donner du fil à retordre

/dɔ.ne dy fil a ʁə.tɔʁdʁ/

verb B2

le (masc.) la (fem.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Common Domain General Tone Neutral
Word fingerprint: Register: neutral. Era: current. Frequency: common. Domain: general. Connotation: neutral.

Forms

present
donne du fil à retordre
past
a donné du fil à retordre
perfect
donné du fil à retordre

Meaning

  1. to give someone a hard time

    • Ce dossier lui donne du fil à retordre.

      This case is giving him a hard time.

V Category Action Concreteness Concrete Agency Voluntary Duration Durative Transitivity Transitive
Meaning fingerprint: Category: action. Concreteness: concrete. Agency: voluntary. Duration: durative. Transitivity: transitive.

Practice

1 What does donner du fil à retordre mean?

2 Fill the gap: Ce dossier lui donne du fil à ___.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches donner du fil à retordre?

verb

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