The Brothers Karamazov — Page 3
" Hearing all about Adelaïda Ivanovna, whom he, of course, remembered, and in whom he had at one time been interested, and learning of the existence of Mitya, he intervened, in spite of all his youthful indignation and contempt for Fyodor Pavlovitch.
En apprenant tout ce qui concernait Adélaïda Ivanovna, dont il se souvenait naturellement, et pour qui il avait eu jadis de l'intérêt, et en apprenant l'existence de Mitya, il intervint, malgré toute son indignation juvénile et son mépris pour Fiodor Pavlovitch.
He made the latter's acquaintance for the first time, and told him directly that he wished to undertake the child's education.
Il fit la connaissance de ce dernier pour la première fois, et lui dit directement qu'il souhaitait se charger de l'éducation de l'enfant.
He used long afterwards to tell as a characteristic touch, that when he began to speak of Mitya, Fyodor Pavlovitch looked for some time as though he did not understand what child he was talking about, and even as though he was surprised to hear that he had a little son in the house.
Il aimait à raconter par la suite, comme un trait caractéristique, que lorsqu'il commença à parler de Mitya, Fiodor Pavlovitch eut l'air pendant quelque temps de ne pas comprendre de quel enfant il s'agissait, et même de s'étonner d'apprendre qu'il avait un petit garçon chez lui.
The story may have been exaggerated, yet it must have been something like the truth.
Le récit était peut-être exagéré, et pourtant il devait ressembler à la vérité.
Fyodor Pavlovitch was all his life fond of acting, of suddenly playing an unexpected part, sometimes without any motive for doing so, and even to his own direct disadvantage, as, for instance, in the present case.
Fiodor Pavlovitch avait toute sa vie aimé jouer la comédie, incarner soudainement un rôle inattendu, parfois sans aucune raison de le faire, et même à son propre détriment direct, comme, par exemple, dans le cas présent.
This habit, however, is characteristic of a very great number of people, some of them very clever ones, not like Fyodor Pavlovitch.
Cette habitude, cependant, est caractéristique d'un très grand nombre de personnes, dont certaines sont très intelligentes, et qui ne ressemblent pas à Fiodor Pavlovitch.
Pyotr Alexandrovitch carried the business through vigorously, and was appointed, with Fyodor Pavlovitch, joint guardian of the child, who had a small property, a house and land, left him by his mother.
Piotr Alexandrovitch mena l'affaire vigoureusement à bien, et fut nommé, conjointement avec Fiodor Pavlovitch, tuteur de l'enfant, qui possédait un petit patrimoine, une maison et un terrain, que lui avait laissés sa mère.
Vocabulary
- En
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'while' in French.
- apprenant
- Learning; present participle of 'apprendre'.
- tout
- All, everything, or every in French.
- ce
- Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'.
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'.
- concernait
- Was concerning or relating to something or someone.
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'of which,' 'whose,' or 'from which'.
- il
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with pronominal verbs in French.
- souvenait
- Was remembering; imperfect tense of 'se souvenir'.
- naturellement
- Naturally, of course, or as expected.
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and' in French.
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for,' 'in order to'.
- avait
- Had; third-person singular imperfect of 'avoir'.
- eu
- Had; past participle of the verb 'avoir'.
- jadis
- Formerly, in times past, long ago.
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'.
- l'
- Contracted definite article meaning 'the' before vowels.
- intérêt
- Interest, concern, or attention toward something.
- en
- Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in,' 'of it,' or 'some'.
- existence
- Existence; the state of being alive or present.
- intervint
- Intervened; simple past of 'intervenir'.
- malgré
- Despite, in spite of something.
- toute
- Feminine form of 'tout,' meaning 'all' or 'entire'.
- son
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its'.
- indignation
- Strong anger caused by unfair or unworthy behavior.
- juvénile
- Juvenile, youthful, relating to youth.
- mépris
- Contempt, scorn, or disdain toward someone.
- Il
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he'.
- fit
- Made or did; simple past tense of 'faire'.
- la
- Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her'.
- connaissance
- Acquaintance, knowledge, or the act of meeting someone.
- dernier
- Last, most recent, or final in a sequence.
- première
- First time; feminine form of 'premier'.
- fois
- Time, instance, or occasion of something happening.
- lui
- Personal pronoun meaning 'him,' 'her,' or 'to him'.
- dit
- Said; simple past or past participle of 'dire'.
- directement
- Directly, straightforwardly, without intermediary.
- qu'
- Contraction of 'que,' meaning 'that' or 'than'.
- souhaitait
- Was wishing or hoping for something; imperfect of 'souhaiter'.
- charger
- To entrust, to take charge of, or to load.
- éducation
- Education, upbringing, or the process of raising a child.
- enfant
- Child, a young person or baby.
- aimait
- Liked or loved; imperfect tense of 'aimer'.
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'in'.
- raconter
- To tell, narrate, or recount a story.
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by,' 'through,' or 'per'.
- suite
- Continuation, sequence; 'par suite' means 'subsequently'.
- comme
- As, like, or how in French.
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
- trait
- Trait, feature, or characteristic quality of someone.
- caractéristique
- Characteristic, distinctive feature or quality.
- que
- Conjunction meaning 'that,' 'which,' or 'than'.
- lorsqu'
- When; contraction of 'lorsque' before a vowel.
- commença
- Began; simple past of 'commencer'.
- parler
- To speak or to talk.
- eut
- Had; simple past tense of 'avoir'.
- air
- Appearance, manner, or look of a person.
- pendant
- During, for, or while a period of time.
- quelque
- Some, a few, or a certain amount.
- temps
- Time or weather; a fundamental French noun.
- ne
- Negative particle used with 'pas' to negate verbs.
- pas
- Not; negation particle paired with 'ne'.
- comprendre
- To understand or to comprehend something.
- quel
- What or which; interrogative or exclamative adjective.
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun contraction before a vowel sound.
- agissait
- Was about; imperfect of 's'agir de' meaning 'to concern'.
- même
- Even, same, or itself; versatile French adverb or adjective.
- étonner
- To astonish, surprise, or amaze someone.
- d'
- Contracted preposition 'de' before a vowel.
- apprendre
- To learn or to teach something to someone.
- petit
- Small, little, or young; common French adjective.
- garçon
- Boy, a young male child or waiter.
- chez
- At the home of, or in the context of someone.
- Le
- Definite masculine article meaning 'the'.
- récit
- Account, narrative, or story told about events.
- était
- Was; imperfect tense of 'être'.
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe, possibly.
- exagéré
- Exaggerated, overstated, or embellished beyond truth.
- pourtant
- However, yet, or nevertheless.
- devait
- Had to, was supposed to; imperfect of 'devoir'.
- ressembler
- To resemble or look like someone or something.
- vérité
- Truth, reality, or factual accuracy.
- sa
- His/her/its; feminine singular possessive adjective.
- vie
- Life, the state of being alive.
- aimé
- Loved; past participle of 'aimer'.
- jouer
- To play, to act, or to perform a role.
- comédie
- Comedy or play; theatrical performance meant to entertain.
- incarner
- To embody, to play a role, or to personify.
- soudainement
- Suddenly, all at once, without warning.
- rôle
- Role, part played in a performance or situation.
- inattendu
- Unexpected, surprising, or unforeseen.
- parfois
- Sometimes, occasionally, now and then.
- sans
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something.
- aucune
- No, none, not any; feminine negative adjective.
- raison
- Reason, motive, or justification for an action.
- le
- Masculine definite article or direct object pronoun 'him/it'.
- faire
- To do or to make; essential French verb.
- propre
- Own, clean, or proper; context-dependent French adjective.
- détriment
- Detriment, harm, or disadvantage suffered by someone.
- direct
- Direct, straightforward, or immediate.
- exemple
- Example, instance, or illustration of something.
- dans
- In, inside, or within; common French preposition.
- cas
- Case, situation, or instance of something.
- présent
- Present, current, or the current moment in time.
- Cette
- This; feminine demonstrative adjective in French.
- habitude
- Habit, custom, or regular practice.
- cependant
- However, nevertheless, yet; used to contrast ideas.
- est
- Is; third-person singular present of 'être'.
- très
- Very; intensifying adverb used before adjectives.
- grand
- Large, great, or tall; common French adjective.
- nombre
- Number, quantity, or amount of things.
- personnes
- People, individuals, or persons.
- certaines
- Certain, some; feminine plural adjective or pronoun.
- sont
- Are; third-person plural present tense of 'être'.
- intelligentes
- Intelligent, clever; feminine plural adjective.
- ressemblent
- Resemble, look like; third-person plural of 'ressembler'.
- mena
- Led, conducted; simple past tense of 'mener'.
- affaire
- Matter, affair, business, or deal.
- vigoureusement
- Vigorously, energetically, with force or determination.
- bien
- Well, good; common French adverb or adjective.
- fut
- Was; simple past tense of 'être'.
- nommé
- Named, appointed; past participle of 'nommer'.
- conjointement
- Jointly, together, in conjunction with another person.
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association.
- tuteur
- Guardian, tutor, or legal caretaker of a child.
- possédait
- Possessed, owned; imperfect tense of 'posséder'.
- patrimoine
- Patrimony, heritage, or inherited estate and assets.
- une
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
- maison
- House, home, or dwelling place.
- terrain
- Land, plot of ground, or terrain.
- laissés
- Left behind; past participle of 'laisser'.
- mère
- Mother; a female parent.
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