A2 preposition

en dessous de

Idioms & Expressions

"passer sous silence"

to pass over in silence, to omit mentioning

Il a passé sous silence les détails embarrassants. (He omitted the embarrassing details.)

neutral

"avoir la tête sous l'eau"

to be overwhelmed, to be swamped (with work, problems)

Avec tout ce travail, j'ai vraiment la tête sous l'eau. (With all this work, I'm really swamped.)

informal

"mettre sous le nez de quelqu'un"

to thrust something under someone's nose (to show it clearly or annoyingly)

Il lui a mis le contrat sous le nez. (He thrust the contract under his nose.)

neutral

"ne pas y aller de main morte"

to not hold back, to not pull punches (to be harsh or hit hard)

Pour la critique, il n'y est pas allé de main morte. (For the criticism, he didn't hold back.)

informal

"être sous les feux de la rampe"

to be in the spotlight, to be the center of attention

Après son succès, elle était sous les feux de la rampe. (After her success, she was in the spotlight.)

neutral

"tomber sous le sens"

to be obvious, to be self-evident

Que tu dois travailler dur, ça tombe sous le sens. (That you must work hard, that's obvious.)

neutral

"avoir quelque chose sous le coude"

to have something up one's sleeve, to have something ready

J'ai quelques idées sous le coude pour le projet. (I have some ideas ready for the project.)

informal

"être sous l'emprise de"

to be under the influence of, to be under the sway of

Il était sous l'emprise de l'alcool. (He was under the influence of alcohol.)

neutral

"marcher sur les plates-bandes de quelqu'un"

to encroach on someone's territory, to tread on someone's toes

Tu marches sur mes plates-bandes en faisant ça. (You're encroaching on my territory by doing that.)

neutral

"prendre quelqu'un sous son aile"

to take someone under one's wing

Elle a pris le nouvel employé sous son aile. (She took the new employee under her wing.)

neutral

Test Yourself 6 questions

multiple choice A2

Choose the correct translation: The cat is under the table.

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: Le chat est en dessous de la table.

'en dessous de' means 'below' or 'underneath'.

multiple choice A2

Which sentence uses 'en dessous de' correctly?

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: Il y a un livre en dessous de mon sac.

'en dessous de' indicates a position directly below something.

multiple choice A2

If something is 'en dessous de' something else, where is it located?

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: Below it.

The phrase 'en dessous de' directly translates to 'below' or 'underneath'.

true false A2

The sentence 'Le soleil est en dessous des nuages' means 'The sun is above the clouds.'

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: False

'En dessous de' means 'below', so the sentence means 'The sun is below the clouds.'

true false A2

If you say 'J'ai trouvé mes clés en dessous de mon lit', it means you found your keys under your bed.

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: True

'En dessous de mon lit' correctly translates to 'under my bed'.

true false A2

The phrase 'en dessous de' can be used interchangeably with 'sur'.

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: False

'En dessous de' means 'below' or 'underneath', while 'sur' means 'on' or 'on top of'. They are opposites.

/ 6 correct

Perfect score!

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