take possession

devenir propriétaire, prendre possession

Devenir le propriétaire d’une chose, souvent lors de sa remise officielle.

En anglais simple : To become the owner of something, often when it is officially handed over.

• They took possession of the house yesterday.
• When will you take possession of your apartment?
• The buyer has taken possession of the land.

Comment l'utiliser : take possession of something (We take possession of our new house on Friday.)

Synonymes : acquire, become the owner of

Expressions courantes : take possession today, take possession tomorrow

s’emparer, prendre le contrôle

Obtenir le contrôle d’une chose, parfois par la force ou en l’enlevant à quelqu’un.

En anglais simple : To get control of something, sometimes by force or by taking it from someone else.

• Our team took possession of the ball.
• The troops took possession of the bridge.
• Police have taken possession of the stolen goods.

Comment l'utiliser : take possession of something (The police took possession of the documents.)

Synonymes : seize, take control of

Contraires : relinquish

Expressions courantes : take possession quickly, take possession again

prendre en charge

Accepter la responsabilité de s’occuper d’une chