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1 speak
speak [spi:k]• to speak to o.s. parler tout seul• speaking personally... personnellement...• speaking as a member of the society I... en tant que membre de la société je...• speaking! lui-même (or elle-même) !• Mr Latimer will speak next ensuite c'est M. Latimer qui prendra la parole► speaking• biologically/philosophically speaking biologiquement/philosophiquement parlant► speaking of► to speak for sb ( = be spokesman for) parler au nom de qn ; ( = give evidence for) parler en faveur de qn• speaking for myself... en ce qui me concerne...• he has no friends/money to speak of il n'a pour ainsi dire pas d'amis/d'argent[+ language] parler• "English spoken" « ici on parle anglais »3. noun= speak upa. ( = talk loudly) parler fort ; ( = raise one's voice) parler plus fort• speak up! (parle) plus fort ; ( = don't mumble) parle plus clairement !b. he's not afraid to speak up ( = say what he thinks) il n'a pas peur de dire franchement ce qu'il pense* * *[spiːk] 1.- speak combining form jargon m2.1) parler [language]‘French spoken’ — ‘on parle français’
2) (tell, utter) dire [truth, poetry]; prononcer [word, name]3.1) ( talk) parler (to à; about, of de)to speak ill/well of somebody — dire du mal/du bien de quelqu'un
to speak through — parler par l'intermédiaire de [medium, interpreter]
who's speaking please? — ( on phone) qui est à l'appareil s'il vous plaît?
‘is that Miss Durham?’ - ‘speaking!’ — ‘Mademoiselle Durham?’ - ‘c'est moi!’
this is your captain speaking — Aviation ici le commandant de bord
speaking of which, have you booked a table? — tiens, à propos, as-tu réservé une table?
speaking of lunch, Nancy... — à propos du déjeuner, Nancy...
speaking as a layman... — en tant que non-spécialiste...
2) ( converse) parler (about, of de; to, with à)3) ( make a speech) parler; ( more formal) prendre la paroleto speak from the floor — Politics parler de sa place
to speak about ou on — parler de
4) littérto speak of — témoigner de [suffering, emotion]
•Phrasal Verbs:- speak to- speak up -
2 speak
1 parler [language] ; can you speak English? parlez-vous (l')anglais? ; ‘French spoken’ ( sign) ‘on parle français’ ; English as it is spoken l'anglais tel qu'on le parle ; people who speak the same language lit, fig des gens qui parlent le même langage ;2 (tell, utter) dire [truth, poetry] ; prononcer [word, name] ; to speak one's mind dire ce qu'on pense.1 ( talk) parler (to à ; about, of de) ; to speak in a soft/deep voice parler bas/d'une voix profonde ; to speak in German/Russian parler (en) allemand/russe ; to speak in a whisper parler tout bas, chuchoter ; to speak ill/well of sb dire du mal/du bien de qn ; to speak through parler par l'intermédiaire de [medium, interpreter] ; to speak with one's mouth full parler la bouche pleine ; speak when you're spoken to! réponds quand on te parle! ; I've spoken to them severely and they've apologized je leur ai parlé sévèrement et ils se sont excusés ; who's speaking please? ( on phone) qui est à l'appareil s'il vous plaît? ; (this is) Camilla speaking c'est Camilla, Camilla à l'appareil ; ‘is that Miss Durham?’-‘speaking!’ ‘Mademoiselle Durham?’-‘c'est moi!’ ; I'm speaking from a phone box j'appelle d'une cabine téléphonique ; this is your captain speaking Aviat ici le commandant de bord ; speaking of which, have you booked a table? tiens, ça m'a fait penser, as-tu réservé une table? ; speaking of lunch, Nancy… à propos du déjeuner, Nancy… ; she is well spoken of in academic circles elle est bien considérée dans le milieu universitaire ; he spoke very highly of her/her talents il a parlé d'elle/de ses talents en termes très élogieux ; he spoke of selling the house/leaving the country il a parlé de vendre la maison/de quitter le pays ; to speak as sth (parler) en tant que qch ; speaking as a layman… en tant que non-spécialiste… ; speaking personally, I hate him personnellement, je le déteste ; speaking personally and not for the company parlant en mon nom et pas en celui de l'entreprise ; generally speaking en règle générale ; roughly speaking en gros ; strictly speaking à proprement parler ; relatively speaking relativement parlant ; ecologically/politically speaking écologiquement/politiquement parlant, sur le plan écologique/politique ; metaphorically speaking pour employer une métaphore ; we've had no trouble to speak of nous n'avons pas eu de problème spécial ; they've got no money to speak of ils n'ont pour ainsi dire pas d'argent ; ‘what did you see?’-‘nothing to speak of’ ‘qu'est-ce que vous avez vu?’-‘rien de spécial’ ; not to speak of his poor mother/the expense sans parler de sa pauvre mère/du coût ; so to speak pour ainsi dire ;2 ( converse) parler (about, of de ; to, with à) ; they're not speaking (to each other) ils ne se parlent pas ; I can't remember when we last spoke je ne me rappelle plus quand nous nous sommes parlé pour la dernière fois ; I know her by sight but not to speak to je la connais de vue mais je ne lui ai jamais parlé ;3 ( make a speech) parler ; ( more formal) prendre la parole ; to speak from the floor Pol parler or prendre la parole de sa place ; to speak about ou on parler de [topic] ; to speak for parler en faveur de [view, opinion, party] ;4 ( express) littér to speak of témoigner de [suffering, effort, emotion] ; all creation spoke to me of love toute la création me parlait d'amour ; that look spoke louder than words ce regard était plus expressif que des mots ; the poem/music speaks to me in a special way le poème/la musique me touche profondément ;5 fig ( make noise) [gun] parler ; this clarinet speaks/does not speak easily il est facile/difficile de faire sortir un son de cette clarinette.■ speak for:▶ speak for [sth/sb]1 ( on behalf of) parler pour lit ; parler de fig ; it speaks well for their efficiency that they answered so promptly leur réponse rapide montre bien or prouve bien leur efficacité ; to speak for oneself s'exprimer ; let him speak for himself laissez-le s'exprimer ; speaking for myself… pour ma part… ; speak for yourself! parle pour toi! ; the facts speak for themselves les faits parlent d'eux-mêmes ;2 ( reserve) to be spoken for [object] être réservé or retenu ; [person] ne pas être libre ; that picture's already spoken for ce tableau est déjà réservé or retenu.■ speak out se prononcer (against contre ; in favour of en faveur de) ; don't be afraid! speak out! n'aie pas peur! exprime-toi!■ speak to:▶ speak to [sth] Admin commenter [item, motion] ; please speak to the point tenez-vous en au sujet s'il vous plaît.■ speak up1 ( louder) parler plus fort ; -
