Learn French > skills

    TRANSLATION SKILLS

How to improve your translation skills:

- When translating material in lessons, record your mistakes to review them later. They often reveal a faulty reasoning based on how your native language works, and you are likely to repeat them.

- Study the common pitfalls and practise translating sentences which contain them.

- When studying a grammar point, write down all the examples given in French and English. Put them aside and use them later as a translation exercise.

- Pick a verb randomly in a big paper dictionary and write down all the examples given of its different uses. Put them aside to do the same as the above.

- Pay attention to details in the sentence, particulary the tenses used, who or what the pronouns refer to, etc

Practise translating :

Grammar-based short texts to translate (IGCSE & A-Level/IB)
From the News: very short paragraphs to translate (A-Level/IB)

Geo Ado on-line: News in English (translated little paragraphs)

Little translated texts from the press, click here

Common mistakes English > French:
a boarding house = un internat
to look (appearance, mood) = avoir l'air
a match (game) = un match
to socialise = rencontrer / fréquenter des gens / bien s'entendre avec des gens
facilities = des installations / des équipements / un systeme
several / some people = plusieurs / certaines personnes
to work (to function) = marcher, fonctionner
actually = en fait
eventually = finalement / un jour - finir par
an argument = un argument (in a debate) / une dispute (a fight)
to go for (a walk / a ride, etc) = faire (une promenade / de l'équitation, etc)
relevant = pertinent - avoir un rapport avec
reflection = la réflexion (deep thinking) / le reflet (result, evidence)
​to realise = comprendre
a time (when) = un moment
ability - la capacité
I wish I had = j'aurais aimé
to educate about = éduquer au sujet de
dependEnce (English spelling) = dépendAnce (FrAnçais)
I miss home = j'ai le mal du pays / la famille me manque
to hear from = avoir des nouvelles de
to hear of/about = entendre parler de
it's been a long time since we last saw each other = cela fait longtemps qu'on ne s'est vu!
what have you been up to? = Qu'as-tu fait récemment / ces derniers temps?
You would like it = tu aimerais

Mistakes French > English : Pay attention to context!
le règlement = "payment" or "set of rules"
une entrée = "a starter" or "an input" (computer, data)
actuellement = at the moment
How to translate "prendre"

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For corrections, click here

Specific translation DIFFICULTIES:

How to translate ABOUT
adverb
 1.(= approximately) environ, à peu près  
⇒ It takes about 10 hours. Ça prend environ 10 heures., Ça prend à peu près 10 heures.
 at about 2 o'clock = vers 2 heures
 preposition 
> relating to =  au sujet de, à propos de  
⇒ I'm phoning you about tomorrow's meeting. Je vous appelle à propos de la réunion de demain.   ⇒ a book about London un livre sur Londres
> with regard to  = en ce qui concerne
I am more confident about… = Je suis plus confiant en ce qui concerne…
 
What is it about?  = De quoi s'agit-il?
 
to talk about something =  parler de quelque chose
  ⇒ We talked about it. Nous en avons parlé.
 
To do something about … Faire quelque chose en ce qui concerne / au sujet de
 
referring to place : dans
to walk about the town =  se promener dans la ville

How to translate DAY / YEAR / etc

Read the explanations here

How to translate TO FEEL

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
to take
to know
to drive/cycle/fly somewhere
to look (like)
to have a good time
to think
to make
it is necessary
-ing form
people
passé composé or imparfait?
place of prepositions
false cognates
bon ou bien?
early
both
to mind
to miss
last/next
may/might