seem

seem
seem [si:m]
intransitive verb
   a. sembler
• he seems honest il semble honnête il a l'air honnête
• further strikes seem unlikely il semble peu probable qu'il y ait de nouvelles grèves
• she makes it seem so simple! avec elle tout paraît si simple !
• I seem to have heard that before il me semble avoir déjà entendu cela
• he seemed nice enough il avait l'air plutôt gentil
• I can't seem to do it je n'arrive pas à le faire
• how did she seem to you? comment l'as-tu trouvée ?
• how does it seem to you? qu'en penses-tu ?
• it all seems like a dream now ce n'est déjà plus qu'un souvenir
   b. (impers vb) sembler
• I've checked and it seems she's right j'ai vérifié et il semble qu'elle ait raison
• it seems there's a strike apparemment, il y a une grève
• it seems to me that ... il me semble que ...
• they're getting married? -- yes, so it seems ils vont se marier ? -- oui, il paraît
• it seems not il paraît que non
• I did what seemed best j'ai fait pour le mieux
• it seems ages since we last met j'ai l'impression que ça fait des siècles (inf) que nous ne nous sommes pas vus
• there seems to be a mistake in this translation je crois qu'il y a une erreur dans cette traduction
* * *
[siːm]
intransitive verb
1) (give impression) sembler; (less formal) avoir l'air

he seems to be looking for... — on dirait qu'il cherche...

it would seem so/not — on dirait que oui/non

the whole house seemed to shake — on aurait dit que toute la maison tremblait

things are not always what they seem — les apparences sont souvent trompeuses

how does she seem today? — comment va-t-elle aujourd'hui?

2) (have impression)

it seems to me that — il me semble que (+ indic)

it seems as if ou as though — il semble que (+ subj)

I seem to have offended him — j'ai l'impression que je l'ai vexé

I seem to have forgotten my money — je crois que j'ai oublié mon argent

it seems hours since we left — on dirait qu'il y a des heures que nous sommes partis

it seemed like a good idea at the time — cela avait l'air d'une bonne idée

3) (expressing criticism)

he seems to think that... — il a l'air de croire que...

they don't seem to realize that... — ils n'ont pas l'air de se rendre compte que...

what seems to be the problem? — quel est le problème?

4) (despite trying)

he can't seem to do — on dirait qu'il n'arrive pas à faire

I just can't seem to do — je n'arrive pas à faire


English-French dictionary. 2013.

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