas;

∎ I'll have nothing more to do with her je ne veux plus avoir affaire à elle;

∎ they had nothing to do with her being fired ils n'avaient rien à voir avec son licenciement

3 haves plural noun

∎ the haves les riches mpl, les nantis mpl;

∎ the haves and the have-nots les riches mpl et les pauvres mpl, les nantis mpl et les démunis mpl

➲ have around separable transitive verb

(keep available) garder ou avoir sous la main;

∎ I have the documents around somewhere les documents sont là quelque part, j'ai les documents quelque part;

∎ she's a useful person to have around il est bon de l'avoir sous la main;

∎ I don't like having children around je n'aime pas la compagnie des enfants

➲ have at inseparable transitive verb

British Fencing attaquer

➲ have away separable transitive verb

British very familiar

∎ to have it away (with sb) s'envoyer en l'air (avec qn)

➲ have down separable transitive verb

(invite from upstairs, the north) inviter;

∎ we're having his family down for the weekend sa famille vient passer le week-end chez nous

➲ have in separable transitive verb

(a) (cause to enter) faire entrer;

∎ she had him in for a chat elle l'a fait entrer pour discuter

(b) (invite)

∎ to have friends in for a drink inviter des amis à prendre un pot

(c) (doctor, workman) faire venir;

∎ we had to have the doctor in nous avons dû faire venir le médecin;

∎ they've got workmen in at the moment ils ont des ouvriers en ce moment

(d) familiar (idiom)

∎ to have it in for sb avoir une dent contre qn;

∎ they had it in for me from the day I arrived ils en ont eu après moi dès mon arrivée

➲ have off separable transitive verb

(a) (remove) retirer;

∎ the barber nearly had my ear off le coiffeur a failli me couper l'oreille

(b) (have removed) faire retirer;

∎ she's having the plaster off next week on lui retire son plâtre la semaine prochaine

(c) British very familiar (have sexual intercourse)

∎ to have it off (with sb) s'envoyer en l'air (avec qn)

➲ have on separable transitive verb

(a) (wear) porter;

∎ what does she have on? qu'est-ce qu'elle porte?, comment est-elle habillée?;

∎ she had her black dress on elle avait ou portait sa robe noire;

∎ the child had nothing on l'enfant était tout nu

(b) (radio, television)

∎ have you got the radio on? avez-vous allumé la radio?, est-ce que la radio est allumée?;

∎ he has the radio/television on all night sa radio/sa télévision est allumée toute la nuit

(c) (commitment, engagement)

∎ we have a lot on today nous avons beaucoup à faire aujourd'hui;

∎ do you have anything on for tonight? avez-vous des projets pour ou êtes-vous pris ce soir?;

∎ I have nothing on for the weekend je n'ai rien de prévu ce week-end

(d) British familiar (tease, trick) faire marcher;

∎ you're having me on! tu me fais marcher!;

∎ I was only having you on c'était juste pour te faire marcher

(e) (idiom)

∎ they have nothing on me ils n'ont aucune preuve contre moi;

∎ the police have nothing on him la police n'a rien sur lui

➲ have out separable transitive verb

(a) (tooth) se faire arracher

(b) (settle)

∎ to have it out with sb s'expliquer avec qn;

∎ she had it or the matter or the whole thing out with him elle a eu une longue explication avec lui;

∎ let's have this out once and for all mettons les choses au point une fois pour toutes

➲ have over separable transitive verb

(invite) inviter

➲ have up separable transitive verb

(a) familiar (bring before the authorities)

∎ I'll have you up for blackmail je vais vous poursuivre (en justice) pour chantage;

∎ they were had up by the police for vandalism ils ont été arrêtés pour vandalisme;

∎ he was had up (before the court) for breaking and entering il a comparu (devant le tribunal) pour effraction

(b) (invite from downstairs, the south) inviter;

∎ he had them up (to his flat) for tea il les a invités à venir prendre le thé;

∎ we're having them up from London for the weekend il sont venus nous voir de Londres pour le week-end

✾ Film 'To Have and Have Not' Hawks 'Le Port de l'angoisse'

Un panorama unique de l'anglais et du français > have
2 Usage note : be

The direct French equivalent of the verb to be in subject + to be + predicate sentences is être:

I am tired

= je suis fatigué

Caroline is French

= Caroline est française

the children are in the garden

= les enfants sont dans le jardin

It 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 médecin

Claudie is still a student

= Claudie est toujours étudiante

This is true of any noun used in apposition when the subject is a person:

he’s a widower

= il est veuf

But

Lyons is a beautiful city

= Lyon est une belle ville

For 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 functions

The passive

être 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 renard

the window had been broken

= la fenêtre avait été cassée

their books will be sold

= leurs livres seront vendus

our doors have been repainted red

= nos portes ont été repeintes en rouge

In 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 tenses

In 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 present

French uses simply the present tense where English uses the progressive form with to be:

I am working

= je travaille

Ben is reading a book

= Ben lit un livre

In 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 future

French also uses the present tense where English uses the progressive form with to be:

we are going to London tomorrow

= nous allons à Londres demain

I’m (just) coming!

= j’arrive!

I’m (just) going!

= j’y vais!

The past

To 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 mère

he was writing to his mother

= il écrivait à sa mère

However, 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 past

Compound past tenses in the progressive form in English are generally translated by the imperfect in French:

I’ve been looking for you

= je te cherchais

For 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.

Obligation

When 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 suite

what am I to do?

= qu’est-ce que je dois faire?

he was to arrive last Monday

= il devait arriver lundi dernier

she was never to see him again

= elle ne devait plus le revoir.

In tag questions

French 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 answers

Again, 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’

Probability

For expressions of probability and supposition ( if I were you etc.) see the entry be.

Other functions

Expressing sensations and feelings

In expressing physical and mental sensations, the verb used in French is avoir:

to be cold

= avoir froid

to be hot

= avoir chaud

I’m cold

= j’ai froid

to be thirsty

= avoir soif

to be hungry

= avoir faim

to be ashamed

= avoir honte

my hands are cold

= j’ai froid aux mains

If, 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 are

In 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’hui

Discussing weather and temperature

In expressions of weather and temperature faire is generally used:

it’s cold

= il fait froid

it’s windy

= il fait du vent

If in doubt, consult the appropriate adjective entry.

Visiting somewhere

When 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 Suède

have 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 fois

Note too:

has the postman been?

= est-ce que le facteur est passé?

For here is, here are, there is, there are see the entries here and there.

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.

Big English-French dictionary > Usage note : be
3 have

have [hæv]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

1. auxiliary verb

2. modal verb

3. transitive verb

4. noun

5. Phrasal Verbs

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► 3rd pers sg pres has, pret, ptp had

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► When have is part of a set combination, eg have a look, have a good time, look up the noun.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

1. auxiliary verb

   a. avoir

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► avoir is the auxiliary used with most verbs to form past tenses. For important exceptions see below.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• I have eaten j'ai mangé

• I had eaten j'avais mangé

• haven't you grown! comme tu as grandi !

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► Note the agreement of the past participle with the preceding direct object.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• I haven't seen her je ne l'ai pas vue

• I hadn't seen him je ne l'avais pas vu

• if I had seen her I would have spoken to her si je l'avais vue, je lui aurais parlé

• having seen them les ayant vus

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► When describing uncompleted states or actions, French generally uses the present and imperfect where English uses the perfect and past perfect.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• I have lived or have been living here for 10 years/since January j'habite ici depuis 10 ans/depuis janvier

• I had lived or had been living there for 10 years j'habitais là depuis 10 ans

► to have just... venir de...

• I have just seen him je viens de le voir

• I had just spoken to him je venais de lui parler

   b. être

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► être is the auxiliary used with all reflexives, and the following verbs when used intransitively: aller, arriver, descendre, devenir, entrer, monter, mourir, naître, partir, passer, rentrer, rester, retourner, revenir, sortir, tomber, venir.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• I have gone je suis allé

• I've made a mistake je me suis trompé

• I had gone j'étais allé

• I had made a mistake je m'étais trompé

   c. (in tag questions seeking confirmation) n'est-ce pas

• you've seen her, haven't you? vous l'avez vue, n'est-ce pas ?

• he hasn't told anyone, has he? il n'en a parlé à personne, n'est-ce pas ?

   d. (in tag responses) he's got a new job -- oh has he? il a un nouveau travail -- ah bon ?

• you've dropped your book -- so I have! vous avez laissé tomber votre livre -- en effet !

