Common lookups: again all any are as be before best can Christmas come day do each even first from go good happy have he her in it just know last me merry must my of on over please right some take that up very what would you
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1. be Verb

(a) être; I am tall (slightly frm), I'm tall je suis grand m, je suis grande f; in normal speech, je suis is often pronounced and sometimes written chuis; you are tall (slightly frm), you're tall tu es grand (or) grande, vous êtes grand (or) grande (frm); (speaking to more than one person) vous êtes grands (or) grandes; he is tall (frm), he's tall il est grand; he is my best friend (frm), he's my best friend c'est mon meilleur ami
(b) (with age, certain adjectives denoting feeling) avoir; I'm cold j'ai froid; I'm hungry j'ai faim; I'm thirsty j'ai soif; he's right/wrong il a raison/tort; how old is she? quelle âge elle a? (Infrml), quelle âge a-t-elle?; I'm 15 (years old) j'ai 15 ans
(c) (with job titles) être, faire (Infml); he's an English teacher il est professeur d'anglais, il fait prof d'anglais (Infml); he's a really good teacher c'est un très bon professeur
(d) (with cost) coûter, faire (Infml); how much is it? ça fait combien? (Infml), combien ça coûte?, combien cela coûte-t-il? (frm)
(e) (with continuous verb construction) I'm listening je t'écoute; I'm writing a novel j'écris un roman; he was having a shower when I arrived il prenait (or) était en train de prendre une douche quand je suis arrivé
(f) (in forming passive: an active construction often preferred or necessary in French) être; to ~ surprised par sth être surpris par qch; I was surprised to hear that... ça m'a surpris d'entendre que...; he was told that ... on lui a dit que ...; he was given a book on lui a donné un livre
(g) (in passives that express a 'general truth': pronominal verb often used in French) this wine is drunk at room temperature ce vin se boit chambré; that word isn't used any more ce mot ne se dit plus

Except where otherwise stated, all dictionary content compiled by Neil Coffey and copyright © Javamex UK 2009. All rights reserved.