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1 see
1 ( perceive) voir [object, person] ; to see sb/sth with one's own eyes voir qn/qch de ses propres yeux ; to see that voir que ; to see where/how etc voir où/comment etc ; you'll see how it's done tu verras comment c'est fait ; to see sb do sth ou doing sth voir qn faire qch ; I saw him steal ou stealing a car je l'ai vu voler une voiture ; we didn't see anything nous n'avons rien vu ; I saw something in the dark j'ai vu quelque chose dans l'obscurité ; there's nothing to see il n'y a rien à voir ; there's nobody to be seen il n'y a personne en vue ; I couldn't see her in the crowd je ne la voyais pas dans la foule ; can you see him? est-ce que tu le vois? ; I could see (that) she'd been crying je voyais bien qu'elle avait pleuré ; I can see her coming down the road je la vois qui arrive sur la route ; there was going to be trouble: I could see it coming ou I could see it a mile off il allait y avoir des problèmes: je le sentais venir ; I don't like to see you so unhappy je n'aime pas te voir si malheureux ; I hate to see an animal in pain je déteste voir souffrir les animaux ; I don't know what you see in him ○ je ne sais pas ce que tu lui trouves ○ ; he must see something attractive in her ○ il doit lui trouver quelque chose d'attirant ; I must be seeing things! j'ai des visions! ; to see one's way voir où on va ; to see one's way (clear) to doing sth trouver le moyen de faire qch ;2 ( look at) ( watch) voir [film, programme] ; ( inspect) voir [accounts, work] ; I've seen the play twice j'ai vu cette pièce deux fois ; see page 156 voir page 156 ; see over(leaf) voir au verso ;3 (go to see, visit) voir [person, country, building] ; to see the Parthenon voir le Parthénon ; to see a doctor about sth voir un médecin au sujet de qch ; what did you want to see me about? pourquoi vouliez-vous me voir? ; I'm seeing a psychiatrist je vais chez un psychiatre ; to see the sights faire du tourisme ;4 ( meet up with) voir [person] ; I'll be seeing him in June je le verrai en juin ; I happened to see her in the post office je l'ai vue par hasard à la poste ; they see a lot of each other ils se voient souvent ; see you ○ ! salut ○ ! ; see you next week/(on) Sunday ○ ! à la semaine prochaine/à dimanche! ; he's seeing a married woman il fréquente une femme mariée ;5 ( receive) recevoir [person] ; the doctor/headmaster will see you now le docteur/directeur va vous recevoir ;6 ( understand) voir [relevance, advantage, problem] ; comprendre [joke] ; to see sth from sb's point of view voir qch du point de vue de qn ; can't you see that…? ne vois-tu donc pas que…? ; to see how/where… voir comment/où… ; do you see what I mean? tu vois ce que je veux dire? ;7 (look upon, consider) voir ; I see things differently now je vois les choses différemment maintenant ; to see sb as considérer qn comme [leader, hero] ; I see it as an opportunity je pense que c'est une occasion à saisir ; I see it as an insult je prends ça pour une insulte ; not to see sb/sth as… ne pas croire que qn/qch soit… ; I don't see it as a problem of poverty je ne crois pas que ce soit un problème lié à la pauvreté ; I don't see him as honest je ne crois pas qu'il soit honnête ;8 (note, observe) voir (that que) ; as we have already seen,… comme nous l'avons déjà vu,… ; it can be seen from this example that… cet exemple nous montre que… ;9 (envisage, visualize) I can't see sb/sth doing je ne pense pas que qn/qch puisse faire ; I can't see the situation changing je ne pense pas que la situation puisse changer ; I can see a time when this country will be independent je peux imaginer qu'un jour ce pays sera indépendant ;10 ( make sure) to see (to it) that… veiller à ce que… (+ subj) ; see (to it) that the children are in bed by nine veillez à ce que les enfants soient couchés à neuf heures ; see that you do! ( angrily) tu as intérêt à le faire! ;11 ( find out) voir ; to see how/if/when etc voir comment/si/quand etc ; I'm going to see what she's doing/how she's doing je vais voir ce qu'elle fait/comment elle se débrouille ; I'll have to see if I can get permission il faudra que je voie si je peux obtenir la permission ; it remains to be seen whether ou if… reste à voir si… ;12 ( witness) voir ; ( experience) connaître ; a period which saw enormous changes/the birth of computer science une période qui a vu d'énormes changements/naître l'informatique ; next year will see the completion of the road la route sera terminée l'année prochaine ; I never thought I'd see the day that he'd admit to being wrong! je ne pensais vraiment pas que je le verrais un jour reconnaître qu'il avait tort! ; we'll never see her like again jamais nous ne reverrons sa pareille ;13 ( accompany) to see sb to the door raccompagner qn (jusqu'à la sortie) ; to see sb to the station accompagner qn à la gare ; to see sb home raccompagner qn chez lui ;1 ( with eyes) voir ; I can't see je ne vois rien ; see for yourself voyez vous-même ; as you can see comme vous pouvez le voir ; to see beyond sth voir au-delà de qch ; try to see beyond your own immediate concerns tâche de voir plus loin que tes préoccupations immédiates ; so I see c'est ce que je vois ; move over: I can't see through you pousse-toi! tu n'es pas transparent! ; some animals can see in the dark certains animaux y voient la nuit ; you can see for miles on y voit à des kilomètres ;2 ( understand) voir ; do you see? tu vois? ; yes, I see oui, je vois ; now I see maintenant, je comprends ; can't you see?: the situation is different now tu ne vois donc pas que la situation n'est plus la même? ; as far as I can see autant que je puisse en juger ;3 (check, find out) I'll go and see je vais voir ; we'll just have to wait and see il ne nous reste plus qu'à attendre ;4 (think, consider) I'll have to see il faut que je réfléchisse ; let's see, let me see voyons (un peu).D v refl ( prét saw, pp seen) to see oneself lit, fig se voir ; he saw himself already elected il se voyait déjà élu ; I can't see myself as ou being… je ne pense pas que je vais être… ; I can't see myself being chosen/as a famous ballerina je ne pense pas que je vais être choisi/devenir une ballerine célèbre.I'll see you right ○ je ne te laisserai pas tomber ○ ; now I've seen it all! j'aurai tout vu!■ see about:▶ see about [sth] s'occuper de ; we'll soon see about that ○ ! iron c'est ce qu'on va voir! ; to see about doing penser à faire.■ see off:▶ see [sb] off, see [off] sb1 ( say goodbye to) dire au revoir à qn ; we saw him off at the station nous lui avons dit au revoir à la gare ;2 ( throw out) the drunk was seen off the premises on a mis l'ivrogne à la porte ; to see sb off the premises veiller à ce que qn quitte les lieux.■ see out:▶ see [sth] out, see out [sth] we have enough coal to see the winter out nous avons assez de charbon pour passer l'hiver ;▶ see [sb] out raccompagner [qn] à la porte ; I'll see myself out ( in small building) je m'en vais mais ne vous dérangez pas ; ( in big building) je trouverai la sortie, ne vous dérangez pas.■ see through:▶ see through [sth] déceler [deception, lie] ; it was easy enough to see through the excuse c'était évident que c'était une fausse excuse ; I can see through your little game ○ ! je vois clair dans ton petit jeu! ;▶ see through [sb] percer [ qn] à jour ;▶ see [sth] through mener [qch] à bonne fin ;▶ see [sb] through: there's enough food to see us through the week il y a assez à manger pour tenir toute la semaine ; this money will see you through cet argent te dépannera.■ see to:▶ see to [sth] s'occuper de [person, task] ; there is no cake left, the children saw to that! il ne reste plus de gâteau, les enfants se sont chargés de le faire disparaître! -
2 see through
1) (to give support to (a person, plan etc) until the end is reached: I'd like to see the job through.) soutenir (qqn, qqch.) jusqu'au bout2) (not to be deceived by (a person, trick etc): We soon saw through him and his little plan.) pénétrer (les intentions de qqn) -
3 see the light
1) (to be born, discovered, produced etc: After many problems his invention finally saw the light (of day).) voir le jour2) (to be converted to someone else's point of view etc.) se convertir (à) -
4 see/think fit
(to consider that some action is right, suitable etc: You must do as you see fit (to do).) trouver bon (de) -
5 see off
(to accompany (a person starting on a journey) to the airport, railway station etc from which he is to leave: He saw me off at the station.) reconduire -
6 see etc the last of
(to be finished with, be able to forget: You haven't heard the last of this!) en finir avec -
7 we etc will see
(I, we etc shall wait and consider the matter later: `May I have a new bicycle?' `We'll see.) on verra -
8 colonial
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9 conservation
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10 conservatism
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11 horrible
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12 horrid
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13 kinsman
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14 kinswoman
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15 notable
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16 pediatrics
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17 reliable
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18 reliance
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19 shown
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20 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.
См. также в других словарях:
etc. — etc. see ET CETERA (Cf. et cetera) … Etymology dictionary
see — 1. v. (past saw; past part. seen) 1 tr. discern by use of the eyes; observe; look at (can you see that spider?; saw him fall over). 2 intr. have or use the power of discerning objects with the eyes (sees best at night). 3 tr. discern mentally;… … Useful english dictionary
see — see1 W1S1 [si:] v past tense saw [so: US so:] past participle seen [si:n] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(notice/examine)¦ 2¦(notice something is true)¦ 3¦(ability to see)¦ 4¦(find out information)¦ 5¦(in the future)¦ 6¦(where information is)¦ 7¦(understand)¦ … Dictionary of contemporary English
see — 1 /si:/ verb past tense saw past participle seen /si:n/ UNDERSTAND/REALIZE 1 (I, T) to understand or realize something: I can see that you re not very happy with the situation. | Seeing his distress, Louise put her arm around him. (+ why/what/who … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
see eye to eye — verb be in agreement (Freq. 1) We never saw eye to eye on this question • Hypernyms: ↑agree, ↑hold, ↑concur, ↑concord • Verb Frames: Somebody s … Useful english dictionary
see — see1 [sē] vt. saw, seen, seeing [ME seen < OE seon (< * sehwan), akin to Ger sehen, Goth saihwan < IE base * sekw , to observe, show, see, tell: see SAY] 1. a) to get knowledge or an awareness of through the eyes; perceive visually; look … English World dictionary
See — (s[=e]), v. t. [imp. {Saw} (s[add]); p. p. {Seen} (s[=e]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Seeing}.] [OE. seen, sen, seon, AS. se[ o]n; akin to OFries. s[=i]a, D. zien, OS. & OHG. sehan, G. sehen, Icel. sj[=a], Sw. se, Dan. see, Goth. sa[ i]hwan, and probably… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
See [1] — See (hierzu Tafel »Seebildungen I und II«), soviel wie Meer (die S.), daher offene S., Seebrise und Seewind; auch soviel wie Wellen, daher hohe S., Kreuzsee und ruhige S.; in dieser Bedeutung braucht man auch die Bezeichnung Seegang. Dann (der… … Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon
see the back of — To be rid of or finished with • • • Main Entry: ↑back see the back of To be rid of or finished with (someone or something unpleasant, difficult, etc) • • • Main Entry: ↑see * * * Brit., informal be rid of (an unwanted person or thing) … Useful english dictionary
see off — 1. To accompany (someone) at their departure 2. To reprimand (slang) 3. To get rid of (informal) • • • Main Entry: ↑see * * * see off [phrasal verb] see (someone) off … Useful english dictionary
See (Begriffsklärung) — See bezeichnet: See (m), ein Stillgewässer See (Ort), Gemeinde im Bezirk Landeck, Tirol Die See, ein Roman von John Banville die See Meer im allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch Nebenmeer, einen durch Inselketten o.ä. abgegrenzten Randbereich eines Meeres… … Deutsch Wikipedia