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► (mais) si or (mais) non are used to contradict.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• you haven't seen her -- yes I have! vous ne l'avez pas vue -- (mais) si !

• you've made a mistake -- no I haven't! vous vous êtes trompé -- mais non !

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► oui or non are often sufficient when answering questions.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• have you met him? -- yes I have est-ce que tu l'as rencontré ? -- oui

• has he arrived? -- no he hasn't est-ce qu'il est arrivé ? -- non

   e. (avoiding repetition of verb) have you ever been there? if you have... y êtes-vous déjà allé ? si oui,...

• have you tried it? if you haven't... est-ce que vous avez goûté ça ? si vous ne l'avez pas fait,...

2. modal verb

► to have to + infinitive devoir falloir

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► falloir is always used in the third person singular, in an impersonal construction. Note that falloir que is always followed by the subjunctive.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• they have to work hard ils doivent travailler dur il faut qu'ils travaillent dur

• they had to work hard ils ont dû travailler dur il a fallu qu'ils travaillent dur

• you're going to have to work hard! tu vas devoir travailler dur ! il va falloir que tu travailles dur !

• I'll have to leave now or I'll miss the train il faut que je parte, sinon je vais rater mon train

• he had to pay all the money back il a dû tout rembourser

• don't you have to get permission? est-ce qu'on ne doit pas demander la permission ?

• do you have to go now? est-ce que vous devez partir tout de suite ?

• we've had to work late twice this week nous avons dû rester travailler tard deux fois cette semaine

• we'll have to find an alternative nous allons devoir trouver une autre solution

• the locks will have to be changed il va falloir changer les serrures

• what kind of equipment would you have to have? quel type de matériel vous faudrait-il ?

• it has to be the biggest scandal this year c'est sans aucun doute le plus gros scandale de l'année

• it still has to be proved ça reste à prouver

• do you have to make such a noise? tu ne pourrais pas faire un peu moins de bruit ?

► don't/doesn't have to + infinitive

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► Note that falloir and devoir are not used.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• he doesn't have to work il n'a pas besoin de travailler

• you didn't have to tell her! tu n'avais pas besoin de le lui dire !

• it's nice not to have to work on Saturdays c'est agréable de ne pas avoir à travailler le samedi

• I don't have to do it je ne suis pas obligé or forcé de le faire

3. transitive verb

   a. avoir

• I have or I've got three books j'ai trois livres

• have you got a suitcase? avez-vous une valise ?

• she has blue eyes elle a les yeux bleus

• have you got this jumper in black? est-ce que vous avez ce pull en noir ?

• I haven't any more je n'en ai plus

• I have got nothing to do je n'ai rien à faire

• I've got a headache j'ai mal à la tête

• I had my camera ready j'avais mon appareil tout prêt

• to have a child avoir un enfant

• she is having a baby in April elle va avoir un bébé en avril

• our cat has had kittens notre chatte a eu des petits

• I'll have everything ready je veillerai à ce que tout soit prêt

   b. ( = eat, drink, take) he had an egg for breakfast il a mangé un œuf au petit déjeuner

• I'll just have a sandwich je vais juste prendre un sandwich

• have some more reprends-en

• shall we have a coffee? on prend un café ?

• to have tea with sb prendre le thé avec qn

• I've had a couple of aspirins j'ai pris deux aspirines

► will you have...? (in offers)

will you have tea or coffee? vous prendrez du thé ou du café ?

   c. ( = spend) passer

• what sort of day have you had? est-ce que tu as passé une bonne journée ?

• to have a pleasant evening passer une bonne soirée

   d. ( = smoke) fumer

• he had a cigarette il a fumé une cigarette

   e. ( = catch) tenir

• he had me by the throat il me tenait à la gorge

• I've got him where I want him! (inf) je le tiens !

• to be had (inf) ( = taken in) se faire avoir

• you've been had tu t'es fait avoir (inf)

   f. (set structures)

► to let sb have ( = give) donner à qn

• let me have your address donnez-moi votre adresse

• I'll let you have it for $100 je vous le cède pour 100 dollars► must have or have to have

• I must have £50 at once il me faut 50 livres immédiatement

• I must or have to have them by this afternoon il me les faut pour cet après-midi► won't have ( = refuse to accept)

I won't have this nonsense! je ne tolérerai pas ces enfantillages !

• I won't have it! je ne tolérerai pas ça !

