← The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov — Page 4

English → Fr Chapter II. Level 8/10

Mitya did, in fact, pass into this cousin's keeping, but as the latter had no family of his own, and after securing the revenues of his estates was in haste to return at once to Paris, he left the boy in charge of one of his cousins, a lady living in Moscow.

Mitya passa effectivement sous la tutelle de ce cousin, mais comme celui-ci n'avait pas de famille à lui, et qu'après avoir assuré les revenus de ses domaines il était pressé de retourner à Paris, il laissa le garçon aux soins d'une de ses cousines, une dame habitant Moscou.

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

Il advint que, s'étant installé définitivement à Paris, il oublia lui aussi l'enfant, surtout lorsque éclata la Révolution de Février, qui fit sur son esprit une impression dont il se souvint tout le reste de sa vie.

The Moscow lady died, and Mitya passed into the care of one of her married daughters.

La dame de Moscou mourut, et Mitya passa sous la garde d'une de ses filles mariées.

I believe he changed his home a fourth time later on.

Je crois qu'il changea de foyer une quatrième fois par la suite.

I won't enlarge upon that now, as I shall have much to tell later of Fyodor Pavlovitch's firstborn, and must confine myself now to the most essential facts about him, without which I could not begin my story.

Je ne m'étendrai pas là-dessus maintenant, car j'aurai beaucoup à dire plus tard du premier-né de Fiodor Pavlovitch, et je dois me limiter pour l'instant aux faits les plus essentiels le concernant, sans lesquels je ne pourrais pas commencer mon récit.

In the first place, this Mitya, or rather Dmitri Fyodorovitch, was the only one of Fyodor Pavlovitch's three sons who grew up in the belief that he had property, and that he would be independent on coming of age.

Premièrement, ce Mitya, ou plutôt Dmitri Fiodorovitch, était le seul des trois fils de Fiodor Pavlovitch qui grandit dans la conviction qu'il possédait des biens, et qu'il serait indépendant à sa majorité.

He spent an irregular boyhood and youth.

Il passa une enfance et une jeunesse sans règle.

He did not finish his studies at the gymnasium, he got into a military school, then went to the Caucasus, was promoted, fought a duel, and was degraded to the ranks, earned promotion again, led a wild life, and spent a good deal of money.

Il n'acheva pas ses études au gymnase, entra dans une école militaire, puis se rendit au Caucase, fut promu, se battit en duel, et fut rétrogradé au rang de simple soldat, regagna de l'avancement, mena une vie dissolue et dépensa beaucoup d'argent.