3 Forms of address
Only those forms of address in frequent use are included here ; titles of members of the nobility or of church dignitaries are not covered ; for the use of military ranks as titles ⇒ Military ranks and titles.Speaking to someoneWhere English puts the surname after the title, French normally uses the title alone (note that when speaking to someone, French does not use a capital letter for monsieur, madame and mademoiselle, unlike English Mr etc., nor for titles such as docteur).good morning, Mr Johnson= bonjour, monsieurgood evening, Mrs Jones= bonsoir, madamegoodbye, Miss Smith= au revoir, mademoiselleThe French monsieur and madame tend to be used more often than the English Mr X or Mrs Y. Also, in English, people often say simply Good morning or Excuse me ; in the equivalent situation in French, they might say Bonjour, monsieur or Pardon, madame. However, the French are slower than the British, and much slower than the Americans, to use someone’s first name, so hi there, Peter! to a colleague may well be simply bonjour!, or bonjour, monsieur ; bonjour, cher ami ; bonjour, mon vieux etc., depending on the degree of familiarity that exists.In both languages, other titles are also used, e.g.:hallo, Dr. Brown or hallo, Doctor= bonjour, docteurIn some cases where titles are not used in English, they are used in French, e.g. bonjour, Monsieur le directeur or bonjour, Madame la directrice to a head teacher, or bonjour, maître to a lawyer of either sex. Other titles, such as professeur ( in the sense of professor), are used much less than their English equivalents in direct address. Where in English one might say Good morning, Professor, in French one would probably say Bonjour, monsieur or Bonjour, madame.Titles of important positions are used in direct forms of address, preceded by Monsieur le or Madame le or Madame la, as in:yes, Chair= oui, Monsieur le président or (to a woman) oui, Madame la présidenteyes, Minister= oui, Monsieur le ministre or (to a woman) oui, Madame le ministreNote the use of Madame le when the noun in question, like ministre here, or professeur and other titles, has no feminine form, or no acceptable feminine. A woman Member of Parliament is addressed as Madame le député, a woman Senator Madame le sénateur, a woman judge Madame le juge and a woman mayor Madame le maire. Women often prefer the masculine word even when a feminine form does exist, as in Madame l’ambassadeur to a woman ambassador, Madame l’ambassadrice being reserved for the wife of an ambassador.Speaking about someoneMr Smith is here= monsieur Smith est làMrs Jones phoned= madame Jones a téléphonéMiss Black has arrived= mademoiselle Black est arrivéeMs Brown has left= madame Brown or (as appropriate) mademoiselle Brown est partie(French has no equivalent of Ms.)When the title accompanies someone’s name, the definite article must be used in French:Dr Blake has arrived= le docteur Blake est arrivéProfessor Jones spoke= le professeur Jones a parléThis is true of all titles:Prince Charles= le prince CharlesPrincess Marie= la princesse MarieNote that with royal etc. titles, only 1er is spoken as an ordinal number (premier) in French ; unlike English, all the others are spoken as cardinal numbers (deux, trois, and so on).King Richard I= le roi Richard 1er ( say Richard premier)Queen Elizabeth II= la reine Elizabeth II ( say Elizabeth deux)Pope John XXIII= le pape Jean XXIII ( say Jean vingt-trois) -
4 Usage note : for
for my sister= pour ma sœurfor the garden= pour le jardinfor me= pour moiFor particular usages see the entry for.When for is used as a preposition indicating purpose followed by a verb it is translated by pour + infinitive:for cleaning windows= pour nettoyer les vitresWhen for is used in the construction to be + adjective + for + pronoun + infinitive the translation in French is être + indirect pronoun + adjective + de + infinitive:it’s impossible for me to stay= il m’est impossible de resterit was hard for him to understand that…= il lui était difficile de comprendre que…it will be difficult for her to accept the changes= il lui sera difficile d’accepter les changementsFor the construction to be waiting for sb to do see the entry wait.For particular usages see the entry for.In time expressionsfor is used in English after a verb in the progressive present perfect tense to express the time period of something that started in the past and is still going on. To express this French uses a verb in the present tense + depuis:I have been waiting for three hours (and I am still waiting)= j’attends depuis trois heureswe’ve been together for two years (and we’re still together)= nous sommes ensemble depuis deux ansWhen for is used in English after a verb in the past perfect tense, French uses the imperfect + depuis:I had been waiting for two hours (and was still waiting)= j’attendais depuis deux heuresfor is used in English negative sentences with the present perfect tense to express the time that has elapsed since something has happened. To express this, French uses the same tense as English (the perfect) + depuis:I haven’t seen him for ten years (and I still haven’t seen him)= je ne l’ai pas vu depuis dix ansIn spoken French, there is another way of expressing this: ça fait or il y a dix ans que je ne l’ai pas vu.When for is used in English in negative sentences after a verb in the past perfect tense, French uses the past perfect + depuis:I hadn’t seen him for ten years= je ne l’avais pas vu depuis dix ans, or (in spoken French) ça faisait or il y avait dix ans que je ne l’avais pas vufor is used in English after the preterite to express the time period of something that happened in the past and is no longer going on. Here French uses the present perfect + pendant:last Sunday I gardened for two hours= dimanche dernier, j’ai jardiné pendant deux heuresfor is used in English after the present progressive tense or the future tense to express an anticipated time period in the future. Here French uses the present or the future tense + pour:I’m going to Rome for six weeks= je vais à Rome pour six semainesI will go to Rome for six weeks= j’irai à Rome pour six semainesNote, however, that when the verb to be is used in the future with for to emphasize the period of time, French uses the future + pendant:I will be in Rome for six weeks= je serai à Rome pendant six semaineshe will be away for three days= il sera absent pendant trois joursFor particular usages see A13, 14, 15 and 16 in the entry for.for is often used in English to form a structure with nouns, adjectives and verbs (weakness for, eager for, apply for, fend for etc.). For translations, consult the appropriate noun, adjective or verb entry (weakness, eager, apply, fend etc.). -
5 speak
(a) (say, pronounce) dire, prononcer;∎ the baby spoke his first words le bébé a dit ses premiers mots;∎ I only had three lines to speak in the play je n'avais que trois lignes à dire dans la pièce;∎ to speak one's mind dire ce qu'on pense;∎ she spoke my name in her sleep elle a prononcé mon nom dans son sommeil;∎ he didn't speak a word il n'a pas dit un mot;∎ without a word being spoken sans qu'un mot ne soit prononcé;∎ to speak the truth dire la vérité;∎ their behaviour speaks volumes for their generosity leur comportement en dit long sur leur générosité ou montre à quel point ils sont généreux;∎ his silence speaks volumes son silence en dit long(b) (language) parler;∎ he doesn't speak a word of Greek il ne parle pas un mot de grec;∎ English spoken (sign) ici on parle anglais;∎ figurative we just don't speak the same language nous ne parlons pas le même langage, c'est tout∎ to speak to or esp American with sb parler à ou avec qn;∎ to speak about or of sth parler de qch;∎ to speak to sb about sth parler à qn de qch;∎ I'll speak to her about it je lui en parlerai;∎ to speak in a whisper chuchoter;∎ speak to me! dites(-moi) quelque chose!;∎ don't speak to your mother like that! ne parle pas à ta mère sur ce ton!;∎ speak when you're spoken to! ne parlez que lorsque l'on s'adresse à vous!;∎ don't speak with your mouth full ne parle pas la bouche pleine;∎ it seems I spoke too soon on dirait que j'ai parlé un peu vite;∎ speak now or forever hold your peace parlez maintenant ou gardez le silence pour toujours;∎ she isn't speaking to me elle ne me parle plus;∎ she hasn't spoken to me since elle ne m'a pas adressé la parole depuis;∎ they're not speaking (to each other) ils ne s'adressent pas ou plus la parole;∎ isn't it about time you two started speaking again? est-ce que vous ne devriez pas faire la paix?;∎ I know them by sight but not to speak to je ne les connais que de vue;∎ are you on speaking terms with them? (do you know them?) tu les connais?; (are you reconciled with them?) vous vous parlez?;∎ we're no longer on speaking terms nous ne nous parlons plus;∎ speaking of which justement, à ce propos;∎ generally speaking en général;∎ personally speaking en ce qui me concerne, quant à moi;∎ financially/legally speaking financièrement/légalement parlant, du point de vue financier/légal;∎ speaking as a politician en tant qu'homme politique;∎ you shouldn't speak ill of the dead tu ne devrais pas dire du mal des morts;∎ he always speaks well/highly of you il dit toujours du bien/beaucoup de bien de vous(b) (on telephone) parler;∎ Kate Smith speaking Kate Smith à l'appareil, c'est Kate Smith;∎ may I speak to Kate? - speaking puis-je parler à Kate? - c'est moi;∎ I'm speaking from Australia j'appelle d'Australie(c) (in debate, meeting etc → make a speech) faire un discours, parler; (→ intervene) prendre la parole, parler;∎ he began to speak il a pris la parole;∎ she got up to speak elle s'est levée pour parler;∎ the chair called upon Mrs Fox to speak le président a demandé à Mme Fox de prendre la parole;∎ he was invited to speak to us on or about Chile il a été invité à venir nous parler du Chili;∎ she spoke for an hour on imperialism elle a parlé de l'impérialisme pendant une heure;∎ to speak to or on a motion soutenir une motion;∎ to speak from the floor intervenir dans un débat∎ everything he saw seemed to speak to him of Greece tout ce qu'il voyait lui semblait évoquer la Grèce;∎ his paintings speak of terrible loneliness ses peintures expriment une immense solitude;∎ the gift speaks well of her concern for old people son don témoigne de l'intérêt qu'elle porte aux personnes âgées;∎ this speaks of large-scale corruption c'est le signe d'une corruption à grande échellesans parler de;∎ his plays are hugely popular, not to speak of his many novels ses pièces sont extrêmement populaires, sans parler de ses nombreux romanspour ainsi dire∎ there's no wind/mail to speak of il n'y a presque pas de vent/de courrier(motion, bill, proposal) se prononcer contre;∎ she spoke passionately against the practice elle a condamné cette pratique avec virulence(a) (speak on behalf of) parler au nom de, parler pour; (speak in support of) parler en faveur de, plaider pour;∎ I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say… je suis sûr que j'exprime la pensée générale lorsque je dis…;∎ speaking for myself pour ma part, en ce qui me concerne;∎ let her speak for herself! laisse-la s'exprimer!;∎ I'll tell him when to leave, I can speak for myself! c'est moi qui lui dirai de partir, je suis parfaitement capable de le faire moi-même!;∎ he is old enough to speak for himself (ask for something) il est assez grand pour le demander tout seul; (say something) il est assez grand pour le dire lui-même;∎ familiar speak for yourself! parle pour toi!;∎ figurative the facts speak for themselves les faits parlent d'eux-mêmes;∎ the title speaks for itself le titre se passe de commentaire(b) to be spoken for (to be reserved) être réservé; (of person → gen) ne pas être libre; (→ at dance) être accompagné; (→ have girlfriend, boyfriend) avoir un(e) petit(e) ami(e); (→ have wife, husband) être marié;∎ these goods are already spoken for ces articles sont déjà réservés ou retenus;∎ she's already spoken for elle est déjà priseparler franchement, ne pas mâcher ses mots;∎ don't be afraid to speak out n'aie pas peur de parler franchement ou de dire ce que tu penses;∎ to speak out for sth parler en faveur de qch;∎ to speak out against sth s'élever contre qch;∎ she spoke out strongly against the scheme elle a condamné le projet avec véhémence(b) (be frank) parler franchement;∎ to speak up for sb parler en faveur de qn, défendre les intérêts de qn;∎ why didn't you speak up? pourquoi n'avez-vous rien dit? -
6 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. -
7 Numbers
0 zéro*1 un†2 deux3 trois4 quatre5 cinq6 six7 sept8 huit9 neuf10 dix11 onze12 douze13 treize14 quatorze15 quinze16 seize17 dix-sept18 dix-huit19 dix-neuf20 vingt21 vingt et un22 vingt-deux30 trente31 trente et un32 trente-deux40 quarante50 cinquante60 soixante70 soixante-dixseptante (in Belgium, Canada, Switzerland etc.)71 soixante et onzeseptante et un ( etc)72 soixante-douze73 soixante-treize74 soixante-quatorze75 soixante-quinze76 soixante-seize77 soixante-dix-sept78 soixante-dix-nuit79 soixante-dix-neuf80 quatre-vingts‡81 quatre-vingt-un§82 quatre-vingt-deux90 quatre-vingt-dix ; nonante (in Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, etc)91 quatre-vingt-onze ; nonante et un92 quatre-vingt-douze ; nonante-deux ( etc.)99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf100 cent101 cent un†102 cent deux110 cent dix111 cent onze112 cent douze187 cent quatre-vingt-sept200 deux cents250 deux cent|| cinquante300 trois cents1000 || mille1001 mille un†1002 mille deux1020 mille vingt1200 mille** deux cents2000 deux mille††10000 dix mille10200 dix mille deux cents100000 cent mille102000 cent deux mille1000000 un million‡‡1264932 un million deux cent soixante-quatre mille neuf cent trente-deux1000000000 un milliard‡‡1000000000000 un billion‡‡* In English 0 may be called nought, zero or even nothing ; French is always zéro ; a nought = un zéro.† Note that one is une in French when it agrees with a feminine noun, so un crayon but une table, une des tables, vingt et une tables, combien de tables? - il y en a une seule etc.‡ Also huitante in Switzerland. Note that when 80 is used as a page number it has no s, e.g. page eighty = page quatre-vingt.§ Note that vingt has no s when it is in the middle of a number. The only exception to this rule is when quatre-vingts is followed by millions, milliards or billions, e.g. quatre-vingts millions, quatre-vingts billions etc.Note that cent does not take an s when it is in the middle of a number. The only exception to this rule is when it is followed by millions, milliards or billions, e.g. trois cents millions, six cents billions etc. It has a normal plural when it modifies other nouns, e.g. 200 inhabitants = deux cents habitants.|| Note that figures in French are set out differently ; where English would have a comma, French has simply a space. It is also possible in French to use a full stop (period) here, e.g. 1.000. French, like English, writes dates without any separation between thousands and hundreds, e.g. in 1995 = en 1995.** When such a figure refers to a date, the spelling mil is preferred to mille, i.e. en 1200 = en mil deux cents. Note however the exceptions: when the year is a round number of thousands, the spelling is always mille, so en l’an mille, en l’an deux mille etc.†† Mille is invariable ; it never takes an s.‡‡ Note that the French words million, milliard and billion are nouns, and when written out in full they take de before another noun, e.g. a million inhabitants is un million d’habitants, a billion francs is un billion de francs. However, when written in figures, 1,000,000 inhabitants is 1000000 habitants, but is still spoken as un million d’habitants. When million etc. is part of a complex number, de is not used before the nouns, e.g. 6,000,210 people = six millions deux cent dix personnes.Use of enNote the use of en in the following examples:there are six= il y en a sixI’ve got a hundred= j’en ai centEn must be used when the thing you are talking about is not expressed (the French says literally there of them are six, I of them have a hundred etc.). However, en is not needed when the object is specified:there are six apples= il y a six pommesApproximate numbersWhen you want to say about…, remember the French ending -aine:about ten= une dizaineabout ten books= une dizaine de livresabout fifteen= une quinzaineabout fifteen people= une quinzaine de personnesabout twenty= une vingtaineabout twenty hours= une vingtaine d’heuresSimilarly une trentaine, une quarantaine, une cinquantaine, une soixantaine and une centaine ( and une douzaine means a dozen). For other numbers, use environ (about):about thirty-five= environ trente-cinqabout thirty-five francs= environ trente-cinq francsabout four thousand= environ quatre milleabout four thousand pages= environ quatre mille pagesEnviron can be used with any number: environ dix, environ quinze etc. are as good as une dizaine, une quinzaine etc.Note the use of centaines and milliers to express approximate quantities:hundreds of books= des centaines de livresI’ve got hundreds= j’en ai des centaineshundreds and hundreds of fish= des centaines et des centaines de poissonsI’ve got thousands= j’en ai des milliersthousands of books= des milliers de livresthousands and thousands= des milliers et des milliersmillions and millions= des millions et des millionsPhrasesnumbers up to ten= les nombres jusqu’à dixto count up to ten= compter jusqu’à dixalmost ten= presque dixless than ten= moins de dixmore than ten= plus de dixall ten of them= tous les dixall ten boys= les dix garçonsNote the French word order:my last ten pounds= mes dix dernières livresthe next twelve weeks= les douze prochaines semainesthe other two= les deux autresthe last four= les quatre derniersCalculations in FrenchNote that French uses a comma where English has a decimal point.0,25 zéro virgule vingt-cinq0,05 zéro virgule zéro cinq0,75 zéro virgule soixante-quinze3,45 trois virgule quarante-cinq8,195 huit virgule cent quatre-vingt-quinze9,1567 neuf virgule quinze cent soixante-septor neuf virgule mille cinq cent soixante-sept9,3456 neuf virgule trois mille quatre cent cinquante-sixPercentages in French25% vingt-cinq pour cent50% cinquante pour cent100% cent pour cent200% deux cents pour cent365% troix cent soixante-cinq pour cent4,25% quatre virgule vingt-cinq pour centFractions in FrenchOrdinal numbers in French§1st 1er‡ premier ( feminine première)2nd 2e second or deuxième3rd 3e troisième4th 4e quatrième5th 5e cinquième6th 6e sixième7th 7e septième8th 8e huitième9th 9e neuvième10th 10e dixième11th 11e onzième12th 12e douzième13th 13e treizième14th 14e quatorzième15th 15e quinzième16th 16e seizième17th 17e dix-septième18th 18e dix-huitième19th 19e dix-neuvième20th 20e vingtième21st 21e vingt et unième22nd 22e vingt-deuxième23rd 23e vingt-troisième24th 24e vingt-quatrième25th 25e vingt-cinquième30th 30e trentième31st 31e trente et unième40th 40e quarantième50th 50e cinquantième60th 60e soixantième70th 70e soixante-dixième or septantième (in Belgium, Canada, Switzerland etc.)71st 71e soixante et onzième or septante et unième (etc.)72nd 72e soixante-douzième73rd 73e soixante-treizième74th 74e soixante-quatorzième75th 75e soixante-quinzième76th 76e soixante-seizième77th 77e soixante-dix-septième78th 78e soixante-dix-huitième79th 79e soixante-dix-neuvième80th 80e quatre-vingtième¶81st 81e quatre-vingt-unième90th 90e quatre-vingt-dixième or nonantième (in Belgium, Canada, Switzerland etc.)91st 91e quatre-vingt-onzième, or nonante et unième (etc.)99th 99e quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième100th 100e centième101st 101e cent et unième102nd 102e cent-deuxième196th 196e cent quatre-vingt-seizième200th 200e deux centième300th 300e trois centième400th 400e quatre centième1,000th 1000e millième2,000th 2000e deux millième1,000,000th 1000000e millionièmeLike English, French makes nouns by adding the definite article:the firstthe second= le second (or la seconde etc.)the first three= les trois premiers or les trois premièresNote the French word order in:the third richest country in the world= le troisième pays le plus riche du monde* Note that half, when not a fraction, is translated by the noun moitié or the adjective demi ; see the dictionary entry.† Note the use of les and d’entre when these fractions are used about a group of people or things: two-thirds of them = les deux tiers d’entre eux.‡ This is the masculine form ; the feminine is 1re and the plural 1ers (m) or 1res (f).§ All the ordinal numbers in French behave like ordinary adjectives and take normal plural endings where appropriate.¶ Also huitantième in Switzerland. -
8 have
have [hæv]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━2. modal verb4. noun━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━a. avoir━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► avoir is the auxiliary used with most verbs to form past tenses. For important exceptions see below.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• haven't you grown! comme tu as grandi !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Note the agreement of the past participle with the preceding direct object.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• if I had seen her I would have spoken to her si je l'avais vue, je lui aurais parlé━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► 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...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.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• 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 !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• 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 ? -- none. (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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► falloir is always used in the third person singular, in an impersonal construction. Note that falloir que is always followed by the subjunctive.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• 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• 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• 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• 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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• you didn't have to tell her! tu n'avais pas besoin de le lui dire !• I don't have to do it je ne suis pas obligé or forcé de le fairea. avoir• I have or I've got three books j'ai trois livres• have you got a suitcase? avez-vous une valise ?• have you got this jumper in black? est-ce que vous avez ce pull en noir ?b. ( = eat, drink, take) he had an egg for breakfast il a mangé un œuf au petit déjeuner• shall we have a coffee? on prend un café ?► 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 ?d. ( = smoke) fumere. ( = catch) tenir• I've got him where I want him! (inf) je le tiens !► to let sb have ( = give) donner à qn• 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 ?• he had his worst fears confirmed ses pires craintes se sont réalisées► to have sb do sth faire faire qch à qn• she soon had them all reading and writing elle a réussi très rapidement à leur apprendre à lire et à écrire► had better ( = should)4. nouna. faire venira. [+ clothes] porterb. (British = have planned) I've got so much on this week that... j'ai tant de choses à faire cette semaine que...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[+ friends, neighbours] inviter* * *[hæv, həv] 1.transitive verb ( uses not covered in NOTE)1) ( possess) avoir2) ( consume) prendre3) ( want) vouloir, prendrewhat will you have? — qu'est-ce que vous prendrez or voulez?
I wouldn't have him/her any other way — c'est comme ça que je l'aime
4) (receive, get) recevoir [letter, information]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) passerto have a nice day/evening — passer une journée/soirée agréable
to have a hard ou bad time — traverser une période difficile
8) ( be provided with) (also have got)I have ou I've got letters to write — j'ai du courrier à faire
9) (undergo, suffer) avoirto have (the) flu/a heart attack — avoir la grippe/une crise cardiaque
to have an interview — avoir or passer un entretien
10) ( cause to be done)they would have us believe that... — ils voudraient nous faire croire que...
I would have you know that... — je voudrais que vous sachiez que...
11) ( cause to become)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
12) ( allow) tolérer13) ( physically hold) tenirshe had him by the throat/by the arm — elle le tenait à la gorge/par le bras
14) ( give birth to) [woman] avoir [child]; [animal] mettre bas, avoir [young]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)2.I've got you/him now! — maintenant je te/le tiens!
modal auxiliary1) ( 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
3) ( for emphasis)3.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
1) gen avoir; ( with movement and reflexive verbs) être2) ( 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!’
4.‘you've never met him’ - ‘yes I have!’ — ‘tu ne l'as jamais rencontré’ - ‘mais si!’
having auxiliary verb1) ( in time clauses)having finished his breakfast, he went out — après avoir fini son petit déjeuner, il est sorti
2) (because, since)•Phrasal Verbs:- have in- have on- have up••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
and the ayes/noes have it — les oui/non l'emportent
...and what have you —...etc
there is no milk/there are no houses to be had — on ne trouve pas de lait/de maisons
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9 pidgin
['pi‹ən](any of a number of languages which consist of a mixture of English, French, Portuguese etc and some non-European (especially African) language: Beach-la-mar is a pidgin spoken in parts of the southern Pacific Ocean; ( also adjective) pidgin English.) pidgin -
10 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.). -
11 language
language [ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ]1. nouna. ( = particular tongue) langue fb. ( = ability to talk) langage mc. ( = specialized terminology) langage m• scientific/legal language langage m scientifique/juridiqued. ( = individual's manner of expression) langage m• (watch your) language! (inf) surveille ton langage !2. compounds[degree, studies, textbooks] de langue ; [department] de langues ; [students] en langues ; [ability] à s'exprimer━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✎ The English word contains a u whereas the French word langage does not.* * *['læŋgwɪdʒ]formal/legal language — langage formel/juridique
bad ou strong ou foul language — langage grossier
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12 much
much [mʌt∫]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. pronoun2. adjective3. adverb━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. pronoun• does it cost much? est-ce que ça coûte cher ?• is it worth much? est-ce que ça a de la valeur ?► much of ( = a large part of) une bonne partie de• much of what you say une bonne partie de ce que vous dites► to make much of sth attacher beaucoup d'importance à qch► not/nothing... much ( = a small amount) pas beaucoup• what was stolen? -- nothing much qu'est-ce qui a été volé ? -- pas grand-chose━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Constructions with valoir are often used when assessing value or merit.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• there isn't much in it (in choice, competition) ça se vaut2. adjective• it's a bit much! (inf) c'est un peu fort !3. adverba. ( = to a great degree) beaucoup• I very much hope that... j'espère de tout cœur que...b. ( = more or less) it's much the same c'est quasiment la même chose► as much• I thought as much! c'est bien ce que je pensais !• as much time as... autant de temps que...• twice as much money as... deux fois plus d'argent que...• you could pay as much as $200 for that ça peut te coûter jusqu'à 200 dollars► however much• however much you like him... quelle que soit votre affection pour lui,...► how much? combien ?• how much does it cost? combien ça coûte ?► much as• much as I dislike doing this,... bien que je n'aime pas du tout faire cela,...► much less ( = and even less)he couldn't understand the question, much less answer it il ne pouvait pas comprendre la question et encore moins y répondre► not much of a (inf) ( = not a great)• he'd drunk so much that... il avait tellement bu que...• so much so that... à tel point que...• so much for his help! c'est ça qu'il appelle aider !• so much for that! tant pis !• so much the better! tant mieux !► not so much... as• I think of her not so much as a doctor but as a friend je la considère plus comme une amie que comme un médecin► this/that much• this much? (ça ira) comme ça ?• I know this much... ce que je sais, c'est que...• this much is certain... un point est acquis...* * *Note: When much is used as an adverb, it is translated by beaucoup: it's much longer = c'est beaucoup plus long; she doesn't talk much = elle ne parle pas beaucoupFor particular usages, see I belowWhen much is used as a pronoun, it is usually translated by beaucoup: there is much to learn = il y a beaucoup à apprendre. However, in negative sentences grand-chose is also used: I didn't learn much = je n'ai pas beaucoup appris or je n'ai pas appris grand-choseWhen much is used as a quantifier, it is translated by beaucoup de: they don't have much money = ils n'ont pas beaucoup d'argent[mʌtʃ] 1.1) ( to a considerable degree) beaucoup2) ( often) beaucoup, souvent3) ( nearly) plus ou moins, à peu prèsvery much — ( a lot) beaucoup; ( absolutely) tout à fait
I thought as much — ça ne m'étonne pas, je m'en doutais
you'll have to accept the decision however much you disagree — il va falloir que tu acceptes la décision même si tu n'es pas d'accord
5) (emphatic: setting up a contrast)2.the discovery wasn't so much shocking as depressing — la découverte était moins choquante que déprimante
1) ( a great deal) beaucoup; ( in negative sentences) grand-chosemuch of the difficulty lies in... — une grande partie de la difficulté réside dans...
to make much of something — ( focus on) insister sur quelque chose; ( understand) comprendre quelque chose
2) (expressing a relative amount, degree)so much — tellement, tant
so much of the time, it's a question of patience — la plupart du temps c'est une question de patience
it's too much! — lit c'est trop!; ( in protest) c'en est trop!
I'll say this much for him, he's honest — il a au moins ça pour lui, il est honnête
this much is certain, we'll have no choice — une chose est certaine, nous n'aurons pas le choix
it can cost as much as £50 — ça peut coûter jusqu'à 50 livres sterling
as much as to say... — d'un air de dire...
do you know how much this means to me? — est-ce que tu sais à quel point or combien c'est important pour moi?
3) (focusing on limitations, inadequacy)it's not ou nothing much — ce n'est pas grand-chose
it's not up to much — GB ça ne vaut pas grand-chose
3.I'm not much of a one for cooking — (colloq) la cuisine ce n'est pas mon fort (colloq)
quantifier beaucoup de4.much+ combining form5.much-loved/-respected — très apprécié/respecté
much as conjunctional phrase bien que (+ subj)6.much as we regret our decision we have no choice — bien que nous regrettions or nous avons beau regretter notre décision, nous n'avons pas le choix
much less conjunctional phrase encore moins7.I've never seen him much less spoken to him — je n'ai jamais eu l'occasion de le voir encore moins de lui parler
so much as adverbial phrasewithout so much as saying goodbye/as an apology — sans même dire au revoir/s'excuser
••there isn't much in GB ou to US it — (in contest, competition) ils se suivent de près
there isn't much in it for us — ( to our advantage) ça ne va pas nous apporter grand-chose
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13 fluent
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14 native speaker
(a person who has spoken a particular language ever since he was able to speak at all: I am a native speaker of English; a native Spanish speaker.) locuteur natif -
15 plain
[plein] 1. adjective1) (simple or ordinary; without ornament or decoration: plain living; good, plain food.) simple2) (easy to understand; clear: His words were quite plain.) clair3) (absolutely open or honest, with no attempt to be tactful: I'll be quite plain with you; plain speaking.) franc4) (obvious: It's plain (to see) you haven't been practising your music.) évident, clair5) (not pretty: a rather plain girl.) quelconque2. noun1) (a large flat level piece of land: the plains of central Canada.) plaine2) (a kind of knitting stitch.) maille à l'endroit•- plainly- plainness - plain chocolate - plain clothes - plain sailing - plain-spoken - in plain English -
16 language
3 ¢ ( words used by a particular group) gen, Comput langage m ; formal/legal language langage formel/juridique ; spoken language langue f parlée ; bad ou strong ou foul language langage m grossier ; mind your language! sois poli! ; don't use that language with me! ne me parle pas de cette façon!to speak the same language parler la même langue. -
17 much
❢ When much is used as an adverb, it is translated by beaucoup: it's much longer = c'est beaucoup plus long ; she doesn't talk much = elle ne parle pas beaucoup.For particular usages, see A below. When much is used as a pronoun, it is usually translated by beaucoup: there is much to learn = il y a beaucoup à apprendre. However, in negative sentences grand-chose is also used: I didn't learn much = je n'ai pas beaucoup appris or je n'ai pas appris grand-chose.When much is used as a quantifier, it is translated by beaucoup de: they don't have much money = ils n'ont pas beaucoup d'argent.For particular usages see C below.A adv1 ( to a considerable degree) beaucoup ; much smaller/happier beaucoup plus petit/ content (than que) ; they're not much cheaper than the originals ils ne sont pas beaucoup moins chers que les originaux ; much more interesting beaucoup or bien plus intéressant ; the film was much better than expected le film était bien meilleur que prévu ; it's much better organized c'est beaucoup mieux organisé ; they're getting much less demanding ils deviennent beaucoup moins exigeants ; the shoes are much too expensive les chaussures sont beaucoup trop chères ; it's much too dangerous c'est beaucoup trop dangereux ; he doesn't much care for them il ne les aime pas beaucoup ; I didn't much like what I saw je n'ai pas beaucoup aimé ce que j'ai vu ; she doesn't worry much about it ça ne l'inquiète pas beaucoup ; we'd much rather stay here nous préférerions de beaucoup rester ici ; the meeting has been much criticized on a beaucoup critiqué la réunion ; they are much to be pitied ils méritent qu'on ait pitié d'eux ; much loved by her friends très aimée de ses amis ; your comments would be much appreciated tous vos commentaires seront les bienvenus ; he's not much good at Latin/at tennis il n'est pas très bon en latin/au tennis ; he's not much good at doing il n'est pas très doué pour faire ; does it hurt much? est-ce que ça fait très mal? ; it's much the more interesting of the two studies c'est de loin la plus intéressante des deux études ; she's much the best teacher here elle est de loin le meilleur professeur ici ; much to our annoyance, they didn't phone back ils n'ont pas rappelé, ce qui nous a beaucoup vexés ; much to my surprise à ma grande surprise ;2 ( often) beaucoup, souvent ; we don't go out much nous ne sortons pas beaucoup ; they didn't see each other much ils ne se voyaient pas beaucoup ; she doesn't talk much about the past elle ne parle pas beaucoup du passé ; do you go to concerts much? est-ce que tu vas souvent au concert? ; a much married film star une vedette de cinéma qui s'est remariée plusieurs fois ;3 (approximately, nearly) plus ou moins, à peu près ; to be much the same être à peu près pareil (as que) ; his condition is much the same as yesterday son état est plus ou moins or à peu près le même qu'hier ; it's pretty much like driving a car c'est plus ou moins la même chose que de conduire une voiture ; he behaved much the way the others did il s'est comporté plus ou moins comme les autres ; in much the same way à peu près de la même façon (as que) ; much the same is true of China la situation est à peu près la même en Chine ;4 ( specifying degree to which something is true) too much trop ; you worry/talk too much tu t'inquiètes/parles trop ; very much ( a lot) beaucoup ; ( absolutely) tout à fait ; he misses you very much tu lui manques beaucoup ; I'd appreciate it very much if j'apprécierais beaucoup que (+ subj) ; thanks very much merci beaucoup ; we enjoyed ourselves very much nous nous sommes beaucoup amusés ; she's very much like her mother elle ressemble beaucoup à sa mère ; it's very much the norm c'est tout à fait la norme ; I felt very much the foreigner je me sentais tout à fait étranger ; so much tellement ; I wanted so much to meet you j'avais tellement envie de vous rencontrer ; it hurts so much ça fait tellement mal ; it's so much better c'est tellement mieux ; he hates flying so much that he prefers to take the boat il déteste tellement l'avion qu'il préfère prendre le bateau ; thanks so much for merci beaucoup pour ; as much autant (as que) ; I like them as much as you (do) je les aime autant que toi ; she doesn't worry as much as before elle ne s'inquiète pas autant qu'avant ; they hated each other as much as ever ils se détestaient toujours autant ; she is as much entitled to a visa as you elle a autant droit à un visa que toi ; they were as much a part of village life as the farmers ils faisaient autant partie de la vie du village que les fermiers ; he wasn't sure and said as much il n'était pas sûr et il l'a dit ; I thought as much c'est bien ce qui me semblait ; however much même si ; you'll have to accept the decision however much you disagree il va falloir que tu acceptes la décision même si tu n'es pas d'accord ; I couldn't cry out however much it hurt je ne pouvais pas crier même si ça me faisait très mal ;5 (emphatic: setting up a contrast) not so much X as Y moins X que Y, plus Y que X ; it wasn't so much a warning as a threat c'était moins un avertissement qu'une menace, c'était plus une menace qu'un avertissement ; the discovery wasn't so much shocking as depressing la découverte était moins choquante que déprimante ; it doesn't annoy me so much as make me wonder ça m'agace moins que ça ne me surprend.B pron1 ( a great deal) beaucoup ; ( in negative sentences) grand-chose ; do you have much left? est-ce qu'il vous en reste beaucoup? ; did he earn much? est-ce qu'il a gagné beaucoup? ; we have much to learn nous avons beaucoup à apprendre (from de) ; we didn't eat much nous n'avons pas mangé grand-chose ; there isn't much to do il n'y a pas grand-chose à faire ; he doesn't have much to say il n'a pas grand-chose à dire ; there isn't much one can do to prevent it il n'y a pas grand-chose à faire pour empêcher ça ; he doesn't have much to complain about il n'a pas à se plaindre ; it leaves much to be desired ça laisse (vraiment) à désirer ; there's much to be said for beaucoup de choses plaident en faveur de [plan, country life, job-sharing] ; much of une grande partie de ; much of the difficulty lies in… une grande partie de la difficulté réside dans… ; much of the meeting was spent discussing… une grande partie de la réunion a été consacrée à discuter… ; much of their work involves… une grande partie de leur travail consiste à… ; much of what remains is useless une grande partie de ce qui reste est inutile ; much of the resentment is due to le ressentiment vient en grande partie de ; I don't see much of them now je ne les vois plus beaucoup maintenant ; to make much of sth ( focus on) insister sur qch ; ( understand) comprendre qch ; the report made much of the scandal le rapport insistait sur le scandale or faisait grand cas du scandale ; I couldn't make much of her last book je n'ai pas compris grand-chose à son dernier livre ;2 (expressing a relative amount, degree) so much tant ; they are willing to pay so much per vehicle ils sont prêts à payer tant par véhicule ; we'd eaten so much that nous avions tant mangé que ; she spends so much of her life abroad elle passe une très grande partie de sa vie à l'étranger ; she spends so much of her life abroad that elle passe une si grande partie de sa vie à l'étranger que ; so much of her work is gloomy il y a une grande partie de son œuvre qui est sombre ; so much of the earth is polluted la terre est tellement polluée ; so much of the time, it's a question of patience la plupart du temps c'est une question de patience ; too much trop ; it costs too much c'est trop cher ; you eat too much tu manges trop ; it's too much! lit c'est trop! ; ( in protest) c'en est trop! ; it's too much of a strain c'est trop éprouvant ; she was too much of an egotist to do elle était trop égoïste pour faire ; I couldn't eat all that, it's too much for me! je ne pourrais jamais manger tout ça, c'est trop pour moi! ; the heat/the work was too much for them ils n'ont pas pu supporter la chaleur/le travail ; the measures proved too much for them ils n'ont pas pu tolérer les mesures ; he was too much for his opponent il était trop fort pour son adversaire ; I bought about this much j'en ai acheté à peu près ça ; he's read this much already il a déjà lu tout ça ; I'll say this much for him, he's honest il a au moins ça pour lui, il est honnête ; this much is certain, we'll have no choice une chose est certaine, nous n'aurons pas le choix ; twice as much deux fois autant or plus ; if we had half as much as you si nous avions la moitié de ce que tu as ; I'll need half as much again il me faudra encore la moitié de ça ; as much as possible autant que possible ; they paid as much as we did ils ont payé autant que nous ; is it as much as that? est-ce que ça fait autant que ça? ; I enjoy nature as much as the next person j'apprécie la nature autant que n'importe qui ; it can cost as much as £50 ça peut coûter jusqu'à 50 livres sterling ; it was as much as I could do not to laugh il a fallu que je me retienne pour ne pas rire ; as much as to say… d'un air de dire… ; how much? combien? ; how much did you pay for it? combien est-ce que tu l'as payé? ; tell them how much you won dis-leur combien tu as gagné ; how much do they know? qu'est-ce qu'ils savent au juste? ; he never knew how much we missed him il n'a jamais su à quel point or combien il nous a manqué ; do you know how much this means to me? est-ce que tu sais à quel point or combien c'est important pour moi? ;3 (focusing on limitations, inadequacy) it's not ou nothing much ce n'est pas grand-chose ; it's not up to much GB ça ne vaut pas grand-chose ; he 's not much to look at il n'est pas très beau ; she doesn't think much of him elle n'a pas très bonne opinion de lui ; she doesn't think much of it elle n'en pense pas beaucoup de bien ; I'm not much of a letter-writer/reader je n'aime pas beaucoup écrire des lettres/lire ; it's not much of a film ce n'est pas un bon film ; it wasn't much of a life ce n'était pas une vie ; it wasn't much of a holiday for us ce n'était vraiment pas des vacances pour nous ; that's not much of a consolation! ça ne me console pas tellement! ; I'm not much of a one for cooking ○ la cuisine ce n'est pas mon fort ○.C quantif beaucoup de ; have you got much money/work? est-ce que tu as beaucoup d'argent/de travail? ; I haven't got (very) much time je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps ; we didn't get much support nous n'avons pas eu beaucoup de soutien ; it doesn't make much sense ça n'a pas beaucoup de sens ; there isn't much wine left il ne reste pas beaucoup de vin ; does he watch much TV? est-ce qu'il regarde beaucoup la télé ○ ? ; she didn't speak much English elle parlait peu anglais ; too much energy trop d'énergie ; to spend too much money dépenser trop d'argent ; we don't have too much time nous n'avons pas beaucoup de temps ; don't use so much salt ne mets pas tant de sel ; why does he make so much noise? pourquoi fait-il tant de bruit? ; I spent so much time doing j'ai passé tant de temps à faire ; she gets so much enjoyment out of the radio elle a tant de plaisir à écouter la radio ; we paid twice as much money nous avons payé deux fois plus d'argent ; how much time have we got left? combien de temps nous reste-t-il? ; how much liquid does it contain? combien de liquide est-ce que ça contient?D much+ (dans composés) much-loved/-respected très apprécié/respecté ; much-maligned tant décrié ; much-needed indispensable.E much as conj phr bien que (+ subj) ; much as he needed the money, he wouldn't beg for it il avait vraiment besoin de cet argent et pourtant il ne pouvait se résoudre à mendier ; much as we regret our decision we have no choice bien que nous regrettions or nous avons beau regretter notre décision, nous n'avons pas le choix.F much less conj phr encore moins ; I've never seen him much less spoken to him je n'ai jamais eu l'occasion de le voir encore moins de lui parler.G so much as adv phr without so much as saying goodbye/as an apology sans même dire au revoir/s'excuser ; if you so much as move/sigh si tu fais le moindre mouvement/pousses le moindre soupir ; they can be imprisoned for so much as criticizing the regime ils peuvent être emprisonnés ne serait-ce que pour avoir critiqué le régime.much wants more plus on en a plus on en veut ; there isn't much in GB ou to US it (in contest, competition) ils se suivent de près ; there isn't much in it for us ( to our advantage) ça ne va pas nous apporter grand-chose ; she's late again? that's a bit much! elle est encore en retard? elle exagère! ; ⇒ so. -
18 pidgin
pidgin n3 ( other languages spoken incorrectly) charabia m.
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