Usage note : your

Usage note : your
For a full note on the use of the vous and tu forms in French, see the entry you.
In French, determiners agree in gender and number with the noun they qualify. So your, when addressing one person, is translated by votre, or more familiarly ton, + masculine singular noun (votre chien or ton chien), by votre or ta + feminine singular noun (votre maison or ta maison) and by vos or tes + plural noun (vos enfants or tes enfants). Note that ton is used with a feminine noun beginnning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ (ton adresse).
When addressing more than one person, the translation is votre + singular noun and vos + plural noun. When your is stressed, à vous or à toi is added after the noun :
your house
= votre maison à vous
When used impersonally to mean one’s, your is translated by son, sa or ses when you is translated by on :
you buy your tickets at the door
= on prend ses billets à l’entrée
The translation after an impersonal verb in French is son, sa, ses :
you have to buy your tickets at the door
= il faut prendre ses billets à l’entrée
Note, however, the following :
sweets are bad for your teeth
= les bonbons sont mauvais pour les dents
your average student
= l’étudiant moyen
For your used with parts of the body ⇒ The human body.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Regardez d'autres dictionnaires:

  • your — [jɔ:, jʊə] possessive determiner 1》 belonging to or associated with the person or people that the speaker is addressing. 2》 belonging to or associated with any person in general. 3》 (Your) used when addressing the holder of certain titles. Origin …   English new terms dictionary

  • List of English words with disputed usage — Some English words are often used in ways that are contentious between writers on usage and prescriptive commentators. The contentious usages are especially common in spoken English. While in some circles the usages below may make the speaker… …   Wikipedia

  • in your prime — in (your/its) prime in someone s or something s best, most successful, or most productive stage. She retired in her prime, but continued working part time as a consultant. Though the magazine was in its prime, it stopped publication when the… …   New idioms dictionary

  • de|note — «dih NOHT», transitive verb, not|ed, not|ing. 1. to be the sign of; indicate: »A fever usually denotes sickness. If the teacher writes an “A” on your paper, it denotes very good work. 2. to be a name for; mean: » …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wikipedia:Your first article — Writing an article Learn how you can create an article. This is a page about writing your first article, not the place to actually write it! If you wou …   Wikipedia

  • Eating your own dog food — Eating your own dog food, also called dogfooding, is when a company (usually, a software company) uses the products that it makes.[1] In 1988, Microsoft manager Paul Maritz sent Brian Valentine, test manager for Microsoft LAN Manager, an email… …   Wikipedia

  • Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah — The Battle of al Qādisiyyah (Arabic: معركة القادسيّة‎; transliteration, Ma rakat al Qādisiyyah; Persian: نبرد قادسيه; alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sassanid… …   Wikipedia

  • Non-English usage of quotation marks — A Non English usage of quotation marks Punctuation apostrophe ( …   Wikipedia

  • Sensible note — Sensible Sen si*ble, a. [F., fr. L. sensibilis, fr. sensus sense.] 1. Capable of being perceived by the senses; apprehensible through the bodily organs; hence, also, perceptible to the mind; making an impression upon the sense, reason, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • In the Shadow of Your Wings — The book In the Shadow of Your Wings (Unter dem Schatten deiner Flügel) contains well chosen diary recordings which Jochen Klepper wrote down in the time from April, 1932 to 10th December, 1942. The choice appeared first in 1956. The Protestant… …   Wikipedia

  • Save your reverence — Reverence Rev er*ence, n. [F. r[ e]v[ e]rence, L. reverentia. See {Reverent}.] 1. Profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and affection, as for a holy being or place; the disposition to revere; veneration. [1913 Webster] If thou be poor,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”