Vocabulary

passa
Passed, went under (past tense of passer).
effectivement
Indeed, actually, effectively confirming something stated.
sous
Under, beneath; also old French coin.
la
The (feminine singular definite article).
tutelle
Legal guardianship or protective oversight of someone.
de
Of, from; common French preposition.
ce
This, that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
cousin
Male cousin, relative through family connection.
mais
But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
comme
As, like, since; versatile French conjunction.
celui-ci
This one, referring to the last mentioned person.
n'avait
Did not have (negative imperfect of avoir).
pas
Not; key negation word used with ne.
famille
Family; group of people related by blood.
à
To, at, in; essential French preposition.
lui
Him, to him; third-person singular pronoun.
et
And; basic coordinating conjunction in French.
qu'après
That after; combining que and après.
avoir
To have; essential auxiliary and main verb.
assuré
Ensured, secured, guaranteed something reliably.
les
The (plural definite article, masculine or feminine).
revenus
Income, revenues, financial returns from property.
ses
His, her, its (possessive adjective, plural).
domaines
Estates, domains, areas of land or property.
il
He, it; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
était
Was; imperfect tense of être (to be).
pressé
In a hurry, eager to do something quickly.
retourner
To return, go back to a place.
laissa
Left, entrusted (past tense of laisser).
le
The (masculine singular definite article).
garçon
Boy, young male child or lad.
aux
To the, at the (contraction of à + les).
soins
Care, attention, looking after someone.
d'une
Of a, from a (de + une contracted).
cousines
Female cousins, female relatives by blood.
une
A, an (feminine singular indefinite article).
dame
Lady, woman of respectability or social standing.
habitant
Living in, residing in a particular place.
Il
He, it; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
advint
Happened, came to pass (past tense of advenir).
que
That, which, what; common conjunction and pronoun.
s'étant
Having settled, reflexive past participle of s'établir.
installé
Settled, established oneself permanently somewhere.
définitivement
Definitively, permanently, for good.
oublia
Forgot (simple past tense of oublier).
aussi
Also, too, as well; additive adverb.
l'enfant
The child; young boy or girl.
surtout
Especially, above all, most importantly.
lorsque
When, at the time that something occurred.
éclata
Broke out, erupted suddenly (past tense of éclater).
Révolution
Revolution; major political or social upheaval.
Février
February; second month of the year.
qui
Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun.
fit
Made, did (simple past tense of faire).
sur
On, upon, over; common French preposition.
son
His, her, its (possessive adjective, singular).
esprit
Mind, spirit, wit; intellectual or mental faculty.
impression
Impression, effect made on the mind.
dont
Of which, whose; relative pronoun.
se
Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun.
souvint
Remembered (simple past of se souvenir).
tout
All, everything, entirely; versatile adjective or adverb.
reste
Rest, remainder, what is left over.
sa
His, her, its (feminine possessive adjective).
vie
Life; the period of one's existence.
La
The (feminine singular definite article).
mourut
Died (simple past tense of mourir).
garde
Guard, guardian, caretaker of a person.
filles
Girls, daughters; young female persons.
mariées
Married (feminine plural past participle of marier).
Je
I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
crois
Believe, think (first-person present of croire).
qu'il
That he; conjunction que + pronoun il combined.
changea
Changed (simple past tense of changer).
foyer
Home, household, hearth; domestic living place.
quatrième
Fourth; ordinal number indicating position four.
fois
Time, instance, occurrence of something.
par
By, through, per; common French preposition.
suite
Continuation, sequence; par suite means consequently.
ne
Not; first part of French negation ne...pas.
m'étendrai
Will elaborate, dwell on (future of s'étendre).
là-dessus
On that, about that matter or topic.
maintenant
Now, at this present moment.
car
Because, for; causal coordinating conjunction.
j'aurai
I will have (future tense of avoir).
beaucoup
Much, many, a lot; adverb of quantity.
dire
To say, to tell; fundamental French verb.
plus
More, plus; adverb of comparison or addition.
tard
Late, later; adverb indicating time.
du
Of the, some (contraction of de + le).
premier-né
Firstborn; the first child born in family.
je
I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
dois
Must, have to (first-person present of devoir).
me
Me, myself; first-person reflexive or object pronoun.
limiter
To limit, restrict oneself to something.
pour
For, in order to; common French preposition.
l'instant
The moment; pour l'instant means for now.
faits
Facts, events; plural of fait.
essentiels
Essential, fundamental, necessary (plural adjective).
concernant
Concerning, regarding, relating to something.
sans
Without; preposition indicating absence or lack.
lesquels
Which (masculine plural relative pronoun).
pourrais
Could (conditional tense of pouvoir).
commencer
To begin, start something.
mon
My (masculine singular possessive adjective).
récit
Account, narrative, story being told.
Premièrement
Firstly, in the first place; discourse marker.
ou
Or; disjunctive coordinating conjunction.
plutôt
Rather, instead, more precisely.
seul
Only, alone, sole; adjective indicating uniqueness.
des
Some, of the (plural indefinite or partitive article).
trois
Three; cardinal number.
fils
Son or sons; male child or children.
grandit
Grew up (simple past tense of grandir).
dans
In, inside, within; common French preposition.
conviction
Conviction, firm belief held by someone.
possédait
Possessed, owned (imperfect tense of posséder).
biens
Property, assets, goods, material possessions.
serait
Would be (conditional tense of être).
indépendant
Independent, self-sufficient, free from others.
majorité
Majority, legal adulthood; coming of age.
enfance
Childhood, early years of a person's life.
jeunesse
Youth, the period of being young.
règle
Rule, norm; en règle générale means generally.
n'acheva
Did not complete (negative past of achever).
études
Studies, academic coursework, schooling.
au
At the, to the (contraction of à + le).
gymnase
Gymnasium, secondary school in European tradition.
entra
Entered, joined (simple past of entrer).
école
School, educational institution.
militaire
Military, relating to the armed forces.
puis
Then, afterwards, next in sequence.
rendit
Went, rendered (simple past of rendre/se rendre).
fut
Was (simple past tense of être).
promu
Promoted, advanced in rank or position.
battit
Fought, beat (simple past of battre).
en
In, by, as; versatile French preposition or pronoun.
duel
Duel, formal combat between two individuals.
rétrogradé
Demoted, reduced in rank or grade.
rang
Rank, row, social or military standing.
simple
Simple, ordinary, plain; basic adjective.
soldat
Soldier, enlisted military person.
regagna
Regained, won back (simple past of regagner).
l'avancement
Advancement, promotion, career progression.
mena
Led, lived (simple past of mener).
dissolue
Dissolute, immoral, licentious way of living.
dépensa
Spent, expended money (simple past of dépenser).
d'argent
Of money; argent means silver or money.
← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →