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ne pas pouvoir faire quelque chose

Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

English
English
French
French

unable [Brit ʌnˈeɪb(ə)l, Am ˌənˈeɪbəl] ADJ

1. unable (lacking the means or opportunity):

to be unable to do
ne pas pouvoir faire
I wanted to come, but I was unable (to)
je voulais venir mais je n'ai pas pu

2. unable (lacking the knowledge or skill):

to be unable to do
ne pas savoir faire
children unable to read
les enfants qui ne savent pas lire

3. unable (incapable, not qualified):

to be unable to do
être incapable de faire
she tried to answer, but she was unable to
elle a essayé de répondre, mais elle en était incapable
unable to string two sentences together pej
incapable de mettre deux phrases bout à bout
it is frustrating to be unable or not being able to do
c'est frustrant de ne pas pouvoir faire
French
French
English
English
dysorthographique
unable to spell
inrayable
unable to be scratched
incapable (temporairement)
unable (de faire to do)
il a été incapable de répondre à ma question
he was unable to answer my question
être dans l'impossibilité de faire, se voir dans l'impossibilité de faire
to be unable to do, to find it impossible to do
l'impossibilité dans laquelle il se trouvait de faire
the fact that he was unable to do
l'électeur empêché d'aller voter
the voter unable to go and vote
être en cessation de paiement commerce, entreprise:
to be unable to meet one's financial obligations, to be insolvent
être dans l'incapacité de faire
to be unable to do

in the PONS Dictionary

English
English
French
French

unable [ʌnˈeɪbl] ADJ

to be unable to do sth attend, reach
ne pas pouvoir faire qc
to be unable to do sth swim, read
ne pas savoir faire qc
to be unable to do sth (incapable)
être incapable de faire qc
to be unable to take a hint
ne pas comprendre vite
French
French
English
English
intransportable personne
unable to travel
oppressé
unable to breathe
ne pouvoir se défendre de qc
to be unable to resist sth
être dans l'incapacité de +infin
to be unable to +infin
être dans l'impossibilité de +infin
to be unable to +infin
ne pas pouvoir être mère
to be unable to have children
traîner personne
to be unable to shake off
être incapable de rien dire
to be unable to say anything
in the PONS Dictionary
English
English
French
French

unable [ʌn·ˈeɪ·bl] ADJ

to be unable to do sth attend, reach
ne pas pouvoir faire qc
to be unable to do sth swim, read
ne pas savoir faire qc
to be unable to do sth (incapable)
être incapable de faire qc
to be unable to take a hint
ne pas comprendre vite
French
French
English
English
intransportable personne
unable to travel
oppressé
unable to breathe
être dans l'incapacité de +infin
to be unable to +infin
être dans l'impossibilité de +infin
to be unable to +infin
traîner personne
to be unable to shake off
être incapable de rien dire
to be unable to say anything

PONS OpenDict

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Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

to be unable to do sth attend, reach
ne pas pouvoir faire qc
to be unable to do sth swim, read
ne pas savoir faire qc
to be unable to do sth (incapable)
être incapable de faire qc
to be unable to take a hint
ne pas comprendre vite
ne pouvoir se défendre de qc
to be unable to resist sth

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

However, they were unable to advance past the second round in either of those years.
en.wikipedia.org
The yard was so dark that he was unable to see her body without lighting a match.
en.wikipedia.org
They were unable to operate with any other stock due to their new coupling system.
en.wikipedia.org
However, they were unable to win any of their matches.
en.wikipedia.org
For six years she had been unable to speak.
en.wikipedia.org

Browse the dictionary

Look up "unable" in other languages

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