fall upon

traverser, connaître

Commencer à connaître des difficultés ou des conditions pénibles.

En anglais simple : To start experiencing difficulties or bad conditions.

• The family fell upon hard times.
• Small shops fell upon difficult times after the factory closed.
• Even successful people can fall upon hardship.

Synonymes : experience, suffer

Expressions courantes : fall upon hardship, fall upon hard times

fondre sur, attaquer

Attaquer soudainement et violemment une personne ou un lieu.

En anglais simple : To attack someone or a place suddenly and violently.

• The wolves fell upon their prey.
• Soldiers fell upon the camp before sunrise.
• The attackers fell upon him without warning.

Comment l'utiliser : fall upon someone/something (The raiders fell upon the village at dawn.)

Synonymes : attack, set upon

Expressions courantes : fall upon someone, fall upon enemies

tomber sur

Avoir lieu à une date ou un jour précis.

En anglais simple : To happen on a particular date or day.

• Her birthday falls upon a Monday.
• The festival fell upon the first day of spring.
• Will the holiday fall upon a weekend next year?

Comment l'utiliser : fall upon a day/date (The anniversary falls upon a Sunday this year.)

Synonymes : fall on, occur on

Expressions courantes : fall upon Sunday, fall upon Christmas

tomber sur

Trouver quelque chose par hasard, sans l’avoir cherché ni attendu.

En anglais simple : To find something without planning or expecting to find it.

• I fell upon a useful clue.
• She fell upon the answer while sorting old notes.
• They fell upon an abandoned cottage during their walk.

Comment l'utiliser : fall upon something (During my search, I fell upon a useful old map.)

Synonymes : come across, happen upon, stumble upon

Expressions courantes : fall upon something, fall upon clues