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# could — English to French

How English *could* is translated into French in open, checked parallel texts: 6 translations with example sentences.

The [Elamur Dictionary](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) has no article on this word yet.

Sentence pairs counted, by form: could (461 911). By style: everyday 4 155 · literary 278 · biblical 120 · parliamentary 37 953 · legal and administrative 31 199 · UN documents 388 206.

## pourrait

Used about 196 646 times in the texts (everyday ≈ 779 · biblical ≈ 8 · parliamentary ≈ 11 070 · legal and administrative ≈ 14 950 · UN documents ≈ 169 840). Forms: pourraient, pourrait.

- He **could** help us.
  Il **pourrait** nous aider.
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by CH and lbdx · checked, community translation · [\#8480654](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/8480654) [\#12016810](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/12016810))

- If this man were not from God, he **could** do nothing.”
  Si cet homme ne venait pas de Dieu, il ne **pourrait** rien faire.
  ([World English Bible and Louis Segond 1910](https://ebible.org/) · World English Bible; Louis Segond 1910; public domain, eBible.org · checked, professional translation · JOH 9:33)

- How **could** it possibly be any different?
  Comment **pourrait**-il en être autrement?
  ([Europarl v8](https://www.statmt.org/europarl/) · Source: European Parliament proceedings, Europarl v8 (Koehn 2005) via OPUS (Tiedemann 2012) · checked, professional translation · segment 1041278)

- The benefits **could** include:
  Les avantages **pourraient** inclure:
  ([DGT-TM v2021](https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/language-technology-resources/dgt-translation-memory_en) · Source: European Commission, DGT-TM (Steinberger et al. 2012), re-used under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU; the Commission keeps ownership of the data · checked, professional translation · segment 4857138)

- The matter **could** perhaps be left to the discretion of the Working Group.
  L &apos; on **pourrait** peut-être confier au Groupe de rédaction le soin de régler cette question.
  ([United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0](https://conferences.unite.un.org/UNCorpus) · Source: United Nations, United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0 (Ziemski, Junczys-Dowmunt and Pouliquen 2016) · checked, professional translation · segment 4758000)

## être

Used about 55 894 times in the texts (literary ≈ 12 · biblical ≈ 13 · parliamentary ≈ 4 744 · legal and administrative ≈ 2 600 · UN documents ≈ 48 526).

- He assumed that it **could** be no one but he.
  Il supposa que ce ne pouvait **être** que lui.
  ([Project Gutenberg books (Verne, Hugo, Maupassant and their translators)](https://www.gutenberg.org/) · Project Gutenberg, public domain · checked, professional translation · hugo notre dame, row 6443)

- The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child **could** write their number.
  Le reste des arbres de sa forêt pourra **être** compté, Et un enfant en écrirait le nombre.
  ([World English Bible and Louis Segond 1910](https://ebible.org/) · World English Bible; Louis Segond 1910; public domain, eBible.org · checked, professional translation · ISA 10:19)

- This **could** be the starting point for a world environment organisation.
  Ce devrait **être** le point de départ pour une organisation mondiale de l'environnement.
  ([Europarl v8](https://www.statmt.org/europarl/) · Source: European Parliament proceedings, Europarl v8 (Koehn 2005) via OPUS (Tiedemann 2012) · checked, professional translation · segment 366266)

- Since the French rules simply repeat the wording of the 2004 Guidelines, no incompatibility **could** therefore be suspected.
  Étant donné que la réglementation française ne fait que reprendre le texte des orientations de 2004, aucune incompatibilité ne pouvait donc **être** soupçonnée.
  ([DGT-TM v2021](https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/language-technology-resources/dgt-translation-memory_en) · Source: European Commission, DGT-TM (Steinberger et al. 2012), re-used under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU; the Commission keeps ownership of the data · checked, professional translation · segment 3486195)

- They **could** also be kept separate if they wanted to continue their education.
  Ils peuvent aussi **être** séparés des autres détenus s &apos; ils tiennent à poursuivre leurs études.
  ([United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0](https://conferences.unite.un.org/UNCorpus) · Source: United Nations, United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0 (Ziemski, Junczys-Dowmunt and Pouliquen 2016) · checked, professional translation · segment 2796481)

## on

Used about 26 394 times in the texts (literary ≈ 41 · parliamentary ≈ 791 · legal and administrative ≈ 1 300 · UN documents ≈ 24 263).

- One **could** remain for eternity in such abysses.
  **On** resterait l'éternité dans ces abîmes-là.
  ([Project Gutenberg books (Verne, Hugo, Maupassant and their translators)](https://www.gutenberg.org/) · Project Gutenberg, public domain · checked, professional translation · hugo les miserables, row 22267)

- Here, a permanent employee was forced to resign so that the employment of the person standing in for them **could** be terminated.
  Un fonctionnaire titulaire a été contraint de démissionner pour que l'**on** puisse licencier même le remplaçant.
  ([Europarl v8](https://www.statmt.org/europarl/) · Source: European Parliament proceedings, Europarl v8 (Koehn 2005) via OPUS (Tiedemann 2012) · checked, professional translation · segment 198313)

- Optionally, reproduction (as increase of worm numbers) and growth (as increase of dry biomass) **could** be also evaluated.
  **On** peut également choisir d'évaluer la reproduction (augmentation des nombres de vers) et la croissance (augmentation de la biomasse sèche).
  ([DGT-TM v2021](https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/language-technology-resources/dgt-translation-memory_en) · Source: European Commission, DGT-TM (Steinberger et al. 2012), re-used under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU; the Commission keeps ownership of the data · checked, professional translation · segment 3937459)

- The role of national poverty reduction and development policies and strategies **could** not be overemphasized.
  **On** ne saurait exagérer le rôle de la réduction de la pauvreté au niveau national ni celui des politiques et des stratégies de développement.
  ([United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0](https://conferences.unite.un.org/UNCorpus) · Source: United Nations, United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0 (Ziemski, Junczys-Dowmunt and Pouliquen 2016) · checked, professional translation · segment 20115147)

- Through the broken pane the snow **could** be seen falling.
  À travers le carreau cassé, **on** voyait tomber la neige.
  ([Project Gutenberg books (Verne, Hugo, Maupassant and their translators)](https://www.gutenberg.org/) · Project Gutenberg, public domain · checked, professional translation · hugo les miserables, row 16307)

## elle

Used about 10 132 times in the texts (everyday ≈ 87 · literary ≈ 6 · biblical ≈ 3 · legal and administrative ≈ 1 950 · UN documents ≈ 8 088).

- She made sure nobody **could** see her.
  **Elle** s'est assurée que personne ne pouvait la voir.
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by Spamster and sacredceltic · checked, community translation · [\#1996945](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/1996945) [\#1997317](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/1997317))

- Besides, she **could** see nothing.
  **Elle** ne voyait rien d'ailleurs.
  ([Project Gutenberg books (Verne, Hugo, Maupassant and their translators)](https://www.gutenberg.org/) · Project Gutenberg, public domain · checked, professional translation · hugo les miserables, row 20067)

- David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, “How **could** the LORD’s ark come to me?”
  David eut peur de l’Éternel en ce jour-là, et il dit: Comment l’arche de l’Éternel entrerait-**elle** chez moi?
  ([World English Bible and Louis Segond 1910](https://ebible.org/) · World English Bible; Louis Segond 1910; public domain, eBible.org · checked, professional translation · 2SA 6:9)

- It sent those comments to Spain so that it **could** comment on them.
  **Elle** a transmis ces observations à l'Espagne en lui offrant la possibilité de les commenter.
  ([DGT-TM v2021](https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/language-technology-resources/dgt-translation-memory_en) · Source: European Commission, DGT-TM (Steinberger et al. 2012), re-used under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU; the Commission keeps ownership of the data · checked, professional translation · segment 409759)

- She would like more information on the steps being taken by the Government to ensure that women were aware of how they **could** defend their rights.
  **Elle** souhaite également obtenir de plus amples informations sur les mesures prises par le Gouvernement pour garantir que les femmes savent défendre leurs droits.
  ([United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0](https://conferences.unite.un.org/UNCorpus) · Source: United Nations, United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0 (Ziemski, Junczys-Dowmunt and Pouliquen 2016) · checked, professional translation · segment 15153633)

## pu

Used about 8 637 times in the texts (everyday ≈ 606 · literary ≈ 35 · biblical ≈ 3 · parliamentary ≈ 4 744 · legal and administrative ≈ 3 250).

- It **could**'ve been different.
  Ça aurait **pu** être autrement.
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by zogwarg and zogwarg · checked, community translation · [\#14038544](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/14038544) [\#14038543](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/14038543))

- But who **could** have foretold the result?
  Mais, qui aurait **pu** le prévoir!
  ([Project Gutenberg books (Verne, Hugo, Maupassant and their translators)](https://www.gutenberg.org/) · Project Gutenberg, public domain · checked, professional translation · verne journey centre earth, row 242)

- She has done what she **could**. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying.
  Elle a fait ce qu’elle a **pu**; elle a d’avance embaumé mon corps pour la sépulture.
  ([World English Bible and Louis Segond 1910](https://ebible.org/) · World English Bible; Louis Segond 1910; public domain, eBible.org · checked, professional translation · MAR 14:8)

- There were some cases where solidarity **could** have been greater.
  Dans certains cas, la solidarité aurait **pu** être plus grande.
  ([Europarl v8](https://www.statmt.org/europarl/) · Source: European Parliament proceedings, Europarl v8 (Koehn 2005) via OPUS (Tiedemann 2012) · checked, professional translation · segment 1203331)

- In particular with regard to the lump sum support overcompensation **could** not be excluded.
  En particulier pour ce qui concerne l'aide financière forfaitaire, une surcompensation n'a pas **pu** être exclue.
  ([DGT-TM v2021](https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/language-technology-resources/dgt-translation-memory_en) · Source: European Commission, DGT-TM (Steinberger et al. 2012), re-used under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU; the Commission keeps ownership of the data · checked, professional translation · segment 4163656)

## si

Used about 8 399 times in the texts (everyday ≈ 260 · literary ≈ 29 · biblical ≈ 23 · UN documents ≈ 8 088).

- I wonder whether I **could** help Tom.
  Je me demande **si** je pourrais aider Tom.
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by CK and Nyans · checked, community translation · [\#6337320](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/6337320) [\#6950644](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/6950644))

- But supposing Jean were to wake, what **could** he say?
  Mais **si** Jean s'éveillait, que dirait-il?
  ([Project Gutenberg books (Verne, Hugo, Maupassant and their translators)](https://www.gutenberg.org/) · Project Gutenberg, public domain · checked, professional translation · maupassant pierre jean, row 1110)

- Then I said, “Lord GOD, stop, I beg you! How **could** Jacob stand? For he is small.”
  Je dis: Seigneur Éternel, arrête donc! Comment Jacob subsistera-t-il? Car il est **si** faible!
  ([World English Bible and Louis Segond 1910](https://ebible.org/) · World English Bible; Louis Segond 1910; public domain, eBible.org · checked, professional translation · AMO 7:5)

- The Commission may also wish to consider whether there **could** ever be a waiver in the face of an express treaty obligation to exhaust domestic remedies.
  La Commission pourra également souhaiter se demander **si** une renonciation est possible s &apos; il existe une disposition conventionnelle expresse exigeant l &apos; épuisement des recours internes.
  ([United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0](https://conferences.unite.un.org/UNCorpus) · Source: United Nations, United Nations Parallel Corpus v1.0 (Ziemski, Junczys-Dowmunt and Pouliquen 2016) · checked, professional translation · segment 14930105)

- You **could** do this if you put your mind to it.
  Tu pourrais le faire **si** tu y consacrais ton esprit.
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by CK and sacredceltic · checked, community translation · [\#2990340](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/2990340) [\#4835840](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/4835840))

## More sentences

Sentence pairs with the word where no single translation was found: it may be translated by a phrase, or left out.

- Tom **could** not take his eyes off of Mary.
  Tom était incapable de quitter Marie du regard.
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by CK and Micsmithel · checked, community translation · [\#5853766](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/5853766) [\#9837518](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/9837518))

- **Could** you do that?
  Pourriez-vous faire cela ?
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by CK and Aiji · checked, community translation · [\#2648565](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/2648565) [\#5791962](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/5791962))

- **Could** you give me a price estimate?
  Pourriez-vous me faire un devis ?
  ([Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) · Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR · sentences by menaud and menaud · checked, community translation · [\#14010892](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/14010892) [\#14010841](https://tatoeba.org/en/sentences/show/14010841))

## Grammar

Notes on grammar and translation on Mova: [English grammar](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/en/) · [French grammar](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/fr/) · [translating between English and French](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/translation/pairs/en-fr/) · [translating from English](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/translation/from-en/) · [translating into French](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/translation/into-fr/).

## About these examples

Translations are found by how often the two words stand in the same sentence pairs, and the highlighted words are matched automatically: both are approximate. Counts are estimated from a sample of each source. Every example names its source and licence. [Submit a better translation or example](https://md.translate.elamur.ai/free/en/submit/?pair=en-fr&word=could).


Every example is quoted under its source's licence and credited with it; the rest of the site is open under the Elamur Cosmic License.