sur in French: on, on top of, about, over (preposition); also 'sure, certain' as the adjective sûr/sûre (preposition)

Translation

on, on top of, about, over (preposition); also 'sure, certain' as the adjective sûr/sûre

Word origin

The preposition is from Latin super ('above, over'), via Old French sur. The unrelated adjective sur or sure ('certain') comes from Latin securus ('free from care, safe').

Origin: Latin
Root: super
English cognates: super, superior

Examples

basse.

The book is on the coffee table.

économique.

He wrote an article about the economic crisis.

, fonctionne .

Two times out of three, it doesn't work.

.

Put your coat over the back of the chair.

sûre ' .

She is self-assured when she speaks in public.

Sur is the everyday preposition for "on" or "about": sur la table (on the table), un article sur le climat (an article about the climate), deux fois sur trois (two times out of three). It also forms compound expressions: sur place (on the spot), sur le moment (at the time), compter sur quelqu'un (to count on someone).

A separate but identically-spelled (in ASCII) word is the adjective sûr (with a circumflex), meaning "sure, certain, safe": je suis sûr (I am sure), en lieu sûr (in a safe place), bien sûr (of course). Forms: sûr / sûre / sûrs / sûres. The circumflex distinguishes the two in writing; in unaccented input both collapse to sur.

Related words

dans

in, inside

par

by, through, per, via

pour

for, in order to

avec

with

au

to the, at the (contraction of a + le)

Used in

Stories

(9)

Grammar articles

(7)

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue