How to use a foreign language dictionary
A guide for students following a course in Higher and Advanced Higher French
This guide is designed to show senior pupils doing H or AH how to use a dictionary for producing material in French.
Aims
1. To explain dictionary abbreviations.
2. Explore some common words as examples and show how to avoid making mistakes in the French
3. Cross referencing and dictionary based mistakes
4. To explore other resources in the dictionary viz. grammar and extension material
5. To list common errors and false friends
Advice
o Remember that there are two parts to the dictionary
o Clearly you must check the actual spelling of the word you are looking up
o Use headwords for ease of reference
o Do not simply take the meaning of the first word you find. You may frequently find expressions buried within the entry for that word e.g. funeral service, military service
o Always cross reference (check the expression in both ends) to establish the correct sense of the expression, bearing in mind its context. This is crucial.
1. To explain dictionary abbreviations.
There are many codes and symbols in a dictionary. You will find below a list of the more common codes that you will need to recognise and understand.
|
CODE |
MEANING |
EXPLANATION |
EXAMPLE |
|
n |
noun
|
The name of something or someone (must be masculine or feminine) |
chien arbre Tunisie table absence
|
|
nm
nmpl |
noun masculine
noun masculine plural |
- a naming word in the masculine - use with ‘le’ or ‘un’
Use with ‘les’ or ‘des’ |
Le chien Un chien L’arbre Un arbre
Les ciseaux Des ciseaux |
|
nf
nfpl
|
noun feminine
noun feminine plural
|
- a naming word in the feminine - use with ‘la’ or ‘une’
Use with ‘les’ or ‘des’ |
La table Une table La Tunisie L’absence
Les menottes Des menottes |
|
adj |
adjective
|
a word to describe or give extra information about a noun |
bon - good grand - big The entry will usually be masculine singular
|
|
vt
vi
|
Verb transitive
Verb intransitive |
a doing word with an object
a doing word without an object |
quitter (la maison) to leave (the house)
partir to leave |
|
reg |
regular |
A verb which usually follows a pattern and may be largely predictable
|
parler finir battre |
|
irreg |
irregular |
A verb which does not follow a pattern and may be unpredicatble |
aller être avoir
|
|
adv |
adverb
|
a word to describe how something is down
|
Rapidement - quickly |
|
pron |
pronoun
|
a word that replaces a noun |
il- he ceci - this le / la – it les - them
|
|
prep
|
preposition
|
A preposition usually tells you where someone or something is
|
On / in / under / with / except / before / in without / for / |
|
conj |
conjunction |
This joins two similar idea or constructions |
And / or / but / however / although
|
|
pej
col
fam |
pejorative
colloquial
familiar
|
This means that this particular word is insulting and impolite. This means the word is in common use but may be impolite This means the word is in common use but should not be used in polite company or in your writing
|
!?*@**%!!! |
Remember
o NOUNS will be singular
o ADJECTIVES will be masculine singular
o VERBS will be in the infinitive. Tenses will be in the grammar section of the dictionary and not in the body of the dictionary itself.
|
W |
HAT WILL YOU FIND IN A FRENCH / ENGLISH DICTIONARY?
In a bilingual dictionary, once you have found the word you are looking up, you will see beside it the translation in the other language. Please see the example below which shows the word ‘gâteau’ which is French for ‘cake’. As you will notice, before you find the word ‘cake’, there is quite a lot of other coded information. The meaning of the codes is explained below.
gâteau,
x
[gato]
nm cake; ♦
~ sec biscuit
![Text Box: Between [ ] we find what is known as the phonetic transcription –this explains how a word sounds. (This is very similar to text messaging language.) You will learn more about this later.](merdedicoskills_files/image014.gif)
Exercise
What kind of words are these? Use the codes from page 2.
e.g. est / ferme / fermé / vite / les / je l’ai vue
2. Explore some common words as examples and show how to avoid making mistakes in the FL
A Look at page 560 in the Collins French dictionary.
