Simple Prepositions – Literal & Idiomatic Uses Part 6

Part 6 in this series.

hormis – except (archaic literary usage)

“Il les accusa tous hormis ses avocats.” | “He accused everyone except his lawyers.”

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hors – outside/except

Hors is normally only used as a simple preposition in the following phrases:

• hors commerce | not for sale to the public
• hors jeu | offside
• hors la loi | outlawed
• hors série | out of production

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malgré – despite/in spite of

“Malgré la grève, l’usine a produit une centaine de voitures cette semaine.” | “Despite the strike, the factory has produced about a hundred cars this week.”

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outre – besides/beyond (literary)

“Outre deux tomes des Essais de Montaigne, il possédait les Confessions de Rousseau.” (literary) | “Besides two volumes of Montaigne’s Essays, he owned Rousseau’s Confessions.”

Outre also occurs in less literary registers in the following phrases:

• outre-Atlantique | across the Atlantic (i.e. in America)
• outre-cela | besides that
• outre-Manche | across the Channel (i.e. in Britain)
• outre-mer | overseas
• outre-Rhin | on the other side of the Rhine (i.e. in Germany)
• outre-tombe | beyond the grave

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Have a great week, everyone!

Merci à vous !

Courtney

Simple Prepositions – Literal & Idiomatic Uses Part 5

Part 5 in this series.

en – in

Note that en is almost followed by a noun without an article. En is used to translate “in” before the year, the names of months, or the seasons of summer, autumn, and winter – but spring is au printemps.

• “Le projet de loi fut voté en 2010.” | “The bill was passed in 2010.”
• “Il faut visiter la Provence en automne, en octobre par exemple.” | “Provence should be visited in autumn, in October, for example.”

En is used to translate “in” or “to” in references to a feminine country (but use au for a masculine country).

• “Vous allez en Espagne cet été ?” | “Are you going to Spain this summer?”
• “Nous avons des succursales en Italie.” | “We have branches in Spain.”

En is used to translate “in” meaning the time needed to do something.

• “Le garage pourra tout faire en deux heures.” | “The garage will be able to do everything in two hours.” (i.e.: will take two hours)

En is used to translate “as/like” after such verbs as:

• se comporter en adulte | to behave like an adult
• se déguiser en cowboy | to dress up as a cowboy
• traiter quelqu’un en ami | to treat someone as a friend

En is used to translate “into” after verbs denoting “changing into”, “dividing into”.

• “Ce bureau sera réaménagé en salle de conférence.” | “This office will be turned into a conference room.”
• “Mon grand-père répartit ses terres en cinq lotissements.” | “My grandfather divided his land up into five plots.”

En can be used to translate the idea of “made of” or “in” for colors.

• une bouteille en plastique | a plastic bottle
• une chope en étain | a pewter mug
• être habillé en noir et blanc | to be dressed in black and white

En is used to translate “by” in references to most mechanized forms of transport.

• “Vous allez faire le voyage en avion ou en voiture ?” | “Are you going to travel by plane or by car?”

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entre – between

“Le courrier arrive entre huit et neuf heures.” | “The mail/post arrives between eight and nine o’clock.”

“Nous habitons entre Bergerac et Castillon-la-Bataille.” | “We live between Bergerac and Castillon-la-Bataille.”

Entre is used to translate “between/from” with verbs of selecting or choosing.

• “J’ai dû faire le choix entre les deux modèles.” | “I had to choose between the two models.”

Entre is used to translate “among”.

• “Nous parlons souvent entre amis.” | “We often speak of it among friends.”

D’entre is used instead of entre to translate “of/among” before a disjunctive pronoun.

• “Nous avons consulté plusieurs d’entre eux.” | “We consulted several of them.”

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envers – towards

Envers is used to translate “towards” in the sense of attitudes or emotions towards people (not literal movement towards – that would be à and vers).

• “Le juge se montra sévère envers les malfaiteurs.” | “The judge was harsh towards the offenders.”

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So I’ve calculated that there should be about three more posts in this series. Thanks for your patience, I know this has been quite long!

Have a great week, everyone!

A la prochaine…

Courtney

Simple Prepositions – Literal & Idiomatic Uses Part 4

Part 4 in this series.

depuis – from/since

“Je n’ai pas revisité Paris depuis 2010.” | “I haven’t been back to Paris since 2010.”

