account for

représenter, constituer

Constituer une certaine partie ou quantité d’un ensemble.

En anglais simple : To form a particular part or amount of a total.

• Women account for half the team.
• Online orders accounted for most sales last year.
• How much of the budget does transport account for?

Comment l'utiliser : account for an amount of something (Rent accounts for half of my monthly spending.)

Synonymes : make up, constitute, represent

Expressions courantes : account for half, account for most sales, account for ten percent

expliquer, rendre compte de

Expliquer ce qui s’est passé, pourquoi on a agi ou où se trouve quelqu’un ou quelque chose.

En anglais simple : To explain what happened, why you did something, or where someone or something is.

• Can you account for the delay?
• He could not account for his actions that night.
• Everyone was accounted for after the fire.

Comment l'utiliser : account for something (Can you account for the missing money?); account for something to someone (She had to account for her absence to the manager.)

Synonymes : explain

Expressions courantes : account for an absence, account for missing money, account for someone, account for every penny

expliquer, être la cause de

Être la raison pour laquelle quelque chose arrive ou est ainsi.

En anglais simple : To be the reason why something happens or is true.

• The rain accounts for the wet floor.
• Her experience accounted for her success.
• Could lack of sleep account for his strange behavior?

Comment l'utiliser : account for something (Heavy traffic accounts for most of these delays.)

Synonymes : explain, cause

Expressions courantes : account for the difference, account for a delay, account for something

répondre de, rendre compte de

Devoir expliquer ses actes et en assumer la responsabilité.

En anglais simple : To have a duty to explain your actions and accept responsibility for them.

• You must account for your actions.
• The officers had to account for their conduct before a judge.
• Who will account for these serious mistakes?

Comment l'utiliser : account for something to someone (Officials must account for their decisions to the public.)

Synonymes : answer for, be responsible for

Expressions courantes : account for your actions, account for your conduct

tuer, détruire

Tuer une personne ou un animal, ou endommager quelque chose au point de le rendre inutilisable.

En anglais simple : To kill someone or something, or damage it so it can no longer operate.

• The fox accounted for three hens.
• Their guns accounted for several enemy aircraft.
• Hunters accounted for fewer rabbits than disease did.

Comment l'utiliser : account for someone/something (The patrol accounted for two enemy tanks.)

Synonymes : destroy, kill, disable

Expressions courantes : account for enemy aircraft, account for several rabbits