We are looking at the word ‘do’
![Text Box: Do [du:] (pt did, pp done) n (inf: party etc) soirée f, fête f; (: formal gathering) réception f
♦vb 1. (in negative constructions) non traduit; I don't understand je ne comprends pas
2. (to form questions) non traduit; didn't you know? vous ne le saviez pas?; why didn't you come? pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas venu?
3. (for emphasis, in polite expressions): she does seem rather late je trouve qu'elle est bien en retard; do sit down/help yourself asseyez-vous/servez-vous je vous en prie; I do wish I could go j'aimerais tant y aller; but I DO like it! mais si, je l'aime!
4. (used to avoid repeating vb): she swims better than I do elle nage mieux que moi; do you agree? — yes, I do/no, I don't vous êtes d'accord? — oui/non; she lives in Glasgow — so do I elle habite Glasgow — moi aussi; who broke it? — I did qui l'a cassé? — c'est moi
5. (in question tags): he laughed, didn't he? il a ri, n'est-ce pas?; I don't know him, do I? je ne crois pas le connaître
♦vt (gen: carry out, perform etc) faire; (visit: city, museum) faire, visiter; what are you doing tonight? qu'est-ce que vous faites ce soir?; what did he do with the cat? qu'a t'il fait du chat?; to do the cooking/washing-up faire la cuisine/la vaisselle; to do one's teeth/hair/nails se brosser les dents/se coiffer/se faire les ongles; the car was doing 100 la voiture faisait du 100 (à l'heure)
♦vi 1. (act, behave) faire; do as I do faites comme moi
2. (get on, fare) marcher; the firm is doing well l'entreprise marche bien; how do you do? comment allez-vous?; (on being introduced) enchanté(e)!
3. (suit) aller; will it do? est-ce que ça ira?
4. (be sufficient) suffire, aller; will £10 do? est-ce que 10 livres suffiront?; that'll do ça suffit, ça ira; that'll do! (in annoyance) ça va or suffit comme ça!; to make do (with) se contenter (de)
►do away with vt fus abolir; (kill) supprimer
►do for vt fus (BRIT col: clean for) faire le ménage chez
►do up vt (laces, dress) attacher; (buttons) boutonner; (zip) fermer; (renovate: room) refaire; (: house) remettre à neuf; to do oneself up se faire beau(belle)
►do with vt fus (need): I could do with a drink/some help quelque chose à boire/un peu d'aide ne serait pas de refus; it could do with a wash ça ne lui ferait pas de mal d'être lavé; (be connected): that has nothing to do with you cela ne vous concerne pas; I won't have anything to do with it je ne veux pas m'en mêler; what has that got to do with it? quel est le rapport?, qu'est-ce que cela vient faire là-dedans?
► do without vi s'en passer < vt fus se passer de](merdedicoskills_files/image017.gif)
Exercise
How would you translate the following?
o A wedding do
o Do help yourself
o She speaks French better than I do
o How do you do?
o Will it do?
o To make do with
o To do up your bedroom
B Next we will explore the word ‘look’ on page 668.
![Text Box: look [luk] vi regarder; (seem) sembler, paraître, avoir l'air; (building etc): to look south/on to the sea donner au sud/sur la mer ♦ n regard m; (appearance) air m, allure f, aspect m; looks npl physique m, beauté f; to look like ressembler à; it looks like him on dirait que c'est lui; it looks about 4 metres long je dirais que ça fait 4 mètres de long, à vue de nez, ça fait 4 mètres de long; it looks all right to me ça me paraît bien; to have a look at sth jeter un coup d'œil à qch; to have a look for sth chercher qch; to look ahead regarder devant soi; (fig) envisager l'avenir.
► look after vt fus s'occuper de, prendre soin de; (luggage etc: watch over) garder, surveiller.
► look around vi regarder autour de soi.
► look at vt fus regarder.
► look back vi: to look back at sth/sb se retourner pour regarder qch/qn; to look back on (event, period) évoquer, repenser à.
► look down on vt fus (fig) regarder de haut, dédaigner.
► look for vt fus chercher.
► look forward to vt fus attendre avec impatience; I'm not looking forward to it cette perspective ne me réjouit guère; looking forward to hearing from you (in letter) dans l'attente de vous lire.
► look in vi: to look in on sb passer voir qn.
► look into vt fus (matter, possibility) examiner, étudier.
► look on vi regarder (en spectateur).
► look out vi (beware): to look out (for) prendre garde (à), faire attention (à).
► look out for vt fus être à la recherche de; guetter.
► look over vt (essay) jeter un coup d'œil à; (town, building) visiter (rapidement); (person) jeter un coup d'œil à; examiner de la tête aux pieds.
► look round vi (turn) regarder derrière soi, se retourner; to look round for sth chercher qch.
► look through vt fus (papers, book) examiner; (: briefly) parcourir; (telescope) regarder à travers.
► look to vt fus veiller à; (rely on) compter sur.
► look up vi lever les yeux; (improve) s'améliorer ♦ vt (word) chercher; (friend) passer voir.
► look up to vt fus avoir du respect pour.](merdedicoskills_files/image018.gif)
How would you translate these?
o He looks sad
o My room looks out onto the garden
o Looks are not everything
o She looks like her mum
o I look after my little sister
o I’m looking forward to going to France
o He looked through the binoculars
o He looked through the book
C. Avoiding mistakes
We are going to look at the French part of the dictionary.
Think about how you would translate this :
Je l’ai considéré sous un jour nouveau
You know all the words in this expression yet the word ‘jour’ would not translate as ‘day’ in this instance. How would you translate the sentence?
How would you translate
I get on with my parents
The choices are :
· se débrouiller
· s’entendre avec
· ça va
· monter sur
Which one would you use and why?
Now write the French for
I get on with my parents
3. Cross referencing and dictionary based mistakes
Using both ends of the dictionary can help to avoid silly mistakes. For example in this phrase
Une confiture de trafic
the writer was trying to say ‘traffic jam’.
Why is it wrong? What is the correct expression.
Here are some more interesting examples of dictionary mistakes.
Can you work out what they were trying to say and where they went wrong?
|
What was said |
What they were trying to say |
Where they went wrong |
|
Je bidon voir |
|
|
|
Il ne fait pas matière |
|
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Le voisin capot |
|
|
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Puits je ne jamais |
|
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Un vaisselier fâché |
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Je suis allé duvet la rue |
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C’est bon pour portion vous à dormir |
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|
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J’ai marché dos |
|
|
4. To explore other resources in the dictionary, including grammar and extension material.
Quick reference pages
French verbs pages xii – x111
French numbers pages xiv – xv
Times / dates / time phrases pages xvi – xvii
Cultural references
These appear in boxes in the main body of the dictionary.
e.g. page 272 tells you about the French Minitel system
page 668 tells you about Lollipop ladies
The blue section at the back has grammar notes for extra reading and clarification
There is an index on pages 4 and 5.
Of PARTICULAR note is the section on IRREGULAR VERBS starting on page 74. These contain all the tenses you are likely to need.
Pay PARTICULAR ATTENTION to how you access the information for the Perfect Tense. There is an auxiliary at the top right and the past participle is at the top left below the infinitive.
5. To list common errors and false friends
|
French word |
What it is not |
What it is |
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Car |
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Chariot |
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Course |
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Direction |
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Librairie |
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Location |
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Mince |
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Pensio |
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Pièce |
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Rester |
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Slip |
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Stage |
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French-English False Friends
"False friends" are words that seem to be the same but in fact have different meanings to what looks like the obvious one. Listed here are some of the most common false friends for French and English, as well as a few other words that give particular problems.
