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1 past
past [pα:st]1. nouna. passé m• in the past, many of these babies would have died autrefois, beaucoup de ces bébés seraient morts• new vaccines could make these illnesses a thing of the past de nouveaux vaccins pourraient faire disparaître ces maladiesb. ( = tense) passé m2. adjectivea. passé3. prepositionb. ( = beyond in space) au delà de• I think we've gone past it ( = missed it) je pense que nous l'avons dépasséc. ( = in front of) devantd. ( = beyond limits of) I'm past caring j'ai cessé de m'en faire4. adverb━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ devant• to go or walk past passer5. compounds• to be a past master at doing sth avoir l'art de faire qch ► past participle noun participe m passé* * *Note: For a full set of translations for past used in clocktime consult the Usage Note[pɑːst], US [pæst] 1.1) gen passé m2) Linguistics (also past tense) passé m2.1) ( preceding) dernier/-ière2) ( former) [times, achievements, problems, experience] passé; [president, incumbent] ancien/-ienne; [government] précédentin times past — autrefois, jadis
3) ( finished)3.1) ( moving)to walk ou go past somebody/something — passer devant quelqu'un/quelque chose
2) ( in time)3) ( beyond in position) après4) ( beyond a certain level)the temperature soared past 40°C — la température est montée brutalement à plus de 40°C
5) ( beyond scope of)4.1) ( onwards)to go ou walk past — passer
2) ( ago)••to be past it — (colloq) avoir passé l'âge
to be past its best — [food] être un peu avancé; [wine] être un peu éventé
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2 form
form [fɔ:m]forme ⇒ 1 (a)-(d), 1 (f)-(m), 1 (r), 1 (s) silhouette ⇒ 1 (b) formulaire ⇒ 1 (e) classe ⇒ 1 (n) former ⇒ 2 (a), 2 (b), 2 (e), 2 (f) façonner ⇒ 2 (a) se former ⇒ 2 (c), 3 (a), 3 (b) créer ⇒ 2 (d) composer ⇒ 2 (e)1 noun∎ in the form of a heart en forme de cœur;∎ her plan began to take form son projet a commencé à prendre tournure ou forme(b) (body, figure) forme f, silhouette f;∎ a slender form appeared at the door une silhouette élancée apparut à la porte;∎ the human form la forme humaine(c) (aspect, mode) forme f;∎ it's written in the form of a letter c'est écrit sous forme de lettre;∎ the Devil appeared in the form of a goat le diable apparut sous la forme d'une chèvre;∎ the same product in a new form le même produit présenté différemment;∎ what form should my questions take? comment devrais-je formuler mes questions?;∎ the interview took the form of an informal chat l'entrevue prit la forme d'une discussion informelle;∎ her anxiety showed itself in the form of anger son inquiétude se manifesta par de la colère(d) (kind, type) forme f, sorte f;∎ one form of cancer une forme de cancer;∎ we studied three different forms of government nous avons examiné trois systèmes de gouvernement ou trois régimes différents;∎ all forms of sugar le sucre sous toutes ses formes;∎ she sent some flowers as a form of thanks elle a envoyé des fleurs en guise de remerciements∎ to fill in or out a form remplir un formulaire;∎ printed form imprimé m(f) (condition) forme f, condition f;∎ in good form en pleine forme, en excellente condition;∎ John was British on or American in good form at lunch John était en forme ou plein d'entrain pendant le déjeuner;∎ British on or American in their current form they're unlikely to win étant donné leur forme actuelle ils ont peu de chances de gagner;∎ to study (the) form (in horse racing) examiner le tableau des performances des chevaux∎ form and content la forme et le fond;∎ his writing lacks form ce qu'il écrit n'est pas clair;∎ her ideas lack form ses idées sont confuses(h) (standard practice) forme f, règle f;∎ to do sth as a matter of form faire qch pour la forme;∎ what's the usual form in these cases? que fait-on d'habitude ou quelle est la marche à suivre dans ces cas-là?;∎ Law in due form en bonne et due forme∎ it's bad form cela ne se fait pas;∎ it's good form c'est de bon ton, cela se fait;∎ it is bad form to ask a lady her age ce n'est pas poli de demander son âge à une dame∎ form of address formule f de politesse;∎ the correct form of address for a senator la manière correcte de s'adresser à un sénateur;∎ it's only a form of speech ce n'est qu'une façon de parler;∎ the form of the marriage service les rites mpl du mariage∎ the masculine form la forme du masculin, le masculin∎ she's in the first/sixth form ≃ elle est en sixième/première∎ has he got form? est-ce qu'il a un casier judiciaire?