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Demander, expliquer, s'entraîner, se rappeler, connaître — les verbes de l'apprentissage.
24 concepts
Les colonnes suivent les langues activées en haut. Le genre après le mot (m/f/n) ; l'API en dessous ; les notes, variantes et origines encore en dessous — rien n'est caché.
| Concept | English | Français | Español |
|---|---|---|---|
to ask (a question) verb | to ask Ask a question, ask FOR something. RP /ɑːsk/, US /æsk/. | demander also: poser une question False friend: demander = ASK, not demand (exiger). Demander covers asking a question and asking for something. | preguntar also: pedir (ask for) Preguntar asks a question; pedir asks FOR something (pedir un café). Mixing them is the classic slip. |
to calculate / do sums verb | to calculate also: to work out, to do sums In class: do sums (UK), do the math (US). Work it out = the spoken version. | calculer also: faire des calculs Calcul mental = mental arithmetic. | calcular also: hacer cuentas Also 'to reckon, estimate': calculo que llegará a las ocho. |
to check verb | to check also: to double-check Check = verify. 'Control' in English means steer or command — not check, though the neighbours use it that way. | vérifier also: contrôler Contrôler = check (tickets, papers) — the false friend behind English 'control'. | comprobar also: revisar, checar (Mexico), chequear Spain comprobar; Latin America revisar, and Mexico checar. |
to copy verb | to copy also: to copy out (by hand) In class, copying someone's answers = cheating. | copier also: recopier (write out again) Also 'to cheat' by copying: copier sur son voisin. | copiar Also cheating in an exam: copiar en el examen. |
to count verb | to count Count to ten. Also 'to matter': that doesn't count. | compter The p is silent. Same Latin root as conter (tell a story) — English account / recount keep both. | contar Count AND tell (a story) in one verb: cuéntame = tell me. |
to draw verb | to draw Irregular: drew, drawn. Also a tie in sport (it was a draw) and draw the curtains. | dessiner Le dessin = drawing; le dessein (with an e) = intention. Tirer is to draw a card or a gun. | dibujar El dibujo = drawing; dibujos animados = cartoons. |
to experiment verb | to experiment also: to do experiments Verb /-mɛnt/, noun /-mənt/. Experience ≠ experiment in English. | expérimenter also: faire des expériences Une expérience is BOTH an experience and a lab experiment — English splits them. | experimentar also: hacer experimentos Also 'to experience, to feel': experimentar un cambio. |
to explain verb | to explain Explain it TO me — never 'explain me'. French, Spanish, German and Italian speakers all make that slip. | expliquer Expliquer quelque chose à quelqu'un; the person is indirect: explique-moi. | explicar Often /espliˈkaɾ/ in Spain. Explícame = explain to me. |
to observe verb | to observe also: to watch closely The s is /z/. Also 'to remark' and to keep (a rule, a holiday). | observer The b devoices to /p/ before s. | observar Also 'to remark, point out'. |
to practise verb | to practise UK: practise (verb), practice (noun). US: practice for both. Practise your jab. | pratiquer also: s'entraîner à (drill), réviser Pratiquer is doing a sport or using a language (pratiquer l'anglais); drilling a move is s'entraîner à. | practicar Practise AND do a sport: practico boxeo = I box. |
to review / revise (for a test) verb | to review also: to revise (UK, for exams), to go over UK students revise for exams; US students review. In the US, revise means only to edit. | réviser Réviser = study for an exam; also service a car (faire réviser la voiture). | repasar 'Pass over again'. Revisar means to check, not to study. |
to spell (out) verb | to spell How do you spell it? — needed often in English because spelling and sound drift apart. | épeler J'épelle: double l when stressed. Orthographe = spelling. | deletrear Rarely needed: Spanish spelling follows the sound. Letra = letter. |
to study verb | to study Study (for a test, a subject); 'learn' is the result. | étudier also: bosser (familiar), travailler Also 'to be a student' (j'étudie à Lyon). | estudiar Also 'to be a student': ¿estudias o trabajas? |
to teach verb | to teach Irregular: taught /tɔːt/. Teach someone something; never 'learn someone'. | enseigner also: apprendre à In speech apprendre does the job: il m'a appris à nager. Enseigner is the profession. | enseñar Also 'to show': enséñame la foto. Never aprender, which is only learning. |
to show verb | to show Past participle shown. Show someone something; show it to them. | montrer Montrer = show; une montre = a watch (the thing that shows the time). | mostrar also: enseñar (Spain, everyday) In Spain enseñar is the everyday 'show': enséñame. |
to think (it over) verb | to think Irregular: thought /θɔːt/. Think ABOUT something; think it over = take time. | réfléchir also: penser Réfléchir is thinking something over (laisse-moi réfléchir); penser is having a thought or opinion. Penser à = think about; penser de = think of (an opinion). | pensar also: reflexionar, pensarlo Pensar en = think about; pensar de = opinion. Déjame pensarlo = let me think about it. |
to know (a thing, a place, a person) verb | to know One verb for facts and for people or places — its neighbours split it in two. | connaître also: savoir (facts, how to) Connaître = be familiar with (a person, a place, a film); savoir = know a fact or how to: je sais nager, je sais qu'il vient. | conocer also: saber (facts, how to) Conocer a person, place or thing; saber a fact or a skill. Conocer a alguien also means to meet them for the first time. |
to try verb | to try also: to have a go Try to do = attempt; try doing = experiment. Try on = clothes. | essayer Also try on clothes and try food. Essayer de + infinitive. | intentar also: probar (taste, try on), tratar de Intentar = attempt; probar = try food or clothes. |
to start / begin verb | to start also: to begin Start is everyday; begin a little more formal. Only start works for machines: start the car. | commencer also: démarrer (machines) Cedilla before a/o: nous commençons. Démarrer for a car or a computer. | empezar also: comenzar, arrancar (machines) Empezar a + infinitive: empiezo a entender. |
to finish verb | to finish also: to end, to be done Finish WHAT (finish the work); end is what stops by itself (the film ends). | finir also: terminer The model -ir verb: nous finissons. J'ai fini = I'm done. | terminar also: acabar Acabar de + infinitive = to have just done: acabo de llegar. In the River Plate acabar also has a sexual sense — terminar is safer there. |
to choose verb | to choose also: to pick Irregular: chose /t͡ʃəʊz/, chosen. Pick is the spoken one. | choisir Le choix = the choice. | elegir also: escoger Also 'to elect'. Escoger is picking from a set. |
to search / look for verb | to search also: to look for, to look Look FOR something; search a place (search the room) or search for a thing. | chercher No 'for': je cherche mes clés. Aller chercher = go and get / pick up. | buscar No 'for': busco mis llaves. Buscar a alguien = look for, or pick someone up. |
to listen verb | to listen The t is silent. Listen TO something. | écouter No 'to': écouter la musique. Hear is entendre. | escuchar No 'to': escuchar música. In Latin America it also covers 'hear'. |
to remember verb | to remember Remember to do (don't forget); remember doing (a memory). Remind = make someone remember. | se rappeler also: se souvenir de Se rappeler takes the thing directly (je me rappelle ce jour); se souvenir needs de (je me souviens de ce jour). 'Se rappeler de' is common but frowned on. | recordar also: acordarse de (reflexive, everyday) Recordar takes the thing directly; the everyday spoken form is acordarse de: ¿te acuerdas de mí? Recordar a alguien also = remind. |