Language/French/Grammar/Verbs-which-are-directly-transitive-in-French
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Verbs which are directly transitive in French but whose translation equivalents involve the object of a preposition in English
English speakers should pay special attention to the following verbs. Unlike their English counterparts, their objects are not preceded by a preposition:
French | Translation |
approuver un choix | to approve of a choice |
attendre le train | to wait for the train |
chercher une enveloppe | to look for an envelope |
demander un verre d'eau | to ask for a glass of water |
descendre la rue | to go down the street |
écouter la radio | to listen to the radio |
espérer une récompense | to hope for a reward |
habiter une maison, une ville, une région | to live in a house, in a town, in a region |
longer la falaise | to go along the cliff |
monter la côte | to go up the hill |
payer un tour de manège | to pay for a ride on a roundabout |
payer une tournée | to pay for a round (of drinks) |
présider une séance | to be the chairperson of a session |
regarder le soleil | to look at the sun |
viser la cible | to aim at the target |
habiter also appears in constructions like: habiter à la campagne, habiter en ville, habiter en France. Here à la campagne, en ville and en France are not objects but adverbials; they can co-occur with direct objects: habiter une petite maison à la campagne, habiter un bon quartier en ville, etc.
Examples:
GOOD | BAD |
Il approuve mon choix | (NOT *I1 approuve de mon choix) |
J'attends le train | (NOT "J'attends pour le train) |
Nous cherchons la gare | (NOT *Nous cherchons pour la gare) |
Cette publicité vise les jeunes | (NOT *Cette publicité vise aux jeunes) |