Porte manteaux verbs French to English. part 1

Porte manteaux verbs French to English. part 1
“Porte manteaux” verbs and pitfalls
English has a huge number of verbs, and these come with many prepositions that may alter their meaning.
French ( since it has fewer verbs) often relies on dual constructions with two verbs, or a verb and a noun, like
“permettre de faire” or “faire en sorte” or “ faire suivre” or “ prendre effet”, “mettre en oeuvre”. These are
sometimes difficult to translate, and you need to avoid translating literally.
I . PERMETTRE
For example, when you write in scientific French: “Ceci nous permet de mesurer les variations de temperature”,
your best advice is to think of what you mean exactly and avoid: “This permits us to measure temperature
differences”. This is not good writing, because the underlying meaning has nothing to do with permitting. You
can rewrite and try “This allows us to measure differences in temperature” or “This enables us to measure
differences”, which is better. However, the sentence is equally clear and concise if you say: “Variations in
temperatures can thus be measured”. The passive is justified here, and you can choose between the modals can
or may. In the following example, each time the better equivalent is the verb that least resembles French:
1.
2.
Mon passeport me permet de voyager dans tous les pays = with my passport, I can travel anywhere
Cet appareil permet des gains d’énergie appréciables= with this apparatus, appreciable energy savings
can be made OR simply with this apparatus, energy can be saved.
3. Il m’a été permis de participer à la réunion = I was allowed/ I was authorized to attend the meeting
4. Ses explications m’ont permis d’y voir plus clair = with his/her explanations, I was able better to
understand/ I had a better grasp of the matter after his explanations.
5. Une augmentation de salaire m’a permis de voyager en 1 ère classe = after my salary increase, I can now
travel first class/ thanks to a salary increase, I can now travel first class
6. Le nouveau moteur permet des économies supplémentaires = the new engine makes further savings
possible/ with the new engine, savings are increased.
7. Permettez-moi de vous ouvrir la porte = may I open the door for you ?shall I open the door ?
8. Fumer n’est pas permis ici = smoking is not allowed here
9. Les expériences ont permis de vérifier l’hypothèse = this hypothesis could be verified by experiments
10. Ceci ne me permet pas de comprendre davantage ! = I still don’t understand…..
II . PREVOIR
11. Ceci n’est pas prévu dans le protocole = the protocol does not cater for this/ does not make provisions
for this/ no provisions are made for this in the protocol
12. J’ai prévu 12 copies de l’ordre du jour pour les 12 participants = I have planned 12 copies of the
agenda./ 12 copies of the agenda have been prepared
13. Des orages sont prévus pour la semaine prochaine = storms are forecast for the coming week
14. L’élargissement de notre groupe de travail est prévu pour 2017 = our group is due for enlargement in
2017/ the group’s enlargement is due in 2017
15. Ce dispositif prévoit une double sécurité = double safety/security is provided by means of this device/
double safety is ensured by means of this device
16. Je n’avais pas prévu une telle réaction = I had not anticipated such a reaction
17. Il n’avait rien prévu en cas de panne = he had no plan of action in the event of failure
18. Il n’est pas prévu que je participe à ce Congrès = I was not meant to participate in this Congress
19. Il avait tout prévu pour le confort de ses hôtes = he had catered for his guests’comfort in every way/ He
has thought of every everything regarding his guests’ confort
20. Même les prophéties ne prévoient pas tout à l’avance ! even prophecies do not predict everyhing !
The above are not the only possible translations, and sometimes the French version is best reworded. However,
the sentences show that the meaning of the sentence has to be considered as a whole, not as a string of separate
words. In any case, literal translation is to be avoided.