 | French  | English |  |
 | qn./qc. était | 4 sb./sth. was |  |
2 Words: Others |
 | cuis. VocVoy. C'était bon ? [fam.] [le repas] | Did you enjoy your meal? |  |
3 Words: Others |
 | C'était écrit ! | It was bound to happen! |  |
 | C'était juste ! | That was close! |  |
 | C'était juste ! | That was a close one! [idiom] |  |
 | C'était pas triste. [loc.] | It was quite something. |  |
 | C'était perdu d'avance. [loc.] | It wasn't to be. [idiom] |  |
 | C'était perdu d'avance. [loc.] | It wasn't meant to be. [idiom] |  |
 | C'était pour rire. [fam.] | It was just for the fun of it. |  |
 | C'était rare que ... [+subj.] | It was rare that ... |  |
 | C'était très bon. | It was very good. |  |
 | C'était trop tard. | It was too late. |  |
4 Words: Others |
 | C'était en l'an 1999. | It was in 1999. |  |
 | C'était la cata ! [fam.] [catastrophe] | It was a disaster! |  |
 | C'était noir de monde. | It was teeming with people. |  |
 | C'était sans compter sur qn./qc. | This was without reckoning with sb./sth. |  |
 | C'était un vrai cauchemar. | It was a living nightmare. |  |
 | C'était une belle époque. | It was a wonderful time. |  |
 | Elle était toute triste. | She was very sad. |  |
 | Il était une fois ... | Once upon a time ... |  |
 | Il était une fois ... | Once upon a time there was ... |  |
 | L'addition était soignée ! | The bill was astronomical! [Br.] |  |
 | L'addition était soignée ! | The check was astronomical! [Am.] |  |
 | La salle était comble. | The place was packed. |  |
 | cuis. VocVoy. Le repas était fameux. | The meal was excellent. |  |
5+ Words: Others |
 | bible relig. Au commencement était le Verbe, et le Verbe était auprès de Dieu, et le Verbe était Dieu. [l'évangile selon Jean] | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [Gospel according to John] |  |
 | C'est comme si c'était fait. [loc.] | It's as good as done. [idiom] |  |
 | C'était à se rouler par terre ! | It was hilarious! |  |
 | C'était à se rouler par terre. [de douleur] | It was so painful. |  |
 | C'était à se rouler par terre. [de rire] | It was hysterically funny. |  |
 | C'était à se taper le cul par terre ! [fam.] [vulg.] [de rire] | It was a scream! [hysterically funny] |  |
 | C'était à se taper le derrière par terre ! [fam.] [de rire] | It was a scream! [hysterically funny] |  |
 | C'était bien la peine ! | What was the point! |  |
 | C'était bien la peine ! [fam.] [loc.] [un peu ironique] | That was really worth it! [coll.] [idiom] [a little ironic] |  |
 | C'était bien la peine que je me donne tant de mal ! [loc.] | I went to all that trouble for nothing! [idiom] |  |
 | C'était le bon temps ! [loc.] | Good times, (they were.)! [idiom] |  |
 | C'était le bon temps ! [loc.] | Those were the days! [idiom] |  |
 | C'était sympa que tu sois venu(e). | It was nice of you to come. |  |
 | C'était trop pénible à supporter. | It was too painful to bear. |  |
 | C'était un sale coup ! | That was a dirty trick! |  |
 | C'était une soirée plutôt réussie par rapport à la moyenne. | It wasn't a bad party, as parties go. |  |
 | auto Ce à quoi je pensais, c'était d'acheter une nouvelle auto. | What I was thinking about was buying a new car. |  |
 | Ce n'était pas ce lundi mais celui d'avant. | It was not this Monday but the previous one. |  |
 | Ce n'était pas joli à voir. | It wasn't a pretty sight. |  |
 | Ce n'était pas moi, vous devez confondre. | It wasn't me, you must be confusing me with somebody else. |  |
 | Ce n'était pas très marrant. [fam.] | It was a barrel of fun. [coll.] [ironic] |  |
 | Ce n'était pas très marrant. [fam.] | It was a barrel of laughs. [coll.] [ironic] |  |
 | Cela m'était totalement sorti de l'esprit. | It completely slipped my mind. |  |
 | Cela n'était pas dans nos conventions. | That was not part of our agreement. |  |
 | comme si de rien n'était {adv} [loc.] | as if nothing was the matter [idiom] |  |
 | Je n'ai plus pensé que c'était lundi. | I forgot it was Monday. |  |
 | La salle de concert était pleine à craquer. | The concert hall was packed. |  |
 | La somme qu'elle aurait due était de 100 euros. | The amount she would have owed was 100 euros. |  |
 | Ladite accusée était en fait innocente. | The aforementioned defendant was in fact innocent. |  |
 | Le coucher était à neuf heures. | Curfew was at nine o'clock. |  |
 | Le geste était très éloquent. | The gesture said it all. |  |
 | Le tiroir était ouvert, j'ai pris l'argent dedans. | The drawer was open, I took the money out of it. |  |
 | N'était-ce pas à en perdre la tête ? [loc.] | Wasn't it enough to make you lose your head? [idiom] |  |
 | Personne ne savait ce qu'elle était devenue. | Nobody knew what had become of her. |  |
 | Son idée était destinée à l'échec dès le départ. | His idea was bound to fail from the very start. |  |
 | Son idée était destinée à l'échec dès le départ. | His idea was doomed (to failure) from the very start. |  |
5+ Words: Verbs |
 | vivre chaque jour comme si c'était le dernier [loc.] | to live like there was no tomorrow [idiom] |  |
Fiction (Literature and Film) |
 | film F Don Juan 73 ou si Don Juan était une femme [Roger Vadim (1973)] | Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman |  |
 | film F Il était une fois dans l'Ouest | Once Upon a Time in the West [Sergio Leone (1968)] |  |
 | film F Le crime était presque parfait [Alfred Hitchcock] | Dial M for Murder [Alfred Hitchcock] |  |
 | film F Le crime était presque parfait [Michael Curtiz] | The Unsuspected [Michael Curtiz] |  |