“Depuis son enfance, il rêvait de devenir pilote.” | “From his childhood, he dreamed of becoming a pilot.”

Depuis is used to translate “for” with reference to an action which has/had been continuing for a certain period of time. French requires different tenses from English in this structure. The English form “I have been doing ___ for ___” is rendered by the present tense in French + depuis. The English form “I had been doing ___ for ___” is rendered by the imperfect tense in French + depuis.

• “Nous travaillons avec cette compagnie depuis l’année dernière.” | “We have been working with that company since last year.”
• “Le gouvernement menait des négociations avec ses partenaires depuis trois mois.” | “The government had been negotiating with its partners for three months.”

The structure “depuis ___ jusqu’à” translates “from ___ to” in reference to place or time.

• “Il y aura des embouteillages depuis les Alpes jusqu’à la côte d’Azur.” | “There will be traffic jams from the Alps to Côte d’Azur.”
• “Ils s’étaient absentés depuis le matin jusqu’au soir.” | “They had stayed away from morning to evening.”

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derrière – behind

“Notre agence se trouve derrière l’Hôtel de Ville.” | “Our branch is located behind Town Hall.”

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dès – from/from the time of

“Pour la braderie nous ouvrirons dès huit heures.” | “For the annual sales we shall be open from eight o’clock.”

“Dès notre première rencontre nous nous sommes très bien.” | “From the time of our first meeting we got on very well.”

Dès can also be used to translate “from” + place name, when the implication is “from this place onwards”.

• Dès la région nantaise la production viticole devient importante.” | “From the region of Nantes onwards, wine production becomes significant.”

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devant – in front of

“J’ai garé ma voiture devant la tienne.” | “I’ve parked my car in front of yours.”

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It looks like this series will end up being about 6 or 7 posts long. Please bear with me, this was bigger than I had initially anticipated, and I don’t want these posts to be too long. Have a great week, everyone!

A bientôt !

Courtney

Simple Prepositions – Literal & Idiomatic Uses Part 3

Part 3 in this series.

de – from/of

“Ces oranges viennent d’Espagne.” | “These oranges come from Spain.”

“Du jour au lendemain la situation politique s’est transformée.” | “From one day to the next, the political situation has been transformed.”

“Tu as vu la photo de notre équipe ?” | “Have you seen the photo of our team?”

“Paris est la capitale de la France.” | “Paris is the capital of France.”

De can express the way in which something is done, especially with the following nouns:

• d’un seul coup | with a single blow
• d’une façon surprenante | in a surprising way
• d’une manière aimable | in a friendly way
• d’un pas rapide | walking fast/at a fast pace
• d’un ton irrité | in an irritated tone/voice
• d’une voix douce | in a soft voice

De can be used to translate the English “with” to express the means or cause:

• accablé de terreur | overcome with terror
• chargé de fruits | loaded with fruit
• plein d’espoir | full of hope

De expresses the substance something is made of, or what it contains:

• un mur de briques | a brick wall
• une boule de cristal | cristal/crystal ball
• une assiette de charcuterie | a plate of cold cuts (cold meats)
• une tasse de thé | a cup of tea

De is used to translate “more/less than” when plus or moins is followed by a number or quantity:

• “Il y a plus de 500 délégués.” | “There are more than 500 delegates.”
• “Ils nous reste moins d’un litre de lait.” | “We have less than a liter of milk left.”

De is used after adjectives expressing measurements:

• un trou large de deux mètres | a hole two meters wide

De is used after the verb être when prices, numbers, and quantities are given:

• “Le prix de la pension complète est de 1.000 Euros.” | “The full board costs 1,000 Euros.”
• “Le nombre des manifestants était de 5.000.” | “The number of protesters was 5,000.” | “There were 5,000 protesters.”
• “La consommation moyenne est de deux litre d’eau par jour.” | “On average, two liters of water are drunk a day.”

De is used after a superlative adjective to translate the English “in/of”:

• “C’est le plus beau pays du monde.” | “It’s the most beautiful country in the world.”
• “C’est le modèle le plus économique de toutes les petites voitures.” | “It’s the most economical of all the small cars.”

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Stay tuned in for the next part in this series! Have a great week, everyone!

Merci à vous !

Courtney