• I won't have him risking his neck on that motorbike je ne veux pas qu'il risque sa vie sur cette moto► would have ( = wish)

what would you have me do? que voulez-vous que je fasse ?

• I would have you know that... sachez que...► to have sth done [+ service] faire faire qch

• to have sth mended faire réparer qch

• to have one's hair cut se faire couper les cheveux

• I've had the brakes checked j'ai fait vérifier les freins

• he had his car stolen il s'est fait voler sa voiture

• he had his worst fears confirmed ses pires craintes se sont réalisées► to have sb do sth faire faire qch à qn

• I had him clean the car je lui ai fait nettoyer la voiture

• she soon had them all reading and writing elle a réussi très rapidement à leur apprendre à lire et à écrire► had better ( = should)

I had better go now il vaut mieux que j'y aille

• you'd better not tell him that! tu ferais mieux de ne pas lui dire ça !► to have had it (inf)

I've had it ( = am done for) je suis fichu (inf)

• I've had it up to here j'en ai marre ! (inf)► to have to do with

• I have nothing to do with it je n'y suis pour rien

• that has nothing to do with it ça n'a rien à voir

4. noun

• the haves and the have-nots les riches mpl et les pauvres mpl

5. Phrasal Verbs

► have in separable transitive verb

   a. faire venir

• we'll have them in and discuss it nous allons les faire venir pour en discuter

   b. to have it in for sb (inf) avoir une dent contre qn

   c. to have it in one en être capable

• she has got it in her elle en est capable► have off separable transitive verb

(British)

to have it off with sb (inf!) s'envoyer (inf !) qn► have on separable transitive verb

   a. [+ clothes] porter

• he had nothing on il était tout nu

   b. (British = have planned) I've got so much on this week that... j'ai tant de choses à faire cette semaine que...

• I've got nothing on this evening je suis libre ce soir

   c. (British = tease) (inf) faire marcher (inf)

   d. Richard has nothing on him! (inf) Richard ne lui arrive pas à la cheville !

• the police have nothing on me (inf) la police n'a pas de preuve contre moi► have out separable transitive verb

   a. to have a tooth out se faire arracher une dent

   b. to have it out with sb s'expliquer avec qn► have round separable transitive verb

[+ friends, neighbours] inviter

► have up separable transitive verb

• to be had up passer en jugement ( for doing sth pour avoir fait qch)

* * *
[hæv, həv] 1.
transitive verb ( uses not covered in NOTE)

1) ( possess) avoir

she has (got) a dog — elle a un chien

2) ( consume) prendre

to have a sandwich — manger un sandwich

to have a whisky — boire un whisky

to have a cigarette — fumer une cigarette

to have breakfast — prendre le petit déjeuner

to have dinner — dîner

to have lunch — déjeuner

I had some more cake — j'ai repris du gâteau

3) ( want) vouloir, prendre

what will you have? — qu'est-ce que vous prendrez or voulez?

she won't have him back — elle ne veut plus de lui

I wouldn't have it any other way — ça me convient comme ça

I wouldn't have him/her any other way — c'est comme ça que je l'aime

4) (receive, get) recevoir [letter, information]

I've had no news from him — je n'ai pas eu de nouvelles de lui

I must have the information soon — il me faut l'information bientôt

to let somebody have something — donner quelque chose à quelqu'un

5) ( hold) faire [party, celebration]; tenir [meeting]; organiser [competition, ballot, exhibition]; avoir [conversation]; mener [enquiry]

6) (exert, exhibit) avoir [effect, influence]; avoir [courage, courtesy] ( to do de faire)

7) ( spend) passer

to have a nice day/evening — passer une journée/soirée agréable

to have a good time — bien s'amuser

to have a hard ou bad time — traverser une période difficile

to have a good vacation — passer de bonnes vacances

8) ( be provided with) (also have got)

to have something to do — avoir quelque chose à faire

I have ou I've got letters to write — j'ai du courrier à faire

9) (undergo, suffer) avoir

to have (the) flu/a heart attack — avoir la grippe/une crise cardiaque

to have toothache — avoir mal aux dents

to have a shock — subir un choc

he had his car stolen — il s'est fait voler sa voiture

she has had her windows broken — on lui a cassé ses vitres

they like having stories read to them — ils aiment qu'on leur lise des histoires

to have an interview — avoir or passer un entretien

10) ( cause to be done)

to have something done — faire faire quelque chose

to have the house painted — faire peindre la maison

to have one's hair cut — se faire couper les cheveux

to have an injection — se faire faire une piqûre

to have somebody do something — faire faire quelque chose à quelqu'un

she had him close the door — elle lui a fait fermer la porte

they would have us believe that... — ils voudraient nous faire croire que...

