Sense and Sensibility — Page 3

English → Fr CHAPTER I. Level 7/10

Dashwood had wished for it more for the sake of his wife and daughters than for himself or his son;—but to his son, and his son's son, a child of four years old, it was secured, in such a way, as to leave to himself no power of providing for those who were most dear to him, and who most needed a provision by any charge on the estate, or by any sale of its valuable woods.

Dashwood l'avait souhaité davantage pour le bien de sa femme et de ses filles que pour lui-même ou son fils ; — mais à son fils, et au fils de son fils, un enfant de quatre ans, il était assuré, de telle manière, qu'il ne lui restait aucun pouvoir de pourvoir à ceux qui lui étaient les plus chers, et qui avaient le plus besoin d'une telle provision, que ce soit par quelque charge sur le domaine ou par la vente de ses précieux bois.

The whole was tied up for the benefit of this child, who, in occasional visits with his father and mother at Norland, had so far gained on the affections of his uncle, by such attractions as are by no means unusual in children of two or three years old; an imperfect articulation, an earnest desire of having his own way, many cunning tricks, and a great deal of noise, as to outweigh all the value of all the attention which, for years, he had received from his niece and her daughters.

Le tout était réservé au bénéfice de cet enfant, qui, lors de visites occasionnelles avec son père et sa mère à Norland, avait jusqu'alors si bien gagné l'affection de son oncle, grâce à des attraits qui ne sont nullement inhabituels chez les enfants de deux ou trois ans : une articulation imparfaite, un désir ardent d'avoir toujours ce qu'il voulait, de nombreuses ruses malicieuses et beaucoup de bruit, au point d'éclipser toute la valeur de toute l'attention que, pendant des années, il avait reçue de sa nièce et de ses filles.

He meant not to be unkind, however, and, as a mark of his affection for the three girls, he left them a thousand pounds a-piece.

Il n'avait pas l'intention d'être cruel, cependant, et, en signe d'affection pour les trois filles, il leur laissa mille livres chacune.

Mr. Dashwood's disappointment was, at first, severe; but his temper was cheerful and sanguine; and he might reasonably hope to live many years, and by living economically, lay by a considerable sum from the produce of an estate already large, and capable of almost immediate improvement.

La déception de M. Dashwood fut, dans un premier temps, vive ; mais son tempérament était enjoué et optimiste ; et il pouvait raisonnablement espérer vivre encore de nombreuses années, et, en vivant avec économie, mettre de côté une somme considérable provenant des revenus d'un domaine déjà vaste et susceptible d'une amélioration presque immédiate.

Vocabulary

l': Contraction of 'le' or 'la'; the (before vowel).
avait: Had; third person singular imperfect of 'avoir'.
souhaité: Wished, desired; past participle of 'souhaiter'.
davantage: More, to a greater extent or degree.
pour: For, in order to; common preposition.
le: The; masculine singular definite article.
bien: Good, well; benefit or welfare of someone.
de: Of, from; very common French preposition.
sa: His, her; feminine singular possessive adjective.
femme: Woman, wife; female spouse or adult woman.
et: And; basic coordinating conjunction.
ses: His, her, its; plural possessive adjective.
filles: Girls, daughters; plural of 'fille'.
que: That, than, which; versatile conjunction or pronoun.
lui: Him, her; stressed or indirect object pronoun.
même: Same, even, itself; used for emphasis or identity.
ou: Or; coordinating conjunction indicating alternative.
son: His, her, its; masculine singular possessive adjective.
fils: Son; male child in relation to his parents.
mais: But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
à: At, to, in; very common French preposition.
au: To the, at the; contraction of 'à le'.
un: A, an, one; masculine indefinite article.
enfant: Child; young human being, boy or girl.
quatre: Four; the cardinal number between three and five.
ans: Years; plural of 'an', unit of time.
il: He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun.
était: Was, were; imperfect tense of 'être'.
assuré: Assured, certain, guaranteed; past participle of 'assurer'.
telle: Such, like; feminine form of 'tel'.
manière: Manner, way; method or style of doing something.
qu': That, which; contraction of 'que' before vowel.
ne: Not; first part of French negative construction.
restait: Remained, was left; imperfect tense of 'rester'.
aucun: No, none, not any; negative adjective or pronoun.
pouvoir: Power, ability; also the verb meaning to be able.
pourvoir: To provide for, to supply; an infinitive verb.
ceux: Those, they; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun.
qui: Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun.
étaient: Were; third person plural imperfect of 'être'.
les: The; plural definite article for all genders.
plus: More, most; used in comparatives and superlatives.
chers: Dear, beloved, expensive; plural of 'cher'.
avaient: Had; third person plural imperfect of 'avoir'.
besoin: Need; necessity or requirement for something.
d': Of, from; contraction of 'de' before a vowel.
une: A, an, one; feminine indefinite article.
provision: Provision, supply; financial reserve or stock.
ce: This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
soit: Be, whether; subjunctive of 'être', used in expressions.
par: By, through, per; common French preposition.
quelque: Some, any, a few; indefinite adjective.
charge: Charge, burden, obligation; financial or legal claim.
sur: On, upon, over; common French preposition.
domaine: Estate, domain; landed property or field of activity.
la: The; feminine singular definite article.
vente: Sale; act of selling goods or property.
précieux: Precious, valuable; of great worth or importance.
bois: Wood, woods; timber or a forested area.
Le: The; masculine singular definite article.
tout: All, everything, whole; indefinite adjective or pronoun.
réservé: Reserved, set aside; past participle of 'réserver'.
bénéfice: Benefit, profit; advantage or financial gain.
cet: This, that; masculine demonstrative adjective before vowel.
lors: At the time of; used in expressions like 'lors de'.
visites: Visits; plural of 'visite', act of visiting someone.
occasionnelles: Occasional; happening from time to time, not regular.
avec: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
père: Father; male parent of a child.
mère: Mother; female parent of a child.
jusqu': Until, up to; contraction of 'jusqu'à' before vowel.
alors: Then, at that time; temporal or logical connector.
si: So, if, such; used for conditions or emphasis.
gagné: Won, gained, earned; past participle of 'gagner'.
affection: Affection; warm feeling or fondness toward someone.
oncle: Uncle; brother of one's parent.
grâce: Grace, thanks to; elegance or gratitude.
des: Some, of the; plural indefinite article or partitive.
attraits: Charms, attractions; appealing qualities of a person.
sont: Are; third person plural present of 'être'.
nullement: Not at all, in no way; strong negative adverb.
inhabituels: Unusual, uncommon; not typical or ordinary.
chez: At the home of, among; preposition of location.
deux: Two; cardinal number between one and three.
trois: Three; cardinal number between two and four.
articulation: Articulation; pronunciation or manner of speaking words.
imparfaite: Imperfect, flawed; feminine form of 'imparfait'.
désir: Desire, wish; strong longing or want for something.
ardent: Ardent, fervent; intensely enthusiastic or passionate.
avoir: To have; fundamental auxiliary and lexical verb.
toujours: Always, still; at all times or continuing action.
voulait: Wanted, wished; imperfect tense of 'vouloir'.
nombreuses: Numerous, many; feminine plural form of 'nombreux'.
ruses: Tricks, cunning ploys; clever or mischievous strategies.
malicieuses: Mischievous, sly; playfully cunning or naughty.
beaucoup: A lot, much, many; common adverb of quantity.
bruit: Noise, sound; unwanted or loud auditory disturbance.
point: Not at all, point; used as a negative or noun.
éclipser: To eclipse, overshadow; to outshine or surpass someone.
toute: All, every; feminine singular form of 'tout'.
valeur: Value, worth; importance or monetary value of something.
attention: Attention, care; act of focusing on something.
pendant: During, for; preposition indicating a period of time.
années: Years; plural of 'année', feminine form of year.
reçue: Received; feminine past participle of 'recevoir'.
nièce: Niece; daughter of one's brother or sister.
Il: He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun.
n': Not; contraction of 'ne' before a vowel.
pas: Not; second part of standard French negation.
intention: Intention, purpose; plan or aim behind an action.
être: To be; fundamental auxiliary and copular verb.
cruel: Cruel; deliberately causing pain or suffering to others.
cependant: However, yet; conjunction expressing contrast or concession.
en: In, as, by; versatile French preposition or pronoun.
signe: Sign, token; indication or gesture of something.
leur: Their, them; possessive adjective or indirect object pronoun.
laissa: Left, bequeathed; simple past of 'laisser'.
mille: Thousand; the number one thousand.
livres: Pounds; former French currency or unit of weight.
chacune: Each one; feminine indefinite pronoun meaning each person.
La: The; feminine singular definite article.
déception: Disappointment; feeling of letdown or unmet expectation.
M.: Mr.; abbreviation of 'Monsieur', title for a man.
fut: Was; simple past tense of 'être'.
dans: In, inside, within; common French preposition of place.
premier: First; ordinal number, masculine singular form.
temps: Time, weather; period or meteorological conditions.
vive: Vivid, keen, intense; feminine form of 'vif'.
tempérament: Temperament; natural disposition or character of a person.
enjoué: Cheerful, playful; having a lively and joyful manner.
optimiste: Optimistic; tending to expect positive outcomes.
pouvait: Could, was able to; imperfect tense of 'pouvoir'.
raisonnablement: Reasonably; in a sensible or moderate manner.
espérer: To hope; to wish for something with expectation.
vivre: To live; to be alive or to reside somewhere.
encore: Still, again, yet; continuing or repeating action.
vivant: Living, alive; present participle or adjective of 'vivre'.
économie: Economy, saving; frugal management of resources.
mettre: To put, place, set; common versatile action verb.
côté: Side; direction, part, or aspect of something.
somme: Sum, amount; total of money or quantities added.
considérable: Considerable, significant; notably large in amount.
provenant: Coming from, originating; present participle of 'provenir'.
revenus: Income, revenues; money received regularly from work.
déjà: Already, before; indicating something happened previously.
vaste: Vast, large; of great extent or size.
susceptible: Susceptible, capable of; open to or likely to change.
amélioration: Improvement; act of making something better or enhanced.
presque: Almost, nearly; very close to but not quite.
immédiate: Immediate; happening at once without delay.

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