May 25, 2016 17:36
7 yrs ago
English term
France
Translation is a Passion
Native in: French 
, Italian
Works in: English to French, Italian to French
may have to do
English to French
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Bonsoir à tous,
Que veut dire "may have to do" dans la phrase suivante ?
"We may discover that wind, solar, biomass, etc., all piled on top of each other, may have to do, but their success may turn out to require an effort that started a generation ago."
Je vous mets également les deux phrases qui précèdent pour un peu plus de contexte :
"ALTERNATIVE sources of energy can become a satisfactory substitute for fossil fuels if we put as much effort and genius in the effort as we did in producing the first atomic bomb.The most satisfactory single alternative would be hydrogen fusion but that quasi-miracle may be beyond our capability.
Est-ce que cela signifie que ces énergies pourraient fonctionner ?
Merci d'avance pour votre aide précieuse !
Que veut dire "may have to do" dans la phrase suivante ?
"We may discover that wind, solar, biomass, etc., all piled on top of each other, may have to do, but their success may turn out to require an effort that started a generation ago."
Je vous mets également les deux phrases qui précèdent pour un peu plus de contexte :
"ALTERNATIVE sources of energy can become a satisfactory substitute for fossil fuels if we put as much effort and genius in the effort as we did in producing the first atomic bomb.The most satisfactory single alternative would be hydrogen fusion but that quasi-miracle may be beyond our capability.
Est-ce que cela signifie que ces énergies pourraient fonctionner ?
Merci d'avance pour votre aide précieuse !
Proposed translations
(French)
| 2 +6 | nous devrons peut-être nous contenter de |
Tony M
|
| 4 +2 | doivent peut-être suffire/remplir nos besoins |
Francois Boye
|
Proposed translations
+6
5 mins
Selected
nous devrons peut-être nous contenter de
'to do' here has the sense of 'to suffice'.
"Hydrogen fusion would be a wonderful solution, but we may have to be content with..."
Many ways you might express it, but I hope this gives you an idea.
'to have to' here = future tense of 'must' = future of 'devoir'.
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Note added at 2 heures (2016-05-25 20:07:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
nous devrons peut-être nous contenter de ...
... wind, solar, biomass, etc., all piled on top of each other
"Hydrogen fusion would be a wonderful solution, but we may have to be content with..."
Many ways you might express it, but I hope this gives you an idea.
'to have to' here = future tense of 'must' = future of 'devoir'.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 heures (2016-05-25 20:07:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
nous devrons peut-être nous contenter de ...
... wind, solar, biomass, etc., all piled on top of each other
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Merci !"
+2
35 mins
Francois Boye
United States
United States
Native in French
Specializes in field
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
84
doivent peut-être suffire/remplir nos besoins
my take
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Germaine
: avec suffire, mais pas "remplir nos besoins" : Nous pourrions découvrir que... ont empiété l'un sur l'autre, pourraient devoir suffire...
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Yoann Peyron
: doivent peut-être suffire +1
10 hrs
|
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