(a) (shape) former, construire; (character, mind) former, façonner; (sentence) construire; Metallurgy former, façonner;∎ he formed the model out of or from clay il a sculpté ou façonné le modèle dans l'argile;∎ form the dough into a ball pétrissez la pâte en forme de boule;∎ she has trouble forming certain words elle a du mal à prononcer certains mots;∎ it was certainly a character-forming experience c'est sans aucun doute une expérience qui forme ou façonne le caractère(b) (take the shape of) former, faire;∎ the coastline forms a series of curves la côte forme une série de courbes;∎ the children formed a circle les enfants formèrent un cercle;∎ form a line please faites la queue s'il vous plaît;∎ the applicants formed a queue les candidats firent la queue∎ he's wary of forming friendships il hésite à nouer des amitiés;∎ to form an impression avoir une impression(d) (organize → association, club) créer, fonder; (→ committee, government) former; Commerce (→ company) fonder, créer;∎ they formed themselves into a committee ils se constituèrent en comité(e) (constitute) composer, former;∎ to form the basis of sth constituer la base de ou servir de base à qch;∎ to form (a) part of sth faire partie de qch;∎ the countries forming the alliance les pays qui constituent l'alliance∎ how to form the past tense comment former le passé composé(a) (materialize) se former, prendre forme;∎ doubts began to form in his mind des doutes commencèrent à prendre forme dans son esprit, il commença à avoir des doutes(b) (take shape) se former;∎ form into a line! alignez-vous!;∎ we formed into groups nous nous sommes mis en groupes, nous avons formé des groupes►► Linguistics form class catégorie f grammaticale;Computing form document document m canevas;Computing form feed avancement m du papier;form letter lettre f circulaire;British School form teacher, form tutor ≃ professeur m principal;Linguistics form word mot-outil m, mot m faisant fonction de désinenceBritish se mettre en ligne, s'aligner -
3 tense
[tens] I noun(a form of a verb that shows the time of its action in relation to the time of speaking: a verb in the past/future/present tense.) tempsII 1. adjective1) (strained; nervous: The crowd was tense with excitement; a tense situation.) crispé, tendu2) (tight; tightly stretched.) tendu2. verb(to make or become tense: He tensed his muscles.) (se) tendre- tensely- tenseness - tension -
4 be
present tense am [ʌm], are [a:], is [ɪz]; past tense was [woz], were [w†:]; present participle 'being; past participle been [bi:n, (·meriцan) bɪn]; subjunctive were [w†:]; short forms I'm [aim] (I am), you're [ju†] (you are), he's [hi:z] (he is), she's [ʃi:z] (she is), it's [ɪ ] (it is), we're [wi†] (we are), they're [Ɵe†] (they are); negative short forms isn't (is not), aren't [a:nt] (are not), wasn't (was not), weren't [w†:nt] (were not)1) (used with a present participle to form the progressive or continuous tenses: I'm reading; I am being followed; What were you saying?.) être2) (used with a present participle to form a type of future tense: I'm going to London.)3) (used with a past participle to form the passive voice: He was shot.) être4) (used with an infinitive to express several ideas, eg necessity (When am I to leave?), purpose (The letter is to tell us he's coming), a possible future happening (If he were to lose, I'd win) etc.) devoir; aller5) (used in giving or asking for information about something or someone: I am Mr Smith; Is he alive?; She wants to be an actress; The money will be ours; They are being silly.) être•- being- the be-all and end-all -
5 build
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6 think
