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1 why
why, US hwaI❢ Why translates as pourquoi in French, but see B, C below for exceptions. As with other words such as où, quand, comment etc, questions are formed by inserting est-ce que after the question word: why did you go? = pourquoi est-ce que tu y es allé? or by inverting the subject and verb after the question word, which is slightly more formal: pourquoi y es-tu allé? In spoken French the question word can be put at the end: tu y es allé pourquoi? why occurs with certain reporting verbs such as ask, explain, know, think and wonder. For translations, see these entries.A adv1 ( in questions) pourquoi ; why do you ask? pourquoi est-ce que tu me poses la question?, pourquoi me poses-tu la question? ; why didn't she tell us? pourquoi est-ce qu'elle ne nous l'a pas dit?, pourquoi ne nous l'a-t-elle pas dit? ; why risk everything? pourquoi tout risquer? ; why bother? pourquoi se tracasser? ; ‘I'm annoyed’-‘why is that?’ ‘je suis vexé’-‘pourquoi?’ ; why all the fuss? pourquoi tout ce remue-ménage? ; why the delay? pourquoi ce retard? ; why me? pourquoi moi? ; oh no, why me? oh non, pourquoi est-ce que ça me tombe dessus? ; why not somebody else? pourquoi pas quelqu'un d'autre? ; ‘it's not possible’-‘why not?’ ‘ce n'est pas possible’-‘pourquoi pas?’ ; ‘would you be interested?’-‘why not?’ ‘ça t'intéresserait?’-‘pourquoi pas?’ ; ‘can I apply?’-‘I don't see why not’ ‘est-ce que je peux m'inscrire?’-‘je ne vois pas pourquoi tu ne pourrais pas’ ;2 ( when making suggestions) pourquoi ; why don't you apply for the job? pourquoi est-ce que tu ne poses pas ta candidature? ; why don't we go away for the weekend? pourquoi ne pas partir quelque part pour le week-end? ; why don't I invite them for dinner? et si je les invitais à manger? ; why not sell the car? pourquoi ne pas vendre la voiture? ; why not send off now for our brochure? pourquoi ne pas demander dès maintenant notre brochure? ; why not a mix of traditional and modern? pourquoi pas un mélange de classique et de moderne? ;3 (expressing irritation, defiance) pourquoi ; why don't they mind their own business? pourquoi est-ce qu'ils ne s'occupent pas de leurs affaires? ; why can't you be quiet? tu ne peux pas te taire deux minutes? ; why do I bother? à quoi ça sert que je me donne du mal? ; why should they get all the praise? pourquoi est-ce que c'est eux qui auraient tous les compliments? ; ‘tell them’-‘why should I?’ ‘dis- leur’-‘et pourquoi est-ce que je devrais le faire?’ ;4 ( also whyever) ( expressing surprise) whyever not? GB pourquoi pas? ; whyever did you say that? pourquoi donc as-tu dit cela?B conj pour ça ; that is why they came c'est pour ça qu'ils sont venus ; that's not why I asked ce n'est pas pour ça que j'avais posé la question ; is that why she telephoned? est-ce que c'est pour ça qu'elle a téléphoné? ; so that's why! ( finally understanding) ah, c'est pour ça! ; ‘why?’-‘because you're stubborn, that's why!’ ‘pourquoi?’-‘parce que tu es têtu, c'est tout!’ ; the reason why la raison pour laquelle ; one of the reasons why they left une des raisons pour lesquelles ils sont partis ; I need to know the reason why j'ai besoin de savoir pourquoi ; ⇒ reason A 2. -
2 why
why [waɪ]1. adverb• why did you do it? pourquoi l'avez-vous fait ?• why not? pourquoi pas ?• why not phone her? pourquoi ne pas lui téléphoner ?2. conjunction• there's no reason why you shouldn't try again il n'y a pas de raison pour que tu n'essaies pas de nouveau* * *As with other words such as où, quand, comment etc, questions are formed by inserting est-ce que after the question word: why did you go? = pourquoi est-ce que tu y es allé? or by inverting the subject and verb after the question word, which is slightly more formal: pourquoi y es-tu allé? In spoken French the question word can be put at the end: tu y es allé pourquoi?why occurs with certain reporting verbs such as ask, explain, know, think and wonder. For translations, see these entries[waɪ], US [hwaɪ] 1.1) ( in questions) pourquoiwhy do you ask? — pourquoi est-ce que tu me poses la question?, pourquoi me poses-tu la question?
‘I'm annoyed’ - ‘why is that?’ — ‘je suis vexé’ - ‘pourquoi?’
oh no, why me? — oh non, pourquoi est-ce que ça me tombe dessus? (colloq)
‘it's not possible’ - ‘why not?’ — ‘ce n'est pas possible’ - ‘pourquoi pas?’
‘can I apply?’ - ‘I don't see why not’ — ‘est-ce que je peux m'inscrire?’ - ‘je ne vois pas pourquoi tu ne pourrais pas’
2) ( when making suggestions) pourquoi3) (expressing irritation, defiance) pourquoiwhy should they get all the praise? — pourquoi est-ce que c'est eux qui auraient tous les compliments?
‘tell them’ - ‘why should I?’ — ‘dis-leur’ - ‘et pourquoi (est-ce que je devrais le faire)?’
4) (also whyever) ( expressing surprise)2.whyever not? — GB pourquoi pas?
conjunction pour çaso that's why! — ( finally understanding) ah, c'est pour ça!
‘why?’ - ‘because you're stubborn, that's why!’ — ‘pourquoi?’ - ‘parce que tu es têtu, c'est tout!’
3.I need to know the reason why — j'ai besoin de savoir pourquoi; reason 1. 1
(dated) exclamation mais
См. также в других словарях:
Whyever — For whatever reason. Whyever whyever isn t already a real word it should be because whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, whomever, whichever, and however all are … Dictionary of american slang
Whyever — For whatever reason. Whyever whyever isn t already a real word it should be because whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, whomever, whichever, and however all are … Dictionary of american slang
whyever — adverb For whatever reason. Whyever you do it, just do it See Also: however, howsoever, whatever, whatsoever, whenever, whensoever, wherever, wheresoever … Wiktionary
whyever — why·ev·er … English syllables
whyever — hwīˈevə(r) also wī adverb : for whatever reason : why … Useful english dictionary
whenever — adverb a) At whatever time. Visit whenever you want to. b) When. Whenever you get into town, come by and see me. See Also: however, howsoever, whatever, whatsoever … Wiktionary
whatever — 1. adjective /ʍɒtˈɛvə,ʍɑtˈɛvɚ/ Unexceptional or unimportant; blah. All in all, I guess I shouldn t be complaining, but the rest of the show, imho, was very whatever ish. 2. interjection /ʍɒtˈɛvə,ʍɑtˈɛvɚ/ A holophrastic expression used… … Wiktionary
what for — Synonyms and related words: ass reaming, bawling out, castigation, chastening, chastisement, chewing, condign punishment, correction, cussing out, deserts, disciplinary measures, discipline, dressing, dressing down, excuse, explanation, ferule,… … Moby Thesaurus
wherefore — Synonyms and related words: accordingly, after all, after which, all things considered, argument, because of that, because of this, before the bench, before the court, ceteris paribus, consequently, considering, ergo, everything being equal,… … Moby Thesaurus
why — Synonyms and related words: Chinese puzzle, argument, baffling problem, brain twister, conundrum, crossword puzzle, crux, enigma, enigmatic question, excuse, explanation, floorer, for which, for why, from what cause, ground, how come, jigsaw… … Moby Thesaurus
why|ev|er — «hwy EHV uhr», adverb. for whatever reason; why: »Laughter in your Church? Whyever not! (London Times) … Useful english dictionary
