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1 Usage note : before
When before is used as a preposition in expressions of time or order of sequence or importance, it is translated by avant:before the meeting= avant la réunionshe left before me= elle est partie avant moiFor more examples and particular usages, see A1, 2, 3 in the entry before.When before is used as a preposition meaning in front of (when you are talking about physical space) or in the presence of, it is translated by devant:before our eyes= devant nos yeuxhe declared before his mother that …= il a déclaré devant sa mère que …When before is used as an adjective after a noun, it is translated by précédent/-e:the time before= la fois précédentethe one before is translated by le précédent or la précédente:no, I’m not talking about that meeting but the one before= non, je ne parle pas de cette réunion-là mais de la précédenteFor particular usages see B in the entry before.When before is used as an adverb meaning beforehand, it is translated by avant in statements about the present or future:I’ll try to talk to her before= j’essaierai de lui en parler avantyou could have told me before= tu aurais pu me le dire avantI had met her two or three times before= je l’avais rencontrée deux ou trois fois auparavantI’ve met her before= je l’ai déjà rencontréeyou’ve asked me that question before= tu m’as déjà posé cette questionIn negative sentences before is often used in English simply to reinforce the negative. In such cases it is not translated at all:I’d never eaten snails before= je n’avais jamais mangé d’escargotsyou’ve never told me that before= tu ne m’as jamais dit çaFor particular usages see C in the entry before.When before is used as a conjunction, it is translated by avant de + infinitive where the two verbs have the same subject:before he saw her he recognized her voice= il a reconnu sa voix avant de la voirbefore I cook dinner I’m going to phone my mother= avant de préparer le dîner je vais appeler ma mèreWhere the two verbs have different subjects, the translation is avant que + subjunctive:Tom wants to see her before she leaves= Tom veut la voir avant qu’elle parteSome speakers and writers add ne before the verb: Tom veut la voir avant qu’elle ne parte, but this is simply a slightly precious effect of style and is never obligatory. For particular usages see D in the entry before. -
2 Usage note : that
In French, determiners agree in gender and number with the noun they precede ; that is translated by ce + masculine singular noun ( ce monsieur), cet + masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ ( cet homme) and cette + feminine singular noun ( cette femme) ; those is translated by ces.Note, however, that the above translations are also used for the English this (plural these). So when it is necessary to insist on that as opposed to another or others of the same sort, the adverbial tag -là is added to the noun:I prefer THAT version= je préfère cette version-làFor particular usages, see the entry that.As a pronoun meaning that one, those onesIn French, pronouns reflect the gender and number of the noun they are referring to. So that is translated by celui-là for a masculine noun, celle-là for a feminine noun and those is translated by ceux-là for a masculine noun and celles-là for a feminine noun:I think I like that one (dress) best= je crois que je préfère celle-làFor other uses of that, those as pronouns (e.g. who’s that?) and for adverbial use (e.g. that much, that many) there is no straightforward translation, so see the entry that for examples of usage.When used as a relative pronoun, that is translated by qui when it is the subject of the verb and by que when it is the object:the man that stole the car= l’homme qui a volé la voiturethe film that I saw= le film que j’ai vuRemember that in the present perfect and past perfect tenses, the past participle will agreewith the noun to which que as object refers:the apples that I bought= les pommes que j’ai achetéesWhen that is used as a relative pronoun with a preposition, it is translated by lequel when standing for a masculine singular noun, by laquelle when standing for a feminine singular noun, by lesquels when standing for a masculine plural noun and by lesquelles when standing for a feminine plural noun:the chair that I was sitting on= la chaise sur laquelle j’étais assisethe children that I bought the books for= les enfants pour lesquels j’ai acheté les livresRemember that in cases where the English preposition used would normally be translated by à in French (e.g. to, at), the translation of the whole (prep + rel pron) will be auquel, à laquelle, auxquels, auxquelles:the girls that I was talking to= les filles auxquelles je parlaisSimilarly, where the English preposition used would normally be translated by de in French (e.g. of, from), the translation of the whole (prep + rel pron) will be dont in all cases:the Frenchman that I received a letter from= le Français dont j’ai reçu une lettreWhen used as a conjunction, that can almost always be translated by que (qu’ before a vowel or mute ‘h’):she said that she would do it= elle a dit qu’elle le ferait -
3 Usage note : as
When as is used as a preposition or a conjunction to mean like it is translatedby comme:dressed as a sailor= habillé comme un marinas usual= comme d’habitudeas often happens= comme c’est souvent le casas she was coming down the stairs= comme elle descendait l’escalierHowever, where a gradual process is involved, as is translated by au fur et à mesure que:as the day went on, he became more anxious= au fur et à mesure que la journée avançait il devenait plus inquietas he is ill, he can’t go out= comme il est malade or puisqu’il est malade, il ne peut pas sortirWhen used as an adverb in comparisons, as…as is translated by aussi…que:he is as intelligent as his brother= il est aussi intelligent que son frèreBut see category J in the entry as for as muchas and as many as.Note also the standard translation used for fixed similes:as strong as an ox= fort comme un bœufas rich as Croesus= riche comme CrésusSuch similes often have a cultural equivalent rather than a direct translation. To find translations for English similes, consult the entry for the second element.When as is used as a preposition to indicate a person’s profession or position, it is translated by comme:he works as an engineer= il travaille comme ingénieurNote that the article a/an is not translated.When as is used with a preposition to mean in my/his capacity as, it is translated by en tant que:as a teacher I believe that…= en tant qu’enseignant je crois que… -
4 Usage note : which
In questionsWhen which is used as a pronoun in questions it is translated by lequel, laquelle, lesquels or lesquelles according to the gender and number of the noun it is referring to:there are three peaches, which do you want?= il y a trois pêches, laquelle veux-tu?‘Lucy’s borrowed three of your books’ ‘which did she take?’= ‘Lucy t’a emprunté trois livres’ ‘lesquels a-t-elle pris?’The exception to this is when which is followed by a superlative adjective, when the translation is quel, quelle, quels or quelles:which is the biggest (apple)?= quelle est la plus grande?which are the least expensive (books)?= quels sont les moins chers?In relative clauses as subject or objectthe book which is on the table= le livre qui est sur la tablethe books which are on the table= les livres qui sont sur la tablethe book which Tina is reading= le livre que lit TinaNote the inversion of subject and verb ; this is the case where the subject is a noun but not where the subject is a pronoun:the book which I am reading= le livre que je lisIn compound tenses such as the present perfect and past perfect, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the noun que is referring to:the books which I gave you= les livres que je t’ai donnésthe dresses which she bought yesterday= les robes qu’elle a achetées hierIn relative clauses after a prepositionHere the translation is lequel, laquelle, lesquels or lesquelles according to the gender and number of the noun referred to:the road by which we came or the road which we came by= la route par laquelle nous sommes venusthe expressions for which we have translations= les expressions pour lesquelles nous avons une traductionRemember that if the preposition would normally be translated by à in French (to, at etc.), the preposition + which is translated by auquel, à laquelle, auxquels or auxquelles:the addresses to which we sent letters= les adresses auxquelles nous avons envoyé des lettresWith prepositions normally translated by de (of, from etc.) the translation of the preposition which becomes dont:a blue book, the title of which I’ve forgotten= un livre bleu dont j’ai oublié le titreHowever, if de is part of a prepositional group, as for example in the case of près de meaning near, the translation becomes duquel, de laquelle, desquels or desquelles:the village near which they live= le village près duquel ils habitentthe houses near which she was waiting= les maisons près desquelles elle attendaita hill at the top of which there is a house= une colline au sommet de laquelle il y a une maisonAs a determinerIn questionsWhen which is used as a determiner in questions it is translated by quel, quelle, quels or quelles according to the gender and number of the noun that follows:which car is yours?= quelle voiture est la vôtre?which books did he borrow?= quels livres a-t-il empruntés?Note that in the second example the object precedes the verb so that the past participle agrees in gender and number with the object. -
5 Usage note : have
When used as an auxiliary in present perfect, future perfect and past perfect tenses, have is normally translated by avoir:I have seen= j’ai vuI had seen= j’avais vuHowever, some verbs in French, especially verbs of movement and change of state (e.g. aller, venir, descendre, mourir), take être rather than avoir in these tenses:he has left= il est partiIn this case, remember the past participle agrees with the subject of the verb:she has gone= elle est alléeReflexive verbs (e.g. se lever, se coucher) always conjugate with être:she has fainted= elle s’est évanouieFor translations of time expressions using for or since (he has been in London for six months, he has been in London since June), see the entries for and since.For translations of time expressions using just (I have just finished my essay, he has just gone), see the entry just1.to have to meaning must is translated by either devoir or the impersonal construction il faut que + subjunctive:I have to leave now= il faut que je parte maintenant or je dois partir maintenantIn negative sentences, not to have to is generally translated by ne pas être obligé de e.g.you don’t have to go= tu n’es pas obligé d’y allerFor examples and particular usages see the entry have.When have is used as a straightforward transitive verb meaning possess, have (or have got) can generally be translated by avoir, e.g.I have (got) a car= j’ai une voitureshe has a good memory= elle a une bonne mémoirethey have (got) problems= ils ont des problèmesFor examples and particular usages see entry ; see also got.have is also used with certain noun objects where the whole expression is equivalent to a verb:to have dinner = to dineto have a try = to tryto have a walk = to walkIn such cases the phrase is very often translated by the equivalent verb in French (dîner, essayer, se promener). For translations consult the appropriate noun entry (dinner, try, walk).had is used in English at the beginning of a clause to replace an expression with if. Such expressions are generally translated by si + past perfect tense, e.g.had I taken the train, this would never have happened= si j’avais pris le train, ce ne serait jamais arrivéhad there been a fire, we would all have been killed= s’il y avait eu un incendie, nous serions tous mortsFor examples of the above and all other uses of have see the entry. -
6 Usage note : it
When it is used as a subject pronoun to refer to a specific object (or animal) il or elle is used in French according to the gender of the object referred to:‘where is the book/chair?’ ‘it’s in the kitchen’= ‘où est le livre/la chaise?’ ‘il/elle est dans la cuisine’‘do you like my skirt?’ ‘it’s lovely’= ‘est-ce que tu aimes ma jupe?’ ‘elle est très jolie’However, if the object referred to is named in the same sentence, it is translated by ce (c’ before a vowel):it’s a good film= c’est un bon filmWhen it is used as an object pronoun it is translated by le or la (l’ before a vowel) according to the gender of the object referred to:it’s my book/my chair and I want it= c’est mon livre/ma chaise et je le/la veuxNote that the object pronoun normally comes before the verb in French and that in compound tenses like the perfect and the past perfect, the past participle agrees with it:I liked his shirt - did you notice it?= j’ai aimé sa chemise - est-ce que tu l’as remarquée? or l’as-tu remarquée?In imperatives only, the pronoun comes after the verb:it’s my book - give it to me= c’est mon livre - donne-le-moi (note the hyphens)When it is used vaguely or impersonally followed by an adjective the translation is ce (c’ before a vowel):it’s difficult= c’est difficileit’s sad= c’est tristeBut when it is used impersonally followed by an adjective + verb the translation is il:it’s difficult to understand how…= il est difficile de comprendre comment …If in doubt consult the entry for the adjective in question.For translations for impersonal verb uses (it’s raining, it’s snowing) consult the entry for the verb in question.it is used in expressions of days of the week (it’s Friday) and clock time (it’s 5 o’clock). This dictionary contains usage notes on these and many other topics. For other impersonal and idiomatic uses see the entry it.When it is used after a preposition in English the two words (prep + it) are often translated by one word in French. If the preposition would normally be translated by de in French (e.g. of, about, from etc.) the prep + it = en:I’ve heard about it= j’en ai entendu parlerIf the preposition would normally be translated by à in French (e.g. to, in, at etc.) the prep + it = y:they went to it= ils y sont allésFor translations of it following prepositions not normally translated by de or à (e.g. above, under, over etc.) consult the entry for the preposition. -
7 Usage note : the
In French, determiners agree in gender and number with the noun they precede ; the is translated by le + masculine singular noun ( le chien), by la + feminine singular noun ( la chaise), by l’ + masculine or feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ (l’auteur, l’homme, l’absence, l’histoire) and by les + plural noun (les hommes, les femmes).When the is used after a preposition in English, the two words (prep + the) are often translated by one word in French. If the preposition would normally be translated by de in French (of, about, from etc.) the prep + the is translated by du + masculine noun ( du chien), by de la + feminine noun ( de la femme), by de l’ + singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h ’ (de l’auteur, de l’histoire) and by des + plural noun (des hommes, des femmes). If the preposition would usually be translated by à (at, to etc.) the prep + the is translated according to the number and gender of the noun, by au ( au chien), à la ( à la femme), à l’ (à l’enfant), aux (aux hommes, aux femmes).Other than this, there are few problems in translating the into French.The following cases are, however, worth remembering as not following exactly the pattern of the English:the good, the poor etc.= les bons, les pauvres etc.Charles the First, Elizabeth the Second etc.= Charles Premier, Elizabeth Deux etc.she’s THE violinist of the century= c’est LA violoniste du siècle or c’est la plus grande violoniste du sièclethe Tudors, the Batemans etc.= les Tudor, les Bateman etc.For expressions such as the more, the better, see the entry the.This dictionary contains usage notes on such topics as weight measurement, days of the week, rivers, illnesses, aches and pains, the human body, and musical instruments, many of which use the. -
8 could
could [kʊd]a. (past)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When could refers to ability in the past, it is translated by the perfect of pouvoir, or by the imperfect if the time is continuous.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I couldn't phone because I had no change je n'ai pas pu téléphoner parce que je n'avais pas de monnaie━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When used with a verb of perception, could is not usually translated.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► could have is usually translated by the conditional of avoir + pu.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━b. (present)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When could refers to the present, the present tense is generally used in French.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When could indicates future possibility, it is translated by the conditional.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• you could at least apologize! tu pourrais au moins t'excuser !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• could you pass me the salt, please? pourriez-vous me passer le sel, s'il vous plaît ?• could I have a word with you? est-ce que je pourrais vous parler un instant (s'il vous plaît) ?* * *[kʊd]can I -
9 should
should [∫ʊd]a. ( = ought to)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• shouldn't you go and see her? est-ce que vous ne devriez pas aller la voir ?what should I do? qu'est-ce que je dois faire ?• should I go too? -- yes you should est-ce que je dois y aller aussi ? -- oui tu devraisb. (past time)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• he thought I should tell her, so I'm going to il pensait que je devais lui dire, alors je vais le faire━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When should have implies that something did not happen, it is translated by the conditional of avoir + dû.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When should have means that something probably has happened, it is translated by the present tense of devoir.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• he should have finished by now ( = probably has) il doit avoir terminé à l'heure qu'il est ; ( = but he hasn't) il aurait dû terminer à l'heure qu'il estc. ( = would)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When should has conditional meaning, it is translated by the conditional of the French verb.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I should go if he invited me s'il m'invitait, j'irais• we should have come if we had known si nous avions su, nous serions venus• will you come? -- I should like to est-ce que vous viendrez ? -- j'aimerais bien• why should he suspect me? pourquoi me soupçonnerait-il ?• how should I know? comment voulez-vous que je le sache ?• he's coming to apologize -- I should think so too! il vient présenter ses excuses -- j'espère bien !• and who should come in but Paul! et devinez qui est entré ? Paul bien sûr !* * *[ʃʊd, ʃəd]1) ( ought to)as it should be — ( in order) en ordre
...which is only as it should be —...ce qui est parfaitement normal
2) ( in conditional sentences)had he asked me, I should have accepted — s'il me l'avait demandé, j'aurais accepté
I don't think it will happen, but if it should... — je ne pense pas que cela arrive, mais si toutefois cela arrivait...
if you should change your mind,... — si vous changez d'avis,...
3) ( expressing purpose)4) ( in polite formulas)5) (expressing opinion, surprise)‘how long?’ - ‘an hour, I should think’ — ‘combien de temps?’ - ‘une heure, je suppose’
I should think she must be about 40 — à mon avis, elle doit avoir 40 ans environ
and then what should happen, but it began to rain! — et devine quoi - il s'est mis à pleuvoir!
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10 until
until [ənˈtɪl]1. preposition• until such time as... (in future) jusqu'à ce que... + subj en attendant que... + subj ; (in past) avant que... + subj• I had heard nothing of it until five minutes ago j'en ai entendu parler pour la première fois il y a cinq minutes2. conjunction* * *Note: When used as a preposition in positive sentences until is translated by jusqu'à: they're staying until Monday = ils restent jusqu'à lundiRemember that jusqu'à + le becomes jusqu'au and jusqu'à + les becomes jusqu'aux: until the right moment = jusqu'au bon moment; until the exams = jusqu'aux examensIn negative sentences not until is translated by ne...pas avant: I can't see you until Friday = je ne peux pas vous voir avant vendrediWhen used as a conjunction in positive sentences until is translated by jusqu'à ce que + subjunctive: we'll stay here until Maya comes back = nous resterons ici jusqu'à ce que Maya revienneIn negative sentences where the two verbs have different subjects not until is translated by ne...pas avant que + subjunctive: we won't leave until Maya comes back = nous ne partirons pas avant que Maya revienneIn negative sentences where the two verbs have the same subject not until is translated by ne...pas avant de + infinitive: we won't leave until we've seen Claire = nous ne partirons pas avant d'avoir vu Claire[ən'tɪl] 1.1) (also till) ( up to a specific time) jusqu'à; ( after negative verb) avantuntil then — jusqu'à ce moment-là, jusque-là
(up) until 1901 — jusqu'en or jusqu'à 1901
until such time as you find work — jusqu'à ce que tu trouves (subj) du travail, en attendant que tu trouves (subj) du travail
it wasn't until the 50's that... — ce n'est qu'à partir des années cinquante que...
2) ( as far as) jusqu'à2.conjunction (also till) jusqu'à ce que (+ subj); ( in negative constructions) avant que (+ subj), avant de (+ infinitive)things won't improve until we have democracy — la situation ne s'améliorera pas tant que nous ne serons pas en démocratie
stir mixture until (it is) smooth — Culinary mélangez bien jusqu'à obtenir une pâte lisse
until you are dead — Law jusqu'à ce que mort s'ensuive
she waited until she was alone/they were alone — elle a attendu d'être seule/qu'ils soient seuls
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11 until
❢ When used as a preposition in positive sentences until is translated by jusqu'à: they're staying until Monday = ils restent jusqu'à lundi. Remember that jusqu'à + le becomes jusqu'au and jusqu'à + les becomes jusqu'aux: until the right moment = jusqu'au bon moment ; until the exams = jusqu'aux examens. In negative sentences not until is translated by ne…pas avant: I can't see you until Friday = je ne peux pas vous voir avant vendredi. When used as a conjunction in positive sentences until is translated by jusqu'à ce que + subjunctive: we'll stay here until Maya comes back = nous resterons ici jusqu'à ce que Maya revienne. In negative sentences where the two verbs have different subjects not until is translated by ne…pas avant que + subjunctive: we won't leave until Maya comes back = nous ne partirons pas avant que Maya revienne. In negative sentences where the two verbs have the same subject not until is translated by pas avant de + infinitive: we won't leave until we've seen Claire = nous ne partirons pas avant d'avoir vu Claire. For more examples and particular usages see the entry until.A prep1 ( also till) ( up to a specific time) jusqu'à ; ( after negative verb) avant ; until Tuesday jusqu'à mardi ; until the sixties jusqu'aux années soixante ; until very recently il n'y a encore pas si longtemps ; until a year ago jusqu'à il y a un an ; until now jusqu'à présent ; until then jusqu'à ce moment-là, jusque-là ; (up) until 1901 jusqu'en or jusqu'à 1901 ; valid (up) until April 1993 valable jusqu' en avril 1993 ; you have until the end of the month vous avez jusqu'à la fin du mois (to do pour faire) ; until the day he died jusqu'à sa mort ; until well after midnight bien au-delà de minuit ; to wait until after Easter attendre après Pâques ; from Monday until Saturday du lundi au samedi ; put it off until tomorrow remets-le à demain ; until such time as you find work jusqu'à ce que tu trouves ( subj) du travail, en attendant que tu trouves ( subj) du travail ; it won't be ready until next week ça ne sera pas prêt avant la semaine prochaine ; I won't know until Tuesday je n'aurai pas la réponse avant mardi ; they didn't ring until the following day ils n'ont pas appelé avant le lendemain ; it wasn't until the 50's that… ce n'est qu'à partir des années cinquante que… ; nothing changed until after the war ce n'est qu'après la guerre que les choses ont commencé à changer ;2 ( as far as) jusqu'à ; stay on the bus until Egham ne descends pas du bus avant Egham.B conj ( also till) ( with past and present tenses) jusqu'à ce que (+ subj) ; ( in negative constructions) avant que (+ subj), avant de (+ infinitive) ; we'll stay until a solution is reached nous resterons jusqu'à ce que nous trouvions une solution ; and so it continued until they left et cela a continué jusqu'à ce qu'ils partent or jusqu'à leur départ ; let's watch TV until they arrive regardons la télévision en attendant qu'ils arrivent ( subj) ; things won't improve until we have democracy la situation ne s'améliorera pas tant que nous ne serons pas en démocratie ; stir mixture until (it is) smooth Culin mélangez bien jusqu'à obtenir une pâte lisse ; until you are dead Jur jusqu'à ce que mort s'ensuive ; wait until I get back attends que je rentre ( subj) ; I'll wait until I get back j'attendrai d'être rentré (before doing pour faire) ; wait until I tell you! attends! il faut que je te raconte! ; she waited until she was alone/they were alone elle a attendu d'être seule/qu'ils soient seuls ; don't look until I tell you to ne regarde pas avant que je te le dise ; you can't leave until you've completed the course tu ne peux pas partir avant d'avoir fini le stage ; don't ring me until you know for sure ne m'appelle pas avant d'être sûr ; we can't decide until we know the details nous ne pouvons pas prendre de décision tant que nous n'avons pas de précisions ; not until then did she realize that ce n'est qu'à ce moment-là qu'elle s'est rendu compte que ; ⇒ death. -
12 Usage note : her
When used as a direct object pronoun, her is translated by la (l’ before a vowel). Note that the object pronoun normally comes before the verb in French and that, in compound tenses like perfect and past perfect, the past participle agrees with the pronoun:I know her= je la connaisI’ve already seen her= je l’ai déjà vueIn imperatives, the direct object pronoun is translated by la and comes after the verb:catch her!= attrape-la!(note the hyphen)I’ve given her the book= je lui ai donné le livreI’ve given it to her= je le lui ai donnéIn imperatives, the indirect object pronoun is translated by lui and comes after the verb:phone her= téléphone-luigive them to her= donne-les-lui(note the hyphens)he did it for her= il l’a fait pour elleit’s her= c’est elleWhen translating her as a determiner ( her house etc.) remember that in French possessive adjectives, like most other adjectives, agree in gender and number with the noun they qualify ; her is translated by son + masculine singular noun ( son chien), sa + feminine singular noun ( sa maison) BUT son + feminine noun beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ ( son assiette), and ses + plural noun ( ses enfants).For her used with parts of the body ⇒ The human body. -
13 Usage note : lot
When a lot is used as a pronoun (they buy a lot, he spends a lot), it is translated by beaucoup: ils achètent beaucoup, il dépense beaucoup. For particular usages, see A1 in the entry lot1.When a lot is used to mean much in negative expressions (they didn’t have a lot) it is translated by pas grand-chose: ils n’avaient pas grand-chose. For particular usages, see A1 in the entry lot1.When the lot is used as a pronoun ( they took the lot), it is usually translated by tout: ils ont tout pris. For particular usages, see A2 in the entry lot1.When a lot of is used as a quantifier ( a lot of money) it is translated by beaucoup de. For particular usages, see B1 in the entry lot1. -
14 Usage note : what
In questionsAfter que the verb and subject are inverted and a hyphen is placed between them:what is he doing?= que fait-il? or qu’est-ce qu’il fait?When used in questions as a subject pronoun, what is translated by qu’est-ce qui:what happened?= qu’est-ce qui s’est passé?Used with a prepositionAfter a preposition the translation is quoi.Unlike in English, the preposition must always be placed immediately before quoi:with what did she cut it? or what did she cut it with?= avec quoi l’a-t-elle coupé?To introduce a clauseWhen used to introduce a clause as the object of the verb, what is translated by ce que (ce qu’ before a vowel):I don’t know what he wants= je ne sais pas ce qu’il veuttell me what happened= raconte-moi ce qui s’est passéFor particular usages see A in the entry what.As a determinerwhat used as a determiner is translated by quel, quelle, quels or quelles according to the gender and number of the noun that follows:what train did you catch?= quel train as-tu pris?what books do you like?= quels livres aimes-tu?what colours do you like?= quelles couleurs aimes-tu?For particular usages see B in the entry what. -
15 any
any [ˈenɪ]1. adjectivea.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The construction not... any is generally translated in French by pas... de.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━b. (in questions and "if" clauses) have you got any butter? avez-vous du beurre ?• did they find any survivors? ont-ils trouvé des survivants ?• are there any others? y en a-t-il d'autres ?• is there any risk? y a-t-il un risque ?c. ( = no matter which) n'importe quel ; ( = each and every) tout• you can come at any hour of the day or night vous pouvez venir à toute heure du jour ou de la nuit2. pronouna. (with negative) she has two brothers but I haven't got any elle a deux frères mais moi je n'en ai pas• a lot of people booked but hardly any came beaucoup de gens avaient réservé, mais presque personne n'est venub. (in questions and "if" clauses) have you got any? en avez-vous ?• few, if any, will come il viendra peu de gens, si tant est qu'il en viennec. ( = no matter which one) any of those books will do n'importe lequel de ces livres fera l'affaire3. adverba. ► any + comparative• are you feeling any better? vous sentez-vous un peu mieux ?• if it had been any colder we'd have frozen to death si la température avait encore baissé, nous serions morts de froid• do you want any more soup? voulez-vous encore de la soupe ?• I couldn't do that any more than I could fly je ne serais pas plus capable de faire cela que de volerb. ► not any + comparative* * *Note: When any is used as a determiner in negative sentences it is not usually translated in French: we don't have any money = nous n'avons pas d'argentWhen any is used as a determiner in questions it is translated by du, de l', de la or des according to the gender and number of the noun that follows: is there any soap? = y a-t-il du savon?; is there any flour? = y a-t-il de la farine?; are there any questions? = est-ce qu'il y a des questions?When any is used as a pronoun in negative sentences and in questions it is translated by en: we don't have any = nous n'en avons pas; have you got any? = est-ce que vous en avez?For adverbial uses such as any more, any longer, any better etc see III below['enɪ] 1.1) (with negative, implied negative)2) (in questions, conditional sentences)3) ( no matter which) n'importe quel/quelle, toutany complaints should be addressed to Mr Cook — pour toute réclamation adressez-vous à M. Cook
I do not wish to restrict your freedom in any way — je n'ai pas l'intention d'entraver votre liberté de quelque façon que ce soit
2.if you should want to discuss this at any time — si à un moment ou à un autre vous souhaitez discuter de cela
1) (with negative, implied negative)she doesn't like any of them — ( people) elle n'aime aucun d'entre eux/elles; ( things) elle n'en aime aucun/-e
2) (in questions, conditional sentences)I'd like some tea, if you have any — je voudrais du thé, si vous en avez
have any of you got a car? — est-ce que l'un/-e d'entre vous a une voiture?
3) ( no matter which) n'importe lequel/laquelle‘which colour would you like?’ - ‘any’ — ‘quelle couleur veux-tu?’ - ‘n'importe laquelle’
3.any of them could do it — n'importe qui d'entre eux/elles pourrait le faire
1) ( with comparatives)he doesn't live here any more ou longer — il n'habite plus ici
2) (colloq) ( at all) du tout -
16 him
him [hɪm]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► le precedes the verb, except in positive commands.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• look at him! regardez-le !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Some French verbs take an indirect object. This means they are either followed by à + noun, or require an indirect pronoun.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► lui precedes the verb, except in positive commands.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• what are you going to say to him? qu'est-ce que tu vas lui dire ?c. (emphatic) luid. ► preposition + him lui* * *[hɪm]Note: When used as a direct object pronoun, him is translated by le (l' before a vowel). Note that the object pronoun normally comes before the verb in French: I know him = je le connais; I've already seen him = je l'ai déjà vuIn imperatives, the direct object pronoun is translated by le and comes after the verb: catch him! = attrape-le! (note the hyphen)When used as an indirect object pronoun, him is translated by lui: I've given him the book = je lui ai donné le livre; I've given it to him = je le lui ai donnéIn imperatives, the indirect object pronoun is translated by lui and comes after the verb: phone him! = téléphone-lui!; give it to him = donne-le-lui (note the hyphens)After prepositions and after the verb to be the translation is lui: she did it for him = elle l'a fait pour lui; it's him = c'est lui1) ( direct object) le, l'2) (indirect object, after prep) lui -
17 need
need [ni:d]1. nounbesoin m► in need• no need to rush! il n'y a pas le feu ! (inf)• no need to worry! inutile de s'inquiéter !a. ( = require) [person, thing] avoir besoin de• have you got all you need? vous avez tout ce qu'il vous faut ?• a much needed holiday des vacances dont on a (or dont j'ai etc) grand besoinb. ( = demand) demander3. modal verba. (indicating obligation) need he go? est-il obligé d'y aller ?• need we go into all this now? faut-il discuter de tout cela maintenant ?• I need hardly say that... inutile de dire que...• need I say more? ai-je besoin d'en dire plus ?b. (indicating logical necessity) need that be true? est-ce nécessairement vrai ?• it need not follow that... il ne s'ensuit pas nécessairement que...4. compounds* * *Note: When need is used as a verb meaning to require or to want it is generally translated by avoir besoin de in French: I need help = j'ai besoin d'aideWhen need is used as a verb to mean must or have to it can generally be translated by devoir + infinitive or by il faut que + subjunctive: I need to leave = je dois partir, il faut que je parteWhen need is used as a modal auxiliary in the negative to say that there is no obligation it is generally translated by ne pas être obligé de + infinitive: you needn't finish it today = tu n'es pas obligé de le finir aujourd'huiWhen needn't is used as a modal auxiliary to say that something is not worthwhile or necessary it is generally translated by ce n'est pas la peine de + infinitive or ce n'est pas la peine que + subjunctive: I needn't have hurried = ce n'était pas la peine de me dépêcher or ce n'était pas la peine que je me dépêcheFor examples of the above and further uses of need, see the entry below[niːd] 1.modal auxiliary1) (must, have to)‘I waited’ - ‘you needn't have’ — ‘j'ai attendu’ - ‘ce n'était pas la peine’
need he reply? — est-ce qu'il faut qu'il réponde?, est-ce qu'il doit répondre?
I hardly need say that... — inutile de dire que...
did you need to be so unpleasant to him? — est-ce que tu avais besoin d'être si désagréable avec lui?
‘previous applicants need not apply’ — ‘les candidats ayant déjà répondu à l'annonce sont priés de ne pas se représenter’
2) ( be logically inevitable)2.transitive verb1) ( require)my shoes need to be polished —
I gave it a much-needed clean — je l'ai nettoyé, il en avait grand besoin
you don't need me to tell you that... — vous n'êtes pas sans savoir que...
2) ( have to)3.there's no need, I've done it — inutile, c'est fait
2) (want, requirement) besoin m ( for de)energy needs — besoins mpl en énergie
3) (adversity, distress)4) ( poverty) besoin m -
18 one
one [wʌn]1. adjective• one hot summer afternoon she... par un chaud après-midi d'été, elle...► one... the other• one girl was French, the other was Swiss une des filles était française, l'autre était suisse• the sea is on one side, the mountains on the other d'un côté, il y a la mer, de l'autre les montagnes► one thing ( = something that)one thing I'd like to know is where he got the money ce que j'aimerais savoir, c'est d'où lui vient l'argent• if there's one thing I can't stand it's... s'il y a une chose que je ne supporte pas, c'est...► one person ( = somebody that)one person I hate is Roy s'il y a quelqu'un que je déteste, c'est Royb. ( = a single) un seul• the one man/woman who could do it le seul/la seule qui puisse le faire• the one and only Charlie Chaplin! le seul, l'unique Charlot !c. ( = same) même2. noun• one, two, three un, deux, trois• I for one don't believe it pour ma part, je ne le crois pas━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• any one of them n'importe lequel (or laquelle)3. pronoun━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• would you like one? en voulez-vous un(e) ?► adjective + one━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► one is not translated.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• that's a difficult one! ( = question) ça c'est difficile !━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► The article and adjective in French are masculine or feminine, depending on the noun referred to.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• I'd like a big one ( = glass) j'en voudrais un grand• I'd like the big one ( = slice) je voudrais la grosse► the one + clause, phrase• the one who or that... celui qui (or celle qui)...• the one on the floor celui (or celle) qui est par terre• is this the one you wanted? c'est bien celui-ci (or celle-ci) que vous vouliez ?► one another l'un (e) l'autre4. compounds• his company is a one-man band (inf) il fait marcher l'affaire tout seul ► one-man show noun [of performer] spectacle m solo, one-man show m• it's a one-off (object) il n'y en a qu'un comme ça ; (event) ça ne va pas se reproduire ► one-on-one, one-one (US) adjective= one-to-one(US) = one-off► one-to-one, one-on-one, one-one (US) adjective [conversation] en tête-à-tête ; [training, counselling] individuel• to have a one-track mind n'avoir qu'une idée en tête ► one-upmanship (inf) noun art m de faire mieux que les autres• it's a one-way ticket to disaster (inf) c'est la catastrophe assurée ► one-woman adjective [business] individuel* * *Note: When one is used as a personal pronoun it is translated by on when it is the subject of the verb: one never knows = on ne sait jamais. When one is the object of the verb or comes after a preposition it is usually translated by vous: it can make one ill = cela peut vous rendre maladeFor more examples and all other uses, see the entry below[wʌn] 1.1) ( single) un/une2) (unique, sole) seulshe's one fine artist — US c'est une très grande artiste
3) ( same) même4) ( for emphasis)2.1) ( indefinite) un/une m/fcan you lend me one? — tu peux m'en prêter un/une?
every one of them — tous/toutes sans exception (+ v pl)
2) ( impersonal) ( as subject) on; ( as object) vousone would like to think that... — on aimerait penser que...
you're a one! — (colloq) toi alors!
I for one think that... — pour ma part je crois que...
4) ( demonstrative)the grey one — le gris/la grise
this one — celui-ci/celle-ci
which one? — lequel/laquelle?
that's the one — c'est celui-là/celle-là
5) ( in knitting)knit one, purl one — une maille à l'endroit, une maille à l'envers
6) ( in currency)one-fifty — ( in sterling) une livre cinquante; ( in dollars) un dollar cinquante
7) (colloq) ( drink)he's had one too many — il a bu un coup (colloq) de trop
8) (colloq) ( joke)have you heard the one about...? — est-ce que tu connais l'histoire de...?
9) (colloq) ( blow)to land ou sock somebody one — en coller une à quelqu'un (colloq)
10) (colloq) (question, problem)3.1) ( number) un m; ( referring to feminine) une fto throw a one — ( on dice) faire un un
2) ( person)4.her loved ones — ceux qui lui sont/étaient chers
as one adverbial phrase [rise] comme un seul homme; [shout, reply] tous ensemble5.one by one adverbial phrase [pick up, wash] un par un/une par une••to be one up on somebody — (colloq) avoir un avantage sur quelqu'un
to have a thousand ou million and one things to do — avoir un tas de choses à faire
-
19 him
❢ When used as a direct object pronoun, him is translated by le (l' before a vowel). Note that the object pronoun normally comes before the verb in French: I know him = je le connais ; I've already seen him = je l'ai déjà vu.In imperatives, the direct object pronoun is translated by le and comes after the verb: catch him! = attrape-le (note the hyphen). When used as an indirect object pronoun, him is translated by lui: I've given him the book = je lui ai donné le livre ; I've given it to him = je le lui ai donné. In imperatives, the indirect object pronoun is translated by lui and comes after the verb: phone him! = téléphone-lui ; give it to him = donne-le-lui (note the hyphens). After prepositions and after the verb to be the translation is lui: she did it for him = elle l'a fait pour lui ; it's him = c'est lui. pron2 (indirect obj, after prep) lui. -
20 need
❢ When need is used as a verb meaning to require or to want it is generally translated by avoir besoin de in French: I need help = j'ai besoin d'aide. When need is used as a verb to mean must or have to it can generally be translated by devoir + infinitive or by il faut que + subjunctive: I need to leave = je dois partir, il faut que je parte. When need is used as a modal auxiliary in the negative to say that there is no obligation it is generally translated by ne pas être obligé de + infinitive: you needn't finish it today = tu n'es pas obligé de le finir aujourd'hui. When needn't is used as a modal auxiliary to say that something is not worthwhile or necessary it is generally translated by ce n'est pas la peine de + infinitive or ce n'est pas la peine que + subjunctive: I needn't have hurried = ce n'était pas la peine de me dépêcher or ce n'était pas la peine que je me dépêche. For examples of the above and further uses of need, see the entry below.1 (must, have to) he didn't need to ask permission il n'était pas obligé de demander la permission ; you needn't wait tu n'es pas obligé d'attendre ; ‘I waited’-‘you needn't have’ ‘j'ai attendu’-‘ce n'était pas la peine’ ; I needn't have worn a jacket ce n'était pas la peine que je mette une veste ; you needn't shout! ce n'est pas la peine de crier! ; need he reply? est-ce qu'il faut qu'il réponde?, est-ce qu'il doit répondre? ; need we discuss it now? est-ce qu'il faut vraiment en parler maintenant? ; why do you always need to complain? pourquoi faut-il toujours que tu te plaignes? ; need I say more? tu vois ce que je veux dire? ; I hardly need say that… inutile de dire que… ; I need hardly remind you that inutile de vous rappeler que ; did you need to be so unpleasant to him? est-ce que tu avais besoin d'être si désagréable avec lui? ; ‘previous applicants need not apply’ ‘les candidats ayant déjà répondu à l'annonce sont priés de ne pas se représenter’ ;2 ( be logically inevitable) need that be true? est-ce que c'est forcément vrai? ; it needn't be the case ce n'est pas forcément le cas ; it needn't follow that il ne s'ensuit pas forcément que ; it needn't cost a fortune ça ne coûte pas forcément très cher ; microwaved food needn't be bland les aliments cuits au micro-onde ne sont pas forcément insipides ; they needn't have died leur mort aurait pu être évitée.B vtr1 ( require) to need sth avoir besoin de qch ; to need to do avoir besoin de faire ; my shoes need to be polished, my shoes need polishing mes chaussures ont besoin d'être cirées ; the proofs need careful checking les épreuves ont besoin d'être vérifiées soigneusement ; I need you to hold the ladder j'ai besoin de toi pour tenir l'échelle ; more money/more time is needed nous avons besoin de plus d'argent/de plus de temps ; everything you need tout ce qu'il vous faut, tout ce dont vous avez besoin ; they need one another ils ont besoin l'un de l'autre ; I gave it a much-needed clean je l'ai nettoyé, il en avait grand besoin, je l'ai nettoyé et ça n'était pas un luxe ; this job needs a lot of concentration ce travail demande beaucoup de concentration ; to raise the money needed for the deposit réunir l'argent nécessaire pour la caution ; they need to have things explained to them il faut tout leur expliquer ; it needed six men to restrain him il a fallu six hommes pour le maîtriser ; you don't need me to tell you that… vous n'êtes pas sans savoir que… ; everything you need to know about computers tout ce que vous devez savoir sur les ordinateurs ; parents-who needs them ○ ! les parents-à quoi ça sert? ;2 ( have to) you need to learn some manners il va falloir que tu apprennes à bien te tenir ; you'll need to work hard il va falloir que tu travailles dur ; something needed to be done il fallait faire quelque chose ; why do you always need to remind me? pourquoi faut-il toujours que tu me le rappelles? ; it need only be said that il suffit de dire que ; you only needed to ask il suffisait de demander, tu n'avais qu'à demander ; nothing more need be said on n'en parlera plus ; nobody need know que cela reste entre nous ; nobody need know that I did it ou that it was me who did it personne ne doit savoir que c'est moi qui l'ai fait ;3 ( want) avoir besoin de ; I need a holiday/a whisky j'ai besoin de vacances/d'un whisky ; she needs to feel loved elle a besoin de se sentir aimée ; that's all I need! il ne me manquait plus que ça, j'avais bien besoin de ça!C n1 ( necessity) nécessité f (for de) ; the need for closer co-operation la nécessité d'une plus grande collaboration ; I can't see the need for it je n'en vois pas la nécessité ; without the need for an inquiry sans qu'une enquête soit nécessaire ; to feel the need to do éprouver le besoin de faire ; to have no need to work ne pas avoir besoin de travailler ; there's no need to wait/hurry inutile d'attendre/de se dépêcher ; there's no need for panic/ anger ça ne sert à rien de s'affoler/de se mettre en colère ; there's no need for you to wait ce n'est pas la peine que tu attendes ; there's no need to worry/shout ce n'est pas la peine de s'inquiéter/de crier ; if need be s'il le faut, si nécessaire ; if the need arises si le besoin s'en fait sentir ; there's no need, I've done it inutile, c'est fait ;2 (want, requirement) besoin m (for de) ; to be in need of sth avoir besoin de qch ; to be in great need of sth avoir grand besoin de qch ; to have no need of sth ne pas avoir besoin de qch ; to satisfy/express a need répondre à/exprimer un besoin ; to be in need of repair/painting avoir besoin d'être réparé/repeint ; to meet sb's needs répondre aux besoins de qn ; to meet industry's need for qualified staff répondre aux besoins des entreprises en personnel qualifié ; a list of your needs une liste de ce dont vous avez besoin ; my needs are few j'ai peu de besoins ; manpower/energy needs besoins mpl en main-d'œuvre/en énergie ;3 (adversity, distress) to help sb in times of need aider qn à faire face à l'adversité ; she was there in my hour of need elle était là quand j'ai eu besoin d'elle ; your need is greater than mine tu en as plus besoin que moi ;4 ( poverty) besoin m ; to be in need être dans le besoin ; families in need les familles qui sont dans le besoin.
См. также в других словарях:
Translated — Translate Trans*late , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Translated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Translating}.] [f. translatus, used as p. p. of transferre to transfer, but from a different root. See {Trans }, and {Tolerate}, and cf. {Translation}.] 1. To bear, carry,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
translated — obsolete drunk Literally, transferred from one state or place to another, as from life to death or, in the jargon of the church, from one clerical living to another: Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee! thou art translated. (Shakespeare, A… … How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms
translated — un·translated; … English syllables
Translated Texts for Historians — (TTH) ist eine von der Liverpool University Press herausgegebene Reihe von englischen Übersetzungen spätantiker und frühmittelalterlicher Texte. Die ausgewählten Texte stammen aus der Zeit zwischen 300 und 800. Sie umfassen lateinische,… … Deutsch Wikipedia
translated — (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. interpreted, adapted, rendered, transliterated, glossed, paraphrased, reworded, transposed, transferred, transplanted, reworked, rewritten … English dictionary for students
translated — adj. converted into another language trans·late || træns leɪt v. change something from one language into another … English contemporary dictionary
translated by — changed from one language to another by … English contemporary dictionary
translated article — composition or list expressed in a language that is not the original language … English contemporary dictionary
translated literature — writings which are not in their original language … English contemporary dictionary
List of literary works by number of languages translated into — This is a list of literary works (including novels, plays, series, and collections of poems or short stories) sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into.Referencesee also*List of best selling booksExternal links*… … Wikipedia
i-translated — ME. pa. pple. of translate v … Useful english dictionary