[Ɵiŋk] 1. past tense, past participle - thought; verb1) ((often with about) to have or form ideas in one's mind: Can babies think?; I was thinking about my mother.) penser (à)2) (to have or form opinions in one's mind; to believe: He thinks (that) the world is flat; What do you think of his poem?; What do you think about his suggestion?; He thought me very stupid.) penser (à, de)3) (to intend or plan (to do something), usually without making a final decision: I must think what to do; I was thinking of/about going to London next week.) penser/réfléchir (à)4) (to imagine or expect: I never thought to see you again; Little did he think that I would be there as well.) penser2. noun(the act of thinking: Go and have a think about it.) pensée, réflexion- thinker- - thought-out - think better of - think highly - well - badly of - think little of / not think much of - think of - think out - think over - think twice - think up - think the world of -
7 bound
I.bound1 [baʊnd]1. noun( = jump) bond m2. plural noun(gen pass) [+ country] borner[person] bondir• to bound in/away entrer/partir en bondissantII.bound2 [baʊnd]1. verbpast tense, past participle of bind2. adjectivea. attachéb. [book] relié• he's bound to say no ( = sure to) il dira sûrement non• you are not bound to do it ( = obliged) vous n'êtes pas obligé de le faire• where are you bound for? où allez-vous ?* * *[baʊnd] 1. 2.noun bond m3.in a bound, with one bound — d'un bond
bounds plural noun lit, fig limites fplto be out of bounds — [place] être interdit d'accès; Sport être hors du terrain
4.to be within/beyond the bounds of something — fig rester dans/dépasser les limites de quelque chose
1) ( certain)I am bound to say that... — je dois dire que...
3) [book] relié4) ( heading for)bound for — [person, bus, train] en route pour; [aeroplane] à destination de
5) ( connected)5.transitive verb ( border) borner6.bounded by — lit, fig borné par
intransitive verb bondir7.- bound combining form1) ( heading for)2) ( confined)fog-/strike-bound — immobilisé par le brouillard/la grève
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8 built
built [bɪlt]1. verbpast tense, past participle of build2. adjectivea. built of brick/stone (construit) en briques/pierresb. [person] heavily built solidement bâti3. compounds* * *[bɪlt] 1. 2.1) ( made)2) ( designed)3.to be built for — être conçu pour [efficiency, speed]
- built combining form -
9 made
made [meɪd]past tense, past participle of make* * *[meɪd] 1. 2. 3.- made combining form••he's got it made — (colloq) ( sure to succeed) sa réussite est assurée; ( has succeeded) il n'a plus à s'en faire
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10 knit
[nit]past tense, past participle - knitted; verb1) (to form (a garment) from yarn (of wool etc) by making and connecting loops, using knitting-needles: She is teaching children to knit and sew; She knitted him a sweater for Christmas.) tricoter2) ((of broken bones) to grow together: The bone in his arm took a long time to knit.) se souder•- knitter- knitting - knitting-needle - knit one's brows -
11 make
[meik] 1. past tense, past participle - made; verb1) (to create, form or produce: God made the Earth; She makes all her own clothes; He made it out of paper; to make a muddle/mess of the job; to make lunch/coffee; We made an arrangement/agreement/deal/bargain.) faire2) (to compel, force or cause (a person or thing to do something): They made her do it; He made me laugh.) faire3) (to cause to be: I made it clear; You've made me very unhappy.) rendre4) (to gain or earn: He makes $100 a week; to make a profit.) gagner, faire5) ((of numbers etc) to add up to; to amount to: 2 and 2 make(s) 4.) faire6) (to become, turn into, or be: He'll make an excellent teacher.) faire7) (to estimate as: I make the total 483.) estimer (à)8) (to appoint, or choose, as: He was made manager.) nommer9) (used with many nouns to give a similar meaning to that of the verb from which the noun is formed: He made several attempts (= attempted several times); They made a left turn (= turned left); He made (= offered) a suggestion/proposal; Have you any comments to make?) faire (...)2. noun(a (usually manufacturer's) brand: What make is your new car?) marque- maker- making - make-believe - make-over - makeshift - make-up - have the makings of - in the making - make a/one's bed - make believe - make do - make for - make it - make it up - make something of something - make of something - make something of - make of - make out - make over - make up - make up for - make up one's mind - make up to -
12 spell
I [spel] past tense, past participle - spelt; verb1) (to name or give in order the letters of (a word): I asked him to spell his name for me.) épeler2) ((of letters) to form (a word): C-a-t spells `cat'.) donner3) (to (be able to) spell words correctly: I can't spell!) savoir l'orthographe4) (to mean or amount to: This spells disaster.) signifier, mener à•- speller- spelling II [spel] noun1) (a set or words which, when spoken, is supposed to have magical power: The witch recited a spell and turned herself into a swan.) formule magique2) (a strong influence: He was completely under her spell.) charmeIII [spel] noun1) (a turn (at work): Shortly afterwards I did another spell at the machine.) tour (de travail)2) (a period of time during which something lasts: a spell of bad health.) période3) (a short time: We stayed in the country for a spell and then came home.) certain temps -
13 tip
I 1. [tip] noun(the small or thin end, point or top of something: the tips of my fingers.) bout, pointe2. verb(to put, or form, a tip on: The spear was tipped with an iron point.) garnir le bout de- tipped- tip-top - be on the tip of one's tongue II 1. [tip] past tense, past participle - tipped; verb1) (to (make something) slant: The boat tipped to one side.) (faire) pencher2) (to empty (something) from a container, or remove (something) from a surface, with this kind of motion: He tipped the water out of the bucket.) verser3) (to dump (rubbish): People have been tipping their rubbish in this field.) déverser2. noun(a place where rubbish is thrown: a refuse/rubbish tip.) dépotoir- tip overIII 1. [tip] noun(a gift of money given to a waiter etc, for personal service: I gave him a generous tip.) pourboire2. verb(to give such a gift to.) donner un pourboire àIV [tip] noun(a piece of useful information; a hint: He gave me some good tips on/about gardening.) conseil, tuyau- tip off -
14 could
[kud]negative short form - couldn't; verb1) (past tense of can: They asked if I could drive a car; I said I couldn't; She asked if she could go.)2) (used to express a possibility: I could go but I'm not going to; I could do it next week if you helped me.)• -
15 ring
I 1. [riŋ] noun1) (a small circle eg of gold or silver, sometimes having a jewel set in it, worn on the finger: a wedding ring; She wears a diamond ring.) anneau, bague2) (a circle of metal, wood etc for any of various purposes: a scarf-ring; a key-ring; The trap-door had a ring attached for lifting it.) anneau3) (anything which is like a circle in shape: The children formed a ring round their teacher; The hot teapot left a ring on the polished table.) cercle, rond4) (an enclosed space for boxing matches, circus performances etc: the circus-ring; The crowd cheered as the boxer entered the ring.) ring5) (a small group of people formed for business or criminal purposes: a drugs ring.) gang2. verb( verb)1) (to form a ring round.) entourer2) (to put, draw etc a ring round (something): He has ringed all your errors.) entourer3) (to put a ring on the leg of (a bird) as a means of identifying it.) baguer•- ringlet - ring finger - ringleader - ringmaster - run rings round II 1. [riŋ] past tense - rang; verb1) (to (cause to) sound: The doorbell rang; He rang the doorbell; The telephone rang.) sonner2) ((often with up) to telephone (someone): I'll ring you (up) tonight.) donner un coup de téléphone à3) ((often with for) to ring a bell (eg in a hotel) to tell someone to come, to bring something etc: She rang for the maid.) sonner4) ((of certain objects) to make a high sound like a bell: The glass rang as she hit it with a metal spoon.) tinter5) (to be filled with sound: The hall rang with the sound of laughter.) résonner, retentir6) ((often with out) to make a loud, clear sound: His voice rang through the house; A shot rang out.) retentir2. noun1) (the act or sound of ringing: the ring of a telephone.) sonnerie2) (a telephone call: I'll give you a ring.) coup de téléphone3) (a suggestion, impression or feeling: His story has a ring of truth about it.) air, accent•- ring back - ring off - ring true -
16 should
[ʃud]negative short form - shouldn't; verb1) (past tense of shall: I thought I should never see you again.) -rais, -rait, -rions,...2) (used to state that something ought to happen, be done etc: You should hold your knife in your right hand; You shouldn't have said that.) devoir3) (used to state that something is likely to happen etc: If you leave now, you should arrive there by six o'clock.) arriver probablement4) (used after certain expressions of sorrow, surprise etc: I'm surprised you should think that.) ne pas en revenir que...5) (used after if to state a condition: If anything should happen to me, I want you to remember everything I have told you today.) si...6) ((with I or we) used to state that a person wishes something was possible: I should love to go to France (if only I had enough money).) si seulement...7) (used to refer to an event etc which is rather surprising: I was just about to get on the bus when who should come along but John, the very person I was going to visit.) et voilà que... -
17 use
utilisation ⇒ 1 (a), 1 (b) emploi ⇒ 1 (a), 1 (c) consommation ⇒ 1 (a) usage ⇒ 1 (a)-(d), 1 (f), 1 (g) besoin ⇒ 1 (d) se servir de ⇒ 2 (a), 2 (b) utiliser ⇒ 2 (a), 2 (c) employer ⇒ 2 (a) prendre ⇒ 2 (a), 2 (e) profiter de ⇒ 2 (b) consommer ⇒ 2 (c) finir ⇒ 2 (c)(a) (utilization → of materials) utilisation f, emploi m; (consumption → of water, resources etc) consommation f; (being used, worn etc) usage m;∎ the use of brick in building l'emploi ou l'utilisation de la brique dans la construction;∎ to stretch (out) with use se détendre à l'usage;∎ to wear out with use s'user;∎ the dishes are for everyday use c'est la vaisselle de tous les jours;∎ ready for use prêt à l'emploi;∎ directions or instructions for use (on packaging) mode d'emploi;∎ for your personal use (on packaging) pour votre usage personnel;∎ for customer use only (sign) réservé à notre clientèle;∎ Medicine for external/internal use only (on packaging) à usage externe/interne;∎ for use in case of emergency (sign) à utiliser en cas d'urgence;∎ the film is for use in teaching le film est destiné à l'enseignement;∎ in general use d'emploi courant, d'utilisation courante;∎ not in use, out of use (machine, system) hors d'usage; (lift, cash point) hors service;∎ the phrase is no longer in use l'expression est inusitée ou ne s'utilise plus;∎ to come into use entrer en service;∎ to go out of use (machine) être mis au rebut;∎ steam engines went out of use in 1950 on a cessé d'utiliser ou d'employer les machines à vapeur en 1950;∎ to make use of sth se servir de ou utiliser qch;∎ schools are making increasing use of audio-visual aids les écoles se servent de plus en plus de supports audiovisuels;∎ to make good use of, to put to good use (machine, money) faire bon usage de; (opportunity, experience) tirer profit de(b) (ability or right to use) usage m, utilisation f;∎ we gave them the use of our car nous leur avons laissé l'usage de notre voiture;∎ he only has the use of one arm il n'a l'usage que d'un bras;∎ she lost the use of her legs elle a perdu l'usage de ses jambes;∎ the old man still has the full use of his faculties le vieil homme jouit encore de toutes ses facultés(c) (practical application) usage m, emploi m;∎ this tool has many uses cet outil a de nombreux usages ou emplois;∎ we found a use for the old fridge nous avons trouvé un emploi pour le vieux frigo;∎ humorous I have my uses il m'arrive de servir à quelque chose∎ do you have any use for this book? avez-vous besoin de ce livre?;∎ to have no use for sth ne pas avoir besoin de qch; figurative n'avoir que faire de qch;∎ I have no use for idle gossip je n'ai que faire des cancans;∎ this department has no use for slackers il n'y a pas de place pour les fainéants dans ce service∎ to be of use (to sb) être utile (à qn), servir (à qn);∎ this dictionary might be of use to you ce dictionnaire pourrait vous être utile ou vous servir;∎ were the instructions (of) any use? est-ce que le mode d'emploi a servi à quelque chose?;∎ I found his advice to be of little use, his advice was of little use to me je n'ai pas trouvé ses conseils très utiles;∎ the book would be of more use if it had illustrations le livre serait plus utile s'il contenait des illustrations;∎ it's not much use cela ne sert pas à grand-chose;∎ he's not much use as a secretary il n'est pas brillant comme secrétaire;∎ they were no use at all during the move ils n'ont rien fait pendant le déménagement;∎ you're no use! tu n'es bon à rien!;∎ it's or there's no use complaining inutile de ou ça ne sert à rien de se plaindre;∎ there's no use shouting ça ne sert à rien de crier, (c'est) inutile de crier;∎ it's no use, we might as well give up c'est inutile ou ça ne sert à rien, autant abandonner;∎ I tried to convince her but it was no use j'ai essayé de la convaincre mais il n'y avait rien à faire;∎ is it any use calling her? est-ce que ça servira à quelque chose de l'appeler?;∎ what's the use of waiting? à quoi bon attendre?, à quoi ça sert d'attendre?;∎ oh, what's the use? à quoi bon?;(f) Linguistics usage m;∎ that's an old-fashioned use c'est un usage vieilli(a) (put into action → service, tool, skills) se servir de, utiliser; (→ product, name) utiliser; (→ method, phrase, word) employer; (→ vehicle, form of transport) prendre;∎ these are the notebooks he used ce sont les cahiers dont il s'est servi ou qu'il a utilisés;∎ is anyone using this book? est-ce que quelqu'un se sert de ou a besoin de ce livre?;∎ it's very easy to use c'est très facile à utiliser;∎ am I using the term correctly? est-ce comme ça qu'on utilise le terme?;∎ I'd like to use my language skills more j'aimerais utiliser davantage mes connaissances en langues;∎ I always use public transport je prends toujours les transports en commun;∎ we use this room as an office nous nous servons de cette pièce comme bureau, cette pièce nous sert de bureau;∎ what is this used for or as? à quoi cela sert-il?;∎ it's used for identifying the blood type cela sert à identifier le groupe sanguin;∎ I use it for opening or to open letters je m'en sers ou je l'utilise pour ouvrir les lettres;∎ I used the money to rebuild my garage j'ai utilisé ou employé l'argent pour reconstruire mon garage;∎ what battery does this radio use? quelle pile faut-il pour cette radio?;∎ my car uses unleaded petrol ma voiture marche à l'essence sans plomb;∎ may I use the phone? puis-je téléphoner?;∎ to use force/violence avoir recours à la force/violence;∎ the police often use tear gas la police a souvent recours au gaz lacrymogène;∎ to use one's intelligence/intuition faire marcher son intelligence/intuition;∎ to use diplomacy user de diplomatie;∎ to use discretion agir avec discrétion;∎ to use one's influence user de son influence;∎ use your imagination! utilise ton imagination!;∎ use your initiative! fais preuve d'initiative!;∎ use your head or your brains! réfléchis un peu!;∎ use your eyes! ouvrez l'œil!;∎ familiar he could certainly use some help un peu d'aide ne lui ferait pas de mal;∎ familiar we could all use a holiday! nous aurions tous bien besoin de vacances!□∎ use it to your advantage! profitez-en!;∎ he's only using you to get ahead il ne fait que se servir de toi pour avancer;∎ I feel used j'ai l'impression qu'on s'est servi de moi∎ the car's using a lot of oil la voiture consomme beaucoup d'huile;∎ have you used all the shampoo? as-tu utilisé tout le shampooing?∎ they used the workers well ils ont bien traité les ouvriers, ils ont bien agi envers les ouvriers;∎ I consider I was ill used je considère qu'on ne m'a pas traité comme il faut;∎ how's the world been using you? comment ça va?[ju:z] (only in past tense) they used to live here (avant) ils habitaient ici;∎ he used to drink a lot il buvait beaucoup avant;∎ it used to be true c'était vrai autrefois;∎ it used to be a pleasant town to live in autrefois c'était une ville agréable;∎ things aren't what they used to be les choses ne sont plus ce qu'elles étaient;∎ she can't get about the way she used to elle ne peut plus se déplacer comme avant;∎ she never used to smoke elle ne fumait pas avant;∎ we used not or we didn't use to eat meat avant, nous ne mangions pas de viande;∎ did he use to visit her? venait-il la voir avant?;∎ do you travel much? - I used to vous voyagez beaucoup? - autrefois, oui(consume) consommer, prendre; (exhaust → paper, soap) finir; (→ patience, energy, supplies) épuiser;∎ she used up the leftovers to make the soup elle a utilisé les restes pour faire un potage;∎ did you use up all your money? as-tu dépensé tout ton argent?;∎ the paper was all used up il ne restait plus de papier -
18 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. -
19 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.). -
20 will
will [wɪl]1. modal verba. (future)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► In the following examples the main verb is future, the other is present: in French both verbs must be in the future tense.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• what will he do when he finds out? qu'est-ce qu'il fera lorsqu'il s'en apercevra ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• will he come too? -- yes he will est-ce qu'il viendra aussi ? -- oui• I'll go with you -- oh no you won't! je vais vous accompagner -- non, certainement pas !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When won't is used in question tags, eg won't it, won't you the translation is often n'est-ce pas.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• you will come to see us, won't you? vous viendrez nous voir, n'est-ce pas ?• that'll be okay, won't it? ça ira, n'est-ce pas ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When future meaning is made clear by words like tomorrow, or next week, the present tense can also be used in French.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• he'll be here tomorrow il arrive or il arrivera demain• I'll phone you tonight je t'appelle or je t'appellerai ce soir► will have + past participle━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When will indicates that something commonly happens, the present is used in French.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• the car will do 150km/h cette voiture fait du 150 km/h• thieves will often keep a stolen picture for years les voleurs gardent souvent un tableau volé pendant des annéesd. (requests, orders)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The present tense of vouloir is often used.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• will you be quiet! veux-tu (bien) te taire !• will you please sit down! voulez-vous vous asseoir, s'il vous plaît !• will you help me? -- yes I will tu veux m'aider ? -- oui, je veux bien• will you promise to be careful? tu me promets de faire attention ?► won't ( = refuse(s) to)• will you promise? -- no I won't tu me le promets ? -- none. (invitations, offers) will you have a cup of coffee? voulez-vous prendre un café ?• will you join us for a drink? voulez-vous prendre un verre avec nous ?• won't you come with us? vous ne voulez pas venir (avec nous) ?f. ( = must) that will be the taxi ça doit être le taxipreterite, past participlea. ( = urge by willpower) he was willing her to look at him il l'adjurait intérieurement de le regarderb. ( = bequeath) to will sth to sb léguer qch à qn3. nouna. ( = determination) volonté f• to do sth against sb's will faire qch contre la volonté de qn (PROV) where there's a will there's a way(PROV) vouloir c'est pouvoir► at willb. ( = document) testament m• the last will and testament of... les dernières volontés de...* * *I 1. [wɪl, əl]modal auxiliary1) ( to express the future)she'll help you — elle t'aidera; ( in the near future) elle va t'aider
2) (expressing consent, willingness)‘will you help me?’ - ‘yes, I will’ — ‘est-ce que tu m'aideras?’ - ‘oui, bien sûr’
‘have a chocolate’ - ‘thank you, I will’ — ‘prends un chocolat’ - ‘volontiers, merci’
do what ou as you will — fais ce que tu veux
will do! — (colloq) d'accord!
3) (in commands, requests)will you pass the salt, please? — est-ce que tu peux me passer le sel, s'il te plaît?
‘I can give the speech’ - ‘you will not!’ — ‘je peux faire le discours’ - ‘pas question!’
‘I'll do it’ - ‘no you won't’ — ‘je vais le faire’ - ‘il n'en est pas question’
4) (in offers, invitations)you'll have another cake, won't you? — vous prendrez bien un autre gâteau?
any teacher will tell you that... — n'importe quel professeur te dira que...
2.these things will happen — ce sont des choses qui arrivent; ( in exasperation)
transitive verb1) ( urge)2) (wish, desire) vouloir3) Law léguer3. II 1. [wɪl]to have a strong/weak will — avoir beaucoup/peu de volonté
2) Law testament m2.at will adverbial phrase [select, take] à volonté••where there's a will there's a way — Prov quand on veut on peut Prov
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