vocab

[alan gould]

To pretend

I recently saw “Elle se donne l’aire d’une femme riche” -- She pretends to b rich

I had earlier learned “pretend” to b “faire semblant.”  I’m thinking that maybe the English translation is wrong, that she’s giving the impression of being rich, but it’s not clear that she’s not. 

 Allure

It’s used in English in fashion to mean attractive or fascinating.  I checked the definition and I like the usage given – gold or jewelry have no allure to some people.  only an educated person would use it and I would use it that way. 

In English we’d refer to someone having a certain “look” – menacing, threatening, innocent, etc. – whereas I think the French would use “allure.”  The dictionary gave the example « avoir une drole allure ».  it also gave “avoir de l’allure” but in English we’d say “she has great style” “she has a great sense of style” “she’s very stylish” or “she dresses very elegantly.” 

Promener

I never heard it used this way:

She carries her purse everywhere -- Elle promene son sac partout

Are the below 2 correct? 

Serrer a droite – keep to the right

Ce pantalon me serre trop - these pants are too tight

S’avérer v se révéler

I learned the former to mean “to turn out to b” – s’avérer facile (par example).  I recently came across se révéler.  Are they used interchangeably? 

 

[Chantal Savignat]

To pretend

I recently saw “Elle se donne l’aire d’une femme riche” -- She pretends to b rich

I had earlier learned “pretend” to b “faire semblant.”  I’m thinking that maybe the English translation is wrong, that she’s giving the impression of being rich, but it’s not clear that she’s not. 

> Elle se donne l’air = she wants to give an impression of being rich but I am pretty sure she’s not. If there is a doubt about she’s rich, I rather say “elle a l’air d’une personne riche”.

 

 

 Allure

It’s used in English in fashion to mean attractive or fascinating.  I checked the definition and I like the usage given – gold or jewelry have no allure to some people.  only an educated person would use it and I would use it that way. 

In English we’d refer to someone having a certain “look” – menacing, threatening, innocent, etc. – whereas I think the French would use “allure.”  The dictionary gave the example « avoir une drole allure ».  it also gave “avoir de l’allure” but in English we’d say “she has great style” “she has a great sense of style” “she’s very stylish” or “she dresses very elegantly.” 

> French use “look” too. In the meaning of “Allure” = apparence

Allure is used to refer to the appareance, the behaviour, the look, the outside picture, the perception by others.

Style is used to refer to an own way to dress or to behave in a sum of details that make a special package.

 

 

Promener

I never heard it used this way:

She carries her purse everywhere -- Elle promene son sac partout :

> oh yes it’s right. And it’s used with emotions too.

Elle promène sa peine. Elle promène sa joie.

 

Are the below 2 correct? 

Serrer a droite – (keep to the right = I don’t know what that means)  : “Serrer à droite” means driving a car, to be closer to the right you can be.

Ce pantalon me serre trop - these pants are too tight => yes

 

S’avérer v se révéler

I learned the former to mean “to turn out to b” – s’avérer facile (par example).  I recently came across se révéler.  Are they used interchangeably? Yes they are synonyms but (first but)…. in a conversation, se révéler is hardier to say with the following word “facile”. “S’avérer” is easier. But (second but) in some ways, « se révéler » is easier to say : “se révéler plus facile” (with a word in the middle) “s’est révélé facile” (au passé compose).

[Chantal Savignat]

Se donner l'air = to give an impression of being rich, but there are details that sound false.