|
French |
English translation |
Comments and Examples |
|
actuel |
present |
in the present situation |
|
actuellement |
at present |
I am studying English at present |
|
réel |
actual |
his actual words were... |
|
réellement |
actually |
|
|
air |
air |
fresh air |
|
air |
look, appearance, air, manner |
an air of luxury |
|
air |
air, melody, tune, aria |
he sung an air |
|
aire |
area |
vast area |
|
ancien, ex- |
former |
ancien professeur a former teacher |
|
ancien, de jadis |
ancient |
La Grèce ancienne ancient Greece |
|
assister à |
to attend |
to attend a meeting, conference |
|
assister (aider) |
to assist |
to assist sb in doing sth |
|
attendre |
to wait (for) |
|
|
commander, diriger |
to command |
to command an army |
|
commander |
to order |
to order a meal |
|
complet |
comprehensive |
a comprehensive price-list |
|
compréhensif |
understanding |
an understanding friend |
|
conseils |
advice |
|
|
conseil |
a piece of advice |
|
|
contrée |
surrounding territory |
people from the region |
|
pays |
country |
people from all the countries |
|
contrôler |
to check |
to check passengers' tickets |
|
maîtriser |
to control |
to control yourself! |
|
crier |
to shout |
|
|
pleurer |
to cry |
|
|
demander |
to ask |
to ask sby for sth |
|
exiger, réclamer |
to demand |
to demand a refund |
|
démissioner |
to resign |
he resigned from the company |
|
licencier |
to dismiss |
he was dismissed without notice |
|
se résigner (à) |
resign oneself (to) |
she resigned herself to her fate |
|
divertissement |
entertainment |
|
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entrainement |
training |
|
|
état |
state |
the American states |
|
état |
estate |
real estate; the third estate |
|
état |
status |
civil status |
|
éventuel, possible |
possible |
one possible result |
|
éventuellement |
possibly |
he could possibly arrive |
|
final(ement) |
eventual(ly) |
eventually he surrendered |
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expérience |
experiment |
a scientific experiment |
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expérience |
experience |
experience of life |
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experimenté |
experienced |
an experienced teacher |
|
fait |
fact |
|
|
haut faits, exploit |
feat, exploit |
|
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frère |
brother |
they were brother and sister |
|
moine, frère |
friar, monk |
the friars of the Franciscan order |
|
ignorer, ne pas connaître |
not to know, to be unaware of |
I know nothing about the matter |
|
ignorant [adj] |
ignorant |
ignorant of the rule, he |
|
ignorant [mf] |
ignoramus |
what an ignoramus you are! |
|
ne tenir aucun compte de |
to ignore |
I shall ignore your impertinence |
|
important |
important |
(quality) an important event, fact, question, meeting, decision; a VIP |
|
important |
big, sizeable |
(quantity) a big house, a sizeable turnover |
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informations |
news |
|
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renseignements |
information |
|
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intéressant, captivant |
interesting |
an interesting book or person |
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intéressant, avantageux |
attractive, worthwhile |
an attractive price or offer |
|
journée |
day; day's work |
he worked all the day |
|
voyage |
journey, voyage |
a journey through the country |
|
labeur, travail |
labor, toil |
|
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labour, labourage |
ploughing |
|
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location |
rent, hire |
car hire, a hire-car |
|
situation |
location |
a suitable location for a car factory, filmed on location |
|
noise |
quarrel |
|
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bruit |
noise |
|
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occasion, circonstance |
occasion |
on the first occasion that it happened |
|
occasion, conjoncture favorable |
opportunity, chance |
to jump at the chance |
|
occasion |
second-hand buy |
a second-hand or used car |
|
bargain |
a real bargain at €100 |
|
|
offrir, proposer |
to offer |
to offer to help, how much do you offer for it? |
|
offrir, donner |
to give |
to give sby a birthday present |
|
politique [adj] |
political |
a political campaign, speech |
|
politique [nf] |
policy |
it is not company policy |
|
politique [nm] |
politician |
an honest politician |
|
préciser |
to specify, to make clear |
the verb "to precise" does not exist in English |
|
prix |
prize |
to win first prize |
|
prix |
price |
the price is €10 |
|
retrouvailles |
reunion |
a school reunion every year |
|
réunion |
meeting |
a meeting with clients |
|
meeting |
meeting |
a sports or political meeting |
|
se retirer |
to withdraw |
to withdraw from a race |
|
prendre sa retraite |
to retire |
to retire at 60 |
|
travail |
work |
a work to be done |
|
torture |
travail, torture |
|
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voyage |
travel |
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Check list
Do I know how to … ?
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explain dictionary abbreviations |
|
|
avoid making mistakes in French |
|
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cross reference entries |
|
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find other resources in the dictionary |
|
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avoid common errors and false friends |
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