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Mettre - French Expressions with Mettre

Idiomatic French expressions

By , About.com Guide

The French verb mettre literally means "to put" and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to take great care in doing something, spend money on, bolt the door, and more with this list of expressions with mettre.

mettre 5 heures à faire
to take 5 hours to do something

mettre à jour
to update

mettre à l'essai
to put to the test

mettre beaucoup de soin à faire
to take great care in doing something

mettre de l'ardeur à faire quelque chose
to do something eagerly

mettre de l'argent dans
to put money into

mettre de l'argent pour
to pay for

mettre de l'argent sur
to spend money on

mettre de l'eau dans son vin
to tone it down

mettre en colère
to make angry

mettre en relief
to bring out, enhance, accentuate

mettre la radio
to turn on the radio

mettre la table
to set the table

mettre le doigt
(various meanings - click to read lesson)

mettre le réveil
to set the alarm

mettre le verrou
to bolt the door

mettre les bouts (familiar)
Get lost!

mettre les informations
to turn on the news

mettre les pieds dans le plat
~to mess up, put one's foot in one's mouth

mettre les voiles (familiar)
Get lost!

mettre quelque chose à plat
to lay something down flat

mettre quelque chose debout
to stand something up

mettre quelque chose droit
to set something straight

mettre quelqu'un (parmi les grands) 
to rank or rate someone (among the greats)

mettre quelqu'un au pas
to bring someone in line

mettre quelqu'un dans l'obligation/la nécessité de faire
to compel someone to do something

mettre sa langue dans sa poche (informal)
to be quiet, stay silent


Il y a mis le temps !
He's taken his sweet time doing it!

J'y mets la dernière main
I'm putting the finishing touches on

Mettons que...
Let's say/Suppose that...

On m'a mis au pied du mur.
I was cornered.

Qu'est-ce qu'ils nous ont mis !
They beat the heck out of us!

Va te faire mettre ! (slang)
Get lost!


ne pas savoir où se mettre
to not know what to do with oneself

se mettre au français, à la guitare
to start learning French, to play the guitar

se mettre à + infinitive
to start doing something

se mettre à poil (informal)
to strip off, strip down to one's birthday suit

se mettre à quelqu'un
to team up with someone

se mettre au régime
to go on a diet

se mettre à table
to sit down to eat, to come clean

se mettre autour de
to gather round

se mettre au travail
to start working

se mettre au vert
to lie low

se mettre dans une situation délicate 
to get oneself into an awkward situation

se mettre en colère
to get angry

se mettre sur un rang
to form a line/queue

se mettre une idée dans la tête
to get an idea into one's head

s'en mettre partout
to get covered in it, to get something all over oneself


Mettre conjugations

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