tense

tendu, crispé

Qui ressent ou montre de l’inquiétude, avec le corps raide et sans pouvoir se détendre.

En anglais simple : Feeling or showing worry, with your body stiff and unable to relax.

• I feel tense today.
• Her shoulders became tense before the interview.
• Why did he look so tense?

Synonymes : uptight, strained

Contraires : relaxed

Expressions courantes : feel tense, tense shoulders, look tense

tendu, nerveux

Qui est inquiet et ne peut se détendre, ou qui est marqué par l’inquiétude et l’incertitude.

En anglais simple : Feeling worried and unable to relax, or full of worry and uncertainty.

• I feel tense before exams.
• The room grew tense when he entered.
• She was too tense to enjoy the evening.

Synonymes : nervous, anxious, strained

Contraires : relaxed, calm

Expressions courantes : feel tense, tense atmosphere, tense moment

tendu

Étendu fermement, sans être lâche.

En anglais simple : Stretched tight rather than loose.

• The rope was tense between the posts.
• His tense muscles stood out as he pulled.
• She kept the bowstring tense until the target was clear.

Synonymes : taut, tight

Contraires : slack, loose

Expressions courantes : tense muscles, tense wire, tense rope

tendu

Tiré fermement, sans aucune partie lâche.

En anglais simple : Pulled tight, with no loose parts.

• The wire was tense.
• A tense string stretched across the frame.
• Keep the rope tense while I tie it.

Synonymes : taut, tight

Contraires : slack, loose

Expressions courantes : tense wire, tense string

temps verbal

Système de formes verbales qui situe les événements dans le temps, par exemple dans le passé ou le présent.

En anglais simple : The system of verb forms used to show when something happens, such as in the past or present.

• We studied tense in our grammar lesson.
• English verbs show tense through changes in form.
• The teacher explained how tense helps readers follow a story.

Expressions courantes : past tense, present tense, tense system

temps verbal

Forme d’un verbe qui indique quand une action ou une situation se produit.

En anglais simple : A form of a verb that shows when an action or situation happens.

• Use the past tense here.
• She changed the verb to the present tense.
• Some verbs look the same in both tenses.

Comment l'utiliser : in the ... tense (Write this sentence in the past tense.)

Synonymes : time form

Expressions courantes : past tense, present tense, change the tense

temps verbal

Forme ou combinaison verbale indiquant le temps, la durée d’une action ou la manière dont le locuteur la présente.

En anglais simple : A verb form or combination showing time, whether an action continues, or how the speaker presents it.

• Today we practiced the present perfect tense.
• Which tense should I use for an unfinished action?
• The book calls this construction the conditional tense.

Comment l'utiliser : in the ... tense (Describe the scene in the present continuous tense.)

Expressions courantes : perfect tense, continuous tense, conditional tense

temps grammatical

Propriété grammaticale qui indique le moment d’une action ou d’un état.

En anglais simple : The grammatical feature that shows the time of an action or state.

• This language marks tense with verb endings.
• Tense and aspect express different kinds of information.
• Some languages do not require speakers to indicate tense.

Expressions courantes : mark tense, grammatical tense, tense and aspect