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fermer

près

A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., acheter).

transitive verb

1. (to shut)

a. fermer

Could you close the door? My hands are full.Tu peux fermer la porte ? J’ai les mains pleines.

2. (to bring to an end)

a. terminer

We closed the discussion on a high note.Nous avons terminé la discussion sur une note positive.

b. clore

The police closed the investigation.La police a clos l’enquête.

An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., éternuer.).

intransitive verb

3. (to shut)

a. se fermer

At sunset, this flower's petals slowly close.Au coucher du soleil, les pétales de cette fleur se ferment lentement.

4. (to end the business day)

a. fermer

The flower shop closes at 8 p.m.Le fleuriste ferme à 20 heures.

5. (to come to an end)

a. se terminer

The show closed with a musical number.Le spectacle s’est terminé par un numéro musical.

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb (e.g., très, gentiment).

adverb

6. (near)

a. près

I live a couple of blocks away. I didn’t know we were that close.J’habite à quelques rues d’ici. Je ne savais pas que nous étions si près.

An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g., grand, petit).

adjective

7. (near)

a. proche

The closest hotel is a kilometer away.L’hôtel le plus proche est à un kilomètre.

8. (intimate)

a. proche

Lena and Saylor have been close friends since childhood.Lena et Saylor sont des amies proches depuis l’enfance.

9. (directly related)

a. proche

I have many close relatives living in my neighborhood.J’ai beaucoup de parents proches qui vivent dans mon quartier.

10. (won by a narrow margin)

a. serré

The Formula 1 race was very close.La course de Formule 1 était très serrée.

11. (careful)

a. minutieux

Joaquin conducted a close review of all the data from the experiment.Joaquin a procédé à un examen minutieux de toutes les données issues de l’expérience.

12. (stuffy)

a. étouffant

The air conditioning is broken, so the atmosphere in the office is close.La climatisation est en panne, donc l’atmosphère dans le bureau est étouffante.

13. (on the verge of ; used with "to")

a. près de (prepositional phrase)

The detective believes Big Lou is close to confessing everything.Le détective pense que Big Lou est près de tout avouer.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling, or idea (e.g., femme, chat, maison).

noun

14. (end)

a. la fin

(f) means that a noun is feminine. French nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la dame or la lune) or masculine (like l'homme or le soleil).

(F)

The close of the season is approaching.La fin de la saison approche.

Examples