I would have you know that... — je voudrais que vous sachiez que...

he had them laughing — il les a fait rire

11) ( cause to become)

he had his revolver ready — il avait son revolver prêt

we'll soon have everything ready/clean — nous aurons bientôt fini de tout préparer/nettoyer

if you're not careful you'll have that glass over — si tu ne fais pas attention tu vas renverser le verre

she had them completely baffled — elle les a complètement déroutés

I had it finished by 5 o'clock — je l'avais fini avant 5 heures

12) ( allow) tolérer

I won't have this kind of behaviour! — je ne tolérerai pas ce comportement!

I won't have it! — ça ne va pas se passer comme ça!

I won't have them exploit him — je ne tolérerai pas qu'ils l'exploitent

I won't have him hurt — je ne laisserai personne le blesser

we can't have them staying in a hotel — on ne peut pas les laisser aller à l'hôtel

13) ( physically hold) tenir

she had the glass in her hand — elle tenait le verre dans la main

she had him by the throat/by the arm — elle le tenait à la gorge/par le bras

he had his hands over his eyes — il avait les mains sur les yeux

14) ( give birth to) [woman] avoir [child]; [animal] mettre bas, avoir [young]

has she had it yet? — est-ce qu'elle a accouché?

she's having a baby (in May) — elle va avoir un enfant (en mai)

15) ( as impersonal verb)

over here, we have a painting by Picasso — ici vous avez un tableau de Picasso

what we have here is a small group of extremists — ce à quoi nous avons affaire ici, est un petit groupe d'extrémistes

16) ( puzzle)

you have ou you've got me there! — là tu me poses une colle! (colloq)

17) ( have at one's mercy) (also have got)

I've got you/him now! — maintenant je te/le tiens!

I'll have you! — je vais te montrer!
2.
modal auxiliary

1) ( must)

I have (got) to leave now — je dois partir maintenant, il faut que je parte maintenant

2) ( need to)

you don't have to ou you haven't got to leave so early — tu n'as pas besoin de or tu n'es pas obligé de partir si tôt

why did this have to happen? — pourquoi fallait-il que ça arrive?

something has (got) to be done — il faut faire quelque chose

3) ( for emphasis)

this has (got) to be the most difficult decision I've ever made — c'est sans doute la décision la plus difficile que j'aie jamais eu à prendre
3.
auxiliary verb

1) gen avoir; ( with movement and reflexive verbs) être

she has lost her bag — elle a perdu son sac

she has already left — elle est déjà partie

she has hurt herself — elle s'est blessée

2) ( in tag questions etc)

you've seen the film, haven't you? — tu as vu le film, n'est-ce pas?

you haven't seen the film, have you? — tu n'as pas vu le film?

you haven't seen my bag, have you? — tu n'as pas vu mon sac, par hasard?

‘he's already left’ - ‘has he indeed!’ — ‘il est déjà parti’ - ‘vraiment!’

‘you've never met him’ - ‘yes I have!’ — ‘tu ne l'as jamais rencontré’ - ‘mais si!’
4.
having auxiliary verb

1) ( in time clauses)

having finished his breakfast, he went out — après avoir fini son petit déjeuner, il est sorti

2) (because, since)

having already won twice — comme il a déjà gagné deux fois

•

Phrasal Verbs:

- have around

- have back

- have in

- have on

- have over

- have up

••

to have done with something — en finir avec quelque chose

this car/TV has had it — (colloq) cette voiture/télé est foutue (colloq)

when your father finds out, you've had it! — (colloq) ( in trouble) quand ton père l'apprendra, ça va être ta fête! (colloq)

I can't do any more, I've had it! — (colloq) ( tired) je n'en peux plus, je suis crevé! (colloq)

I've had it (up to here) with... — (colloq) j'en ai marre de... (colloq)

to have it in for somebody — (colloq) avoir quelqu'un dans le collimateur (colloq)

she has/doesn't have it in her to do — elle est capable/incapable de faire

to have it out with somebody — s'expliquer avec quelqu'un

he will have it that — il soutient que

I've got it! — je sais!

and the ayes/noes have it — les oui/non l'emportent

the haves and the have-nots — les riches et les pauvres

...and what have you —...etc

there is no milk/there are no houses to be had — on ne trouve pas de lait/de maisons

English-French dictionary > have
4 would

would [wʊd]

1. modal verb

   a.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► When would is used to form the conditional, the French conditional is used.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• he would do it if you asked him il le ferait si vous le lui demandiez

• I wouldn't worry, if I were you à ta place, je ne m'inquiéterais pas

• I thought you'd want to know j'ai pensé que vous aimeriez le savoir

• I wouldn't have a vase like that in my house je ne voudrais pas d'un vase comme cela chez moi !

• I would never marry in church jamais je ne me marierais à l'église

• to my surprise, he agreed -- I never thought he would à ma grande surprise, il a accepté -- je ne l'aurais jamais pensé

► would have

• he would have done it if you had asked him il l'aurait fait si vous le lui aviez demandé

• who would have thought it? qui l'aurait pensé ?

   b. (indicating willingness) I said I would do it j'ai dit que je le ferais

• I said I'd go, so I'm going j'ai dit que j'irais, alors j'y vais

• I said I'd go, so I went j'avais dit que j'irais, alors j'y suis allé

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► When if you would means if you were willing to, it is translated by the imperfect of vouloir.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• if you would come with me, I'd go to see him si vous vouliez bien m'accompagner, j'irais le voir

• if you would just listen si vous vouliez bien écouter

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

► When wouldn't refers to the past, it is translated by the perfect or imperfect of vouloir.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

• he wouldn't help me il n'a pas voulu m'aider

• the car wouldn't start la voiture ne voulait pas démarrer

► would you (in requests)

would you wait here please! attendez ici s'il vous plaît !

• would you close the window please voulez-vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît► would you like ( = do you want)

would you like some tea? voulez-vous du thé ?

• would you like to go for a walk? est-ce que vous aimeriez faire une promenade ?

   c. (past) he would always read the paper before dinner il lisait toujours le journal avant le dîner

• 50 years ago the streets would be empty on Sundays il y a 50 ans, les rues étaient vides le dimanche

• I saw him come out of the shop -- when would this be? je l'ai vu sortir du magasin -- quand ?

   d. (inevitability) you would go and tell her! évidemment tu es allé le lui dire !

• it would have to rain! évidemment il fallait qu'il pleuve !

   e. (conjecture) it would have been about 8 o'clock when he came il devait être 8 heures à peu près quand il est venu

2. modifier

► would-be adjective

• would-be actor aspirant (e) acteur or actrice

* * *
[wʊd, wəd]
Note: When would is used with a verb in English to form the conditional tense, would + verb is translated by the present conditional of the appropriate verb in French and would have + verb by the past conditional of the appropriate verb: I would do it if I had time = je le ferais si j'avais le temps; I would have done it if I had had time = je l'aurais fait si j'avais eu le temps; he said he would fetch the car = il a dit qu'il irait chercher la voiture

For more examples, particular usages and all other uses of would see the entry below

modal auxiliary ( aussi 'd; nég wouldn't)

1) (in sequence of past tenses, in reported speech)

she said she wouldn't come — elle a dit qu'elle ne viendrait pas

we thought we would be late — nous avons pensé que nous serions en retard

I was sure you'd like it — j'étais sûr que ça te plairait

they promised that they'd come back — ils ont promis de revenir

he thought she would have forgotten — il pensait qu'elle aurait oublié

I wish he would shut the door! — il pourrait fermer la porte!

I wish you'd be quiet! — tu ne pourrais pas te taire!

2) ( in conditional statements)

it would be wonderful if they came — ce serait merveilleux s'ils venaient

if we'd left later we would have missed the train — si nous étions partis plus tard nous aurions raté le train

we wouldn't be happy anywhere else — nous ne serions heureux nulle part ailleurs

who would ever have believed it? — qui l'aurait cru?

you wouldn't have thought it possible! — on n'aurait jamais cru que c'était possible!

wouldn't it be nice if... — ce serait bien si...

it cost far less than I would have expected — ça a coûté beaucoup moins cher que je n'aurais pensé

3) ( expressing willingness to act)

do you know anyone who would do it? — est-ce que tu connais quelqu'un qui le ferait?

they couldn't find anyone who would take the job — ils n'arrivaient pas à trouver quelqu'un qui accepte le poste

she just wouldn't listen — elle ne voulait rien entendre

after that I wouldn't eat any canned food — après cela je ne voulais plus manger de conserves

he wouldn't do a thing to help — il n'a rien voulu faire pour aider

the police wouldn't give any further details — la police a refusé de donner plus de détails

they asked me to leave but I wouldn't — ils m'ont demandé de partir mais j'ai refusé

4) ( expressing inability to function)

the door wouldn't close — la porte ne voulait pas se fermer

5) (expressing desire, preference)

we would like to stay another night — nous aimerions rester une nuit de plus

we'd really love to see you — nous aimerions vraiment te voir

I would much rather travel alone — je préfèrerais nettement voyager seul

she would have preferred a puppy — elle aurait préféré un chiot

I wouldn't mind another slice of cake — je prendrais bien un autre morceau de gâteau

it's what he would have wanted — c'est ce qu'il aurait voulu

6) ( in polite requests or proposals)

would you like something to eat? — voudriez-vous quelque chose à manger?

would you like some more tea? — voulez-vous encore du thé?

would you help me set the table? — est-ce que tu pourrais m'aider à mettre la table?

switch off the radio, would you? — éteins la radio, tu veux bien?

would you like to go to a concert? — est-ce que tu aimerais aller à un concert?

would you give her the message? — est-ce que vous voulez bien lui transmettre le message?

would you mind not smoking please? — est-ce que ça vous ennuierait de ne pas fumer s'il vous plaît?

7) ( used to attenuate statements)

it would seem that he was right — il semblerait qu'il avait raison

so it would seem — c'est ce qu'il semble

you would think they'd be satisfied! — on aurait pu penser qu'ils seraient satisfaits!

I wouldn't say that — je ne dirais pas ça

I would have thought it was obvious — j'aurais pensé que c'était évident

I wouldn't know — je ne pourrais pas vous le dire

8) ( when giving advice)

I wouldn't do that if I were you — je ne ferais pas ça à ta place

I would check the timetable first — tu ferais bien de vérifier l'horaire d'abord

I'd give her a ring now — tu devrais lui téléphoner maintenant

wouldn't it be better to write? — est-ce que ce ne serait pas mieux d'écrire?

9) ( expressing exasperation)

‘he denies it’ - ‘well he would, wouldn't he?’ — ‘il le nie’ - ‘évidemment!’

of course you would contradict him! — bien sûr il a fallu que tu le contredises!

‘she put her foot in it (colloq)’ - ‘she would!’ — ‘elle a mis les pieds dans le plat (colloq)’ - ‘tu m'étonnes!’

10) ( expressing an assumption)

what time would that be? — c'était vers quelle heure?

I suppose it would have been about 3 pm — je pense qu'il était à peu près 15 h 00

let's see, that would be his youngest son — voyons, ça doit être son plus jeune fils

it would have been about five years ago — ça devait être il y a environ cinq ans

you'd never have guessed she was German — on n'aurait jamais cru qu'elle était allemande

11) (indicating habitual event or behaviour in past: used to)

she would sit for hours at the window — elle passait des heures assise à la fenêtre

English-French dictionary > would
5 Usage note : you

In English you is used to address everybody, whereas French has two forms: tu and vous. The usual word to use when you are speaking to anyone you do not know very well is vous. This is sometimes called the polite form and is used for the subject, object, indirect object and emphatic pronoun:

would you like some coffee?

= voulez-vous du café?

can I help you?

= est-ce que je peux vous aider?

what can I do for you?

= qu’est-ce que je peux faire pour vous?

The more informal pronoun tu is used between close friends and family members, within groups of children and young people, by adults when talking to children and always when talking to animals ; tu is the subject form, the direct and indirect object form is te (t’ before a vowel) and the form for emphatic use or use after a preposition is toi:

would you like some coffee?

= veux-tu du café?

can I help you?

= est-ce que je peux t’aider?

there’s a letter for you

= il y a une lettre pour toi

As a general rule, when talking to a French person use vous, wait to see how they address you and follow suit. It is safer to wait for the French person to suggest using tu. The suggestion will usually be phrased as on se tutoie? or on peut se tutoyer?

Note that tu is only a singular pronoun and vous is the plural form of tu.

Remember that in French the object and indirect object pronouns are always placed before the verb:

she knows you

= elle vous connaît or elle te connaît

In compound tenses like the present perfect and the past perfect, the past participle agrees in number and gender with the direct object:

I saw you on Saturday

(to one male: polite form)

= je vous ai vu samedi

(to one female: polite form)

= je vous ai vue samedi

(to one male: informal form)

= je t’ai vu samedi

(to one female: informal form)

= je t’ai vue samedi

(to two or more people, male or mixed)

= je vous ai vus samedi

(to two or more females)

= je vous ai vues samedi

When you is used impersonally as the more informal form of one, it is translated by on for the subject form and by vous or te for the object form, depending on whether the comment is being made amongst friends or in a more formal context:

you can do as you like here

= on peut faire ce qu’on veut ici

these mushrooms can make you ill

= ces champignons peuvent vous rendre malade or ces champignons peuvent te rendre malade

you could easily lose your bag here

= on pourrait facilement perdre son sac ici

Note that your used with on is translated by son/sa/ses according to the gender and number of the noun that follows.

For verb forms with vous, tu and on see the French verb tables.

For particular usages see the entry you.

Big English-French dictionary > Usage note : you

См. также в других словарях:

perfect — [pʉr′fikt; ] for v. [ pər fekt′] adj. [ME perfit < OFr parfit < L perfectus, pp. of perficere, to finish < per , through (see PER ) + facere, to make, DO1: mod. sp. is Latinized] 1. complete in all respects; without defect or omission;… … English World dictionary
Perfect aspect — The perfect aspect is variously considered either an aspect or tense which calls a listener s attention to the consequences generated by an action, rather than the action itself. This must be distinguished from the perfective aspect, which marks… … Wikipedia
Present perfect tense — The present perfect tense is a perfect tense used to express action that has been completed with respect to the present. (The word perfect in its name refers to the idea of completion of being now finished rather than to perfection in the sense… … Wikipedia
Conditional perfect — In linguistics, the conditional perfect is the composed (compound) form of the conditional mood. It refers to a hypothetical action in the past, contingent on something else that did not occur in the past. The difference from the present form of… … Wikipedia
Past participles — ◊ GRAMMAR The past participle of a verb is used to form perfect tenses, passives, and, in some cases, adjectives. It is also called the ed form, especially when it is used as an adjective. Advances have continued, though actual productivity has… … Useful english dictionary
past participles — ◊ GRAMMAR The past participle of a verb is used to form perfect tenses, passives, and, in some cases, adjectives. It is also called the ed form, especially when it is used as an adjective. Advances have continued, though actual productivity has… … Useful english dictionary
past participle — past participles N COUNT In grammar, the past participle of a verb is a form that is usually the same as the past form and so ends in ed . A number of verbs have irregular past participles, for example break past participle broken , and come past … English dictionary
HEBREW LANGUAGE — This entry is arranged according to the following scheme: pre biblical biblical the dead sea scrolls mishnaic medieval modern period A detailed table of contents precedes each section. PRE BIBLICAL nature of the evidence the sources phonology… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Dutch conjugation — Dutch grammar series Dutch grammar Dutch verbs Dutch conjugation t kofschip T rules Dutch nouns Dutch declension Gender in Dutch grammar Dutch orthography Dutch dictionary IJ Dutch phonology … Wikipedia
Sesotho deficient verbs — Notes: *The orthography used in this and related articles is that of South Africa, not Lesotho. For a discussion of the differences between the two see the notes on Sesotho orthography. *Hovering the mouse cursor over most H:title| [ɪ talɪk] |… … Wikipedia
Sesotho verbs — Notes: *The orthography used in this and related articles is that of South Africa, not Lesotho. For a discussion of the differences between the two see the notes on Sesotho orthography. *Hovering the mouse cursor over most H:title| [ɪ talɪk] |… … Wikipedia

Словари и энциклопедии на Академике

Перевод: с английского на французский

(used to form perfect tenses)

См. также в других словарях:

Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное

Словари и энциклопедии на Академике

Перевод: с английского на французский

(used to form perfect tenses)

См. также в других словарях:

Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное

Прямая ссылка: