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with+verbs+of+mental+activity

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1 work

work [wɜ:k]

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1. noun

2. intransitive verb

3. transitive verb

4. compounds

5. Phrasal Verbs

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1. noun

   a. (gen) travail m

• to start work se mettre au travail

• he does his work well il travaille bien

• she put a lot of work into it elle y a consacré beaucoup de travail

• I'm trying to get some work done j'essaie de travailler

• work has begun on the new bridge ( = building it) on a commencé la construction du nouveau pont

• you'll have your work cut out for you vous allez avoir du travail

• office work travail m de bureau

• good work! ( = well done) bravo !

   b. ( = employment, place of employment) travail m

• he's looking for work il cherche du travail

• to go to work aller au travail

• on her way to work en allant à son travail

• he is in regular work il a un emploi régulier

► at work ( = at place of work) au travail

► out of work

• to be out of work être au chômage

• an increase in the numbers out of work une augmentation du nombre des demandeurs d'emploi► off work

• he's off work today il ne travaille pas aujourd'hui

• he has been off work for three days il est absent depuis trois jours

• I'll have to take time off work il va falloir que je prenne un congé

   c. ( = product) œuvre f

• his life's work l'œuvre f de sa vie

• it's obviously the work of a professional c'est manifestement un travail de professionnel

   d. (Art, literature, music) œuvre f ; ( = book on specific subject) ouvrage m

• the complete works of Shakespeare les œuvres fpl complètes de Shakespeare

• works of fiction ouvrages mpl de fiction

2. intransitive verb

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► For work + preposition/adverb combinations see also phrasal verbs.

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   a. (gen) travailler

• to work hard travailler dur

• he is working at his German il travaille son allemand

• he works in publishing il travaille dans l'édition

► to work on

• he worked on the car all morning il a travaillé sur la voiture toute la matinée

• have you solved the problem? -- we're working on it avez-vous résolu le problème ? -- on y travaille

• I've been working on him but haven't yet managed to persuade him j'ai bien essayé de le convaincre, mais je n'y suis pas encore parvenu► to work towards sth œuvrer pour qch

• we are working towards a solution nous essayons de parvenir à une solution

   b. ( = function) [machine, car, scheme] marcher ; [medicine] agir

• the lift isn't working l'ascenseur ne marche pas

• it works off the mains ça marche sur (le) secteur

• this may work in our favour ça pourrait jouer en notre faveur

3. transitive verb

   a. ( = cause to work) [+ person, staff] faire travailler ; [+ lever, pump] actionner ; [+ machine] faire marcher

• I don't know how to work the video je ne sais pas comment faire marcher le magnétoscope

► to work o.s.

• he works himself too hard il travaille trop

   b. ( = bring about) to work wonders [person] faire des merveilles ; [drug, medicine] faire merveille

   c. ( = arrange for) (inf) can you work it so she can come too? pouvez-vous faire en sorte qu'elle vienne aussi ?

   d. ( = manoeuvre) he worked his hands free il est parvenu à libérer ses mains

► to work one's way

• rescuers are working their way towards the trapped men les sauveteurs se fraient un passage jusqu'aux hommes qui sont bloqués

• he worked his way up from nothing il est parti de rien

• he worked his way up from office boy to managing director il est devenu PDG après avoir commencé comme garçon de bureau

   e. ( = shape) [+ metal, wood, dough, clay] travailler

4. compounds

► work area noun espace m de travail

► work ethic noun déontologie f

► work experience noun expérience f professionnelle

► work file noun (Computing) fichier m de travail

► work/life balance noun équilibre m entre vie professionnelle et vie privée

► work load noun charge f de travail

• his work load is too heavy il a trop de travail ► work of art noun œuvre f d'art

► work permit noun permis m de travail

► work prospects plural noun [of student] perspectives fpl

► work space noun espace m de travail

► work station noun poste m de travail

► work surface noun plan m de travail

► work-to-rule noun (British) grève f du zèle

5. Phrasal Verbs

► work out

1. intransitive verb

   a. [plan, arrangement] marcher

• it's all working out as planned tout se déroule comme prévu

• things didn't work out (well) for her les choses ont plutôt mal tourné pour elle

• it will work out all right in the end tout finira par s'arranger

   b. [amount] it works out at $50 per child il faut compter 50 dollars par enfant

   c. ( = exercise) faire de la musculation

2. separable transitive verb

( = figure out) [+ problem, equation] résoudre ; [+ total] trouver ; [+ plan] mettre au point

• I'll have to work it out (counting) il faut que je calcule

• he finally worked out why she'd gone il a fini par comprendre pourquoi elle était partie

• I can't work him out (inf) je n'arrive pas à comprendre comment il fonctionne► work through inseparable transitive verb

( = resolve emotionally) assumer

► work up

1. intransitive verb

• the book works up to a dramatic ending le roman s'achemine progressivement vers un dénouement spectaculaire

• I thought he was working up to asking me for a divorce je croyais qu'il préparait le terrain pour demander le divorce

2. separable transitive verb

   a. ( = rouse) he worked the crowd up into a frenzy il a déchaîné l'enthousiasme de la foule

• to get worked up s'énerver

• he worked himself up into a rage il s'est mis dans une colère noire

   b. ( = develop) [+ trade, business] développer

• he worked this small firm up into a major company il a réussi à faire de cette petite société une grande entreprise

• I worked up an appetite/thirst carrying all those boxes ça m'a mis en appétit/m'a donné soif de porter toutes ces caisses

• I can't work up much enthusiasm for the plan j'ai du mal à m'enthousiasmer pour ce projet

* * *
[wɜːk] 1.
noun

1) ( physical or mental activity) travail m (on sur)

to be at work on something — être en train de travailler à quelque chose

to go ou set ou get to work — se mettre au travail

to set to work doing — se mettre à faire

to put a lot of work into — travailler [essay, speech]; passer beaucoup de temps sur [meal, preparations]

to put ou set somebody to work — faire travailler quelqu'un

we put him to work doing — nous lui avons donné pour tâche de faire

it was hard work doing — ça a été dur de faire

to be hard at work — travailler consciencieusement

your essay needs more work — tu dois travailler davantage ta rédaction

to make short ou light work of something — expédier quelque chose

to make short work of somebody — envoyer promener quelqu'un

it's all in a day's work — c'est une question d'habitude

it's hot/thirsty work — ça donne chaud/soif

2) ( occupation) travail m

to be in work — avoir du travail or un emploi

place of work — lieu m de travail

to be off work — ( on vacation) être en congé

to be off work with flu — être en arrêt de travail parce qu'on a la grippe

to be out of work — être au chômage

3) ( place of employment) ( office) bureau m; ( factory) usine f

to go to work — aller au travail

don't phone me at work — ne me téléphone pas à mon travail

4) (building, construction) travaux mpl (on sur)

5) ( papers)

to take one's work home — lit emporter du travail chez soi; fig ramener ses soucis professionnels à la maison

6) (achievement, product) (essay, report) travail m; (artwork, novel, sculpture) œuvre f (by de); ( study) ouvrage m (by de; on sur)

is this all your own work? — est-ce que vous l'avez fait tout seul?

to mark students' work — noter les devoirs des étudiants

a work of genius — une œuvre de génie

a work of reference — un ouvrage de référence

this attack is the work of professionals — l'attaque est l'œuvre de professionnels

7) ( research) recherches fpl (on sur)

8) ( effect)

to go to work — [drug, detergent] agir
2.
works plural noun

1) ( factory) usine f

works canteen — cantine f de l'usine

2) ( building work) travaux mpl

3) (colloq) ( everything)

the (full ou whole) works — toute la panoplie (colloq)
3.
noun modifier [ clothes, shoes] de travail; [ phone number] au travail
4.
transitive verb

1) ( drive)

to work somebody hard — surmener quelqu'un

2) ( labour)

to work shifts — travailler en équipes (de travail posté)

to work days/nights — travailler de jour/de nuit

to work one's way through university — travailler pour payer ses études

to work one's way through a book — lire péniblement un livre, venir à bout (colloq) d'un livre

to work a 40 hour week — faire la semaine de 40 heures

3) ( operate) se servir de

4) ( exploit commercially) exploiter

5) ( have as one's territory) couvrir [region]

6) ( consume)

to work one's way through — ( use) utiliser [amount, quantity]

7) ( bring about)

to work wonders — lit, fig faire des merveilles

8) ( use to one's advantage)

to work the system — profiter du système

how did you manage to work it? — comment as-tu pu arranger ça?

I've worked things so that... — j'ai arrangé les choses de sorte que...

9) ( fashion) travailler [clay, metal]

10) ( embroider) broder

11) ( manœuvre)

to work something into — introduire quelque chose dans [slot, hole]

to work a lever up and down — actionner un levier

12) ( exercise) faire travailler [muscles]

13) ( move)

to work one's way through — se frayer un passage à travers [crowd]

to work one's way along — avancer le long de [ledge]

to work one's hands free — se libérer les mains

it worked its way ou itself loose — cela s'est desserré peu à peu

to work its way into — passer dans

start at the top and work your way down — commencez par le haut et continuez jusqu'en bas
5.
intransitive verb

1) ( engage in activity) travailler ( doing à faire)

to work at home — travailler à domicile

to work for a living — gagner sa vie

to work in oils — [painter] travailler à l'huile

2) ( strive) lutter ( against contre; for pour; to do pour faire)

to work towards — se diriger vers [solution]; s'acheminer vers [compromise]; négocier [agreement]

3) ( function) fonctionner

to work on electricity — marcher or fonctionner à l'électricité

to work off the mains — marcher sur secteur

the washing machine isn't working — la machine à laver est en panne

4) (act, operate)

it doesn't ou things don't work like that — ça ne marche pas comme ça

to work on the assumption that — présumer que

to work in somebody's favour —

to work to somebody's advantage — tourner à l'avantage de quelqu'un

to work against somebody —

to work to somebody's disadvantage — jouer en la défaveur de quelqu'un

5) ( be successful) [treatment] avoir de l'effet; [detergent, drug] agir; [plan] réussir; [argument] tenir debout

flattery won't work with me — la flatterie ne marche pas avec moi

the adaptation really works — l'adaptation est vraiment réussie

6) [face, features] se contracter
6.
reflexive verb

1) ( labour)

to work oneself too hard — se surmener

to work oneself to death — se tuer à la tâche

2)

to work oneself into a rage — se mettre en colère

•

Phrasal Verbs:

- work around

- work in

- work off

- work on

- work out

- work over

- work to

- work up

••

to work one's way up — gravir tous les échelons

to work one's way up the company — faire son chemin dans l'entreprise

English-French dictionary > work
2 work

work

A n

1 ( physical or mental activity) travail m (on sur) ; to be at work on sth être en train de travailler à qch ; to watch sb at work regarder qn (en train de) travailler ; to go to ou set to ou get to work se mettre au travail ; to go to ou set to ou get to work on sth se mettre à travailler à or faire qch ; to set to work doing se mettre à faire ; to put a lot of work into travailler [essay, speech] ; passer beaucoup de temps sur [meal, preparations] ; to put a lot of work into doing passer beaucoup de temps à faire ; to put ou set sb to work faire travailler qn ; we put him to work doing nous lui avons donné pour tâche de faire ; it was hard work doing ça a été dur de faire ; to be hard at work travailler consciencieusement ; your essay needs more work tu dois travailler davantage ta rédaction ; there's still a lot of work to be done il reste encore beaucoup à faire ; I've got work to do j'ai du travail à faire ; to make short ou light work of sth expédier qch ; to make short work of sb envoyer promener qn ; it's all in a day's work c'est une question d'habitude ; ‘good ou nice work’ ( on written work) ‘bon travail’ ; ( orally) ‘c'est bien!’ ; it's hot/thirsty work ça donne chaud/soif ;

2 ( occupation) travail m ; to be in work avoir du travail or un emploi ; to look for work chercher du travail ; day/night work travail de jour/nuit ; place of work lieu m de travail ; to start ou begin work ( daily) commencer le travail ; ( for the first time) commencer à travailler ; to stop work ( at the end of the day) terminer son travail ; ( on retirement) cesser de travailler ; to be off work ( on vacation) être en congé ; to be off work with flu être en arrêt de travail parce qu'on a la grippe ; to be out of work être au chômage ; nice work if you can get it ○ ! c'est une bonne planque ○ ! ;

3 ( place of employment) ( office) bureau m ; ( factory) usine f ; to go to work aller au travail ; don't phone me at work ne me téléphone pas à mon travail ; there's a canteen at work il y a une cantine à mon travail ;

4 (building, construction) travaux mpl (on sur) ;

5 ( papers) to take one's work home lit emporter du travail chez soi ; fig ramener ses soucis professionnels à sa famille ; spread your work out on the table étale tes papiers sur la table ;

6 (achievement, product) (essay, report) travail m ; (artwork, novel, sculpture) œuvre f (by de) ; ( study) ouvrage m (by de ; on sur) ; an exhibition of work by young artists une exposition d'œuvres de jeunes artistes ; he sells his work to tourists il vend ses créations aux touristes ; is this all your own work? est-ce que vous l'avez fait tout seul? ; to mark students' work noter les devoirs des étudiants ; his work isn't up to standard son travail n'a pas le niveau requis ; the research was the work of a team la recherche était l'œuvre d'une équipe ; a work of genius une œuvre de génie ; a work of fiction une œuvre de fiction ; a work of reference un ouvrage de référence ; this attack is the work of professionals l'attaque est l'œuvre de professionnels ; I hope you're pleased with your work! iron j'espère que tu es fier de ton œuvre! iron ; the works of Shakespeare/Flaubert l'œuvre m de Shakespeare/Flaubert ;

7 Phys travail m ;

8 ( research) recherches fpl (on sur) ; there is still a lot of work to be done on the virus il y a encore beaucoup de recherches à faire sur le virus ;

9 ( effect) to go to work [drug, detergent] agir ; the weedkiller has done its work l'herbicide a été efficace.

B works npl

1 ( factory) usine f ; works canteen cantine f de l'usine ;

2 ( building work) travaux mpl ; public works travaux publics ;

3 ○ ( everything) the (full ou whole) works toute la panoplie ○.

C modif [clothes, shoes] de travail ; [phone number] au travail.

D vtr

1 ( drive) to work sb hard surmener qn ;

2 ( labour) to work shifts travailler en équipes (de travail posté) ; to work days/nights travailler de jour/de nuit ; to work one's passage Naut travailler pour payer son voyage ; to work one's way through university travailler pour payer ses études ; to work one's way through a book/document lire un livre/document ; to work a 40 hour week faire la semaine de 40 heures ;

3 ( operate) se servir de [computer, equipment, lathe] ;

4 ( exploit commercially) exploiter [oil-field, land, mine, seam] ;

5 ( have as one's territory) [representative] couvrir [region] ; beggars/prostitutes work the streets around the station les mendiants/prostituées occupent les rues autour de la gare ;

6 ( consume) to work one's way through ( use) utiliser [amount, quantity] ; to work one's way through two whole cakes manger deux gâteaux entiers ;

7 ( bring about) to work wonders/miracles lit, fig faire des merveilles/miracles ; the landscape started to work its magic on me la magie du paysage a commencé à faire effet ;

8 ( use to one's advantage) to work the system profiter du système ; can you work it for me to get tickets? peux-tu t'arranger pour m'avoir des billets? ; how did you manage to work it? comment as-tu pu arranger ça? ; I've worked things so that… j'ai arrangé les choses de sorte que… (+ subj) ;

9 ( fashion) travailler [clay, dough, gold, iron] ; to work sth to a soft consistency travailler qch pour le rendre malléable ; to work gold into jewellery travailler l'or pour en faire des bijoux ;

10 ( embroider) broder [design] (into sur) ; to be worked in blue silk être brodé à la soie bleue ;

11 ( manoeuvre) to work sth into introduire qch dans [slot, hole] ; to work a lever up and down actionner un levier ;

12 ( exercise) faire travailler [muscles, biceps] ;

13 ( move) to work one's way through se frayer un passage à travers [crowd] ; to work one's way along avancer le long de [ledge, sill] ; to work one's hands free se libérer les mains ; to work the rope loose desserrer la corde ; it worked its way loose, it worked itself loose il s'est desserré peu à peu ; to work its way into passer dans [bloodstream, system, food, chain] ; start at the top and work your way down commencez par le haut et continuez jusqu'en bas.

E vi

1 ( engage in activity) travailler (doing à faire) ; to work at the hospital/the factory travailler à l'hôpital/l'usine ; to work at home travailler à domicile ; to work as a midwife/teacher travailler comme sage-femme/professeur ; to work for sb travailler pour qn ; to work for Grant and Company travailler pour la Société Grant ; to work in advertising/publishing travailler dans la publicité/l'édition ; to work with young people travailler avec les jeunes ; to work for a living gagner sa vie ; to work in oils/watercolours [artist] travailler à l'huile/l'aquarelle ;

2 ( strive) lutter (against contre ; for pour ; to do pour faire) ; to work against corruption lutter contre la corruption ; to work towards se diriger vers [solution] ; s'acheminer vers [compromise] ; négocier [agreement] ;

3 ( function) [equipment, machine] fonctionner, marcher ; [institution, system, heart, brain] fonctionner ; to work on electricity/on gas marcher or fonctionner à l'électricité/au gaz ; to work off the mains marcher sur le secteur ; the washing machine isn't working la machine à laver est en panne or ne marche pas ;

4 (act, operate) it doesn't ou things don't work like that ça ne marche pas comme ça ; to work on the assumption that présumer que ; to work in sb's favour, to work to sb's advantage tourner à l'avantage de qn ; to work against sb, to work to sb's disadvantage jouer en la défaveur de qn ;

5 ( be successful) [treatment] avoir de l'effet ; [detergent, drug] agir (against contre ; on sur) ; [spell] agir ; [plan, plot] réussir ; [argument, hypothesis] tenir debout ; flattery won't work with me la flatterie ne marche pas avec moi ; the adaptation really works l'adaptation est vraiment réussie ; I didn't think the novel would work as a film je ne pensais pas qu'on pouvait tirer un bon film de ce roman ;

6 ( move) [face, features] se contracter.

F v refl

1 ( labour) to work oneself too hard se surmener ; to work oneself to death se tuer à la tâche ;

2 ( rouse) to work oneself into a rage se mettre en colère ; to work oneself into a frenzy ( with anger) se mettre en rage ; ( with hysteria) devenir hystérique.

Idioms

to work one's way up gravir tous les échelons ; to work one's way up the company faire son chemin dans l'entreprise.

Phrasal verbs

■ work around:

▶ work around to [sth] aborder [subject] ; it took him ages to work around to what he wanted to say il lui a fallu un temps fou pour exprimer ce qu'il avait à dire ; to work the conversation around to sth faire tourner la conversation autour de qch ; to work around to telling sb sth parvenir à dire qch à qn.

■ work in:

▶ work in [sth], work [sth] in

1 ( incorporate) glisser [joke, reference] ; mentionner [fact, name] ;

2 Culin incorporer [ingredient].

■ work off:

▶ work [sth] off, work off [sth]

1 ( remove) retirer [lid] ; to work a ring off one's finger ôter une bague avec difficulté ;

2 ( repay) travailler pour rembourser [loan, debt] ;

3 ( get rid of) se débarrasser de [excess weight] ; dépenser [excess energy] ; passer [anger, frustration].

■ work on:

▶ work on continuer à travailler ;

▶ work on [sb] travailler ○ ;

▶ work on [sth] travailler à [book, report] ; travailler sur [project] ; s'occuper de [case, problem] ; chercher [cure, solution] ; examiner [idea, theory] ; I'm working on a way of doing je cherche une façon de faire ; ‘have you found a solution?’-‘I'm working on it’ ‘as-tu trouvé une solution?’-‘j'y réfléchis’ ; he's working on his French il travaille son français ; we've got no clues to work on nous n'avons aucun indice.

■ work out:

▶ work out

1 ( exercise) s'entraîner ;

2 ( go according to plan) [plan, marriage] marcher ; I hope things work out for them j'espère que ça marchera pour eux ;

3 ( add up) to work out at GB ou to US [total, share] s'élever à [amount, proportion] ;

▶ work out [sth], work [sth] out

1 ( calculate) calculer [answer, average, total] ;

2 ( solve) trouver [answer, reason, culprit] ; résoudre [riddle, problem] ; comprendre [clue] ; to work out why/when/where comprendre pourquoi/quand/où ; to work out what sth means comprendre qch ;

3 ( devise) concevoir [plan, scheme] ; trouver [route] ;

4 Admin to work out one's notice faire son mois de préavis ;

5 ( exhaust) épuiser [mine, soil] ;

▶ work [sb] out comprendre ; I can't work her out je ne la comprendrai jamais.

■ work over ○:

▶ work [sb] over passer [qn] à tabac ○.

■ work to:

▶ work to [sth] s'astreindre à [budget] ; to work to deadlines travailler avec des objectifs ; to work to tight deadlines avoir des délais très serrés.

■ work up:

▶ work up [sth] développer [interest] ; accroître [support] ; to work up the courage to do trouver le courage de faire ; to work up some enthusiasm for s'enthousiasmer pour ; to work up an appetite s'ouvrir l'appétit ;

▶ work up to [sth] se préparer à [announcement, confession, confrontation] ; the music is working up to a climax la musique va crescendo pour finir en apothéose ;

▶ work up [sb], work [sb] up

1 ( excite) exciter [child, crowd] ; to work sb up into a frenzy rendre qn énervé ; to work sb up into a rage mettre qn en colère ;

2 ( annoy) énerver ; to get worked up s'énerver ; to work oneself up s'énerver ; to work oneself up into a state se mettre dans tous ses états ; to get oneself all worked up over ou about se mettre dans tous ses états au sujet de.

Big English-French dictionary > work
3 Usage note : be

The direct French equivalent of the verb to be in subject + to be + predicate sentences is être:

I am tired

= je suis fatigué

Caroline is French

= Caroline est française

the children are in the garden

= les enfants sont dans le jardin

It 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 médecin

Claudie is still a student

= Claudie est toujours étudiante

This is true of any noun used in apposition when the subject is a person:

he’s a widower

= il est veuf

But

Lyons is a beautiful city

= Lyon est une belle ville

For 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 functions

The passive

être 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 renard

the window had been broken

= la fenêtre avait été cassée

their books will be sold

= leurs livres seront vendus

our doors have been repainted red

= nos portes ont été repeintes en rouge

In 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 tenses

In 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 present

French uses simply the present tense where English uses the progressive form with to be:

I am working

= je travaille

Ben is reading a book

= Ben lit un livre

In 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 future

French also uses the present tense where English uses the progressive form with to be:

we are going to London tomorrow

= nous allons à Londres demain

I’m (just) coming!

= j’arrive!

I’m (just) going!

= j’y vais!

The past

To 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 mère

he was writing to his mother

= il écrivait à sa mère

However, 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 past

Compound past tenses in the progressive form in English are generally translated by the imperfect in French:

I’ve been looking for you

= je te cherchais

For 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.

Obligation

When 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 suite

what am I to do?

= qu’est-ce que je dois faire?

he was to arrive last Monday

= il devait arriver lundi dernier

she was never to see him again

= elle ne devait plus le revoir.

In tag questions

French 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 answers

Again, 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’

Probability

For expressions of probability and supposition ( if I were you etc.) see the entry be.

Other functions

Expressing sensations and feelings

In expressing physical and mental sensations, the verb used in French is avoir:

to be cold

= avoir froid

to be hot

= avoir chaud

I’m cold

= j’ai froid

to be thirsty

= avoir soif

to be hungry

= avoir faim

to be ashamed

= avoir honte

my hands are cold

= j’ai froid aux mains

If, 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 are

In 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’hui

Discussing weather and temperature

In expressions of weather and temperature faire is generally used:

it’s cold

= il fait froid

it’s windy

= il fait du vent

If in doubt, consult the appropriate adjective entry.

Visiting somewhere

When 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 Suède

have 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 fois

Note too:

has the postman been?

= est-ce que le facteur est passé?

For here is, here are, there is, there are see the entries here and there.

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.

Big English-French dictionary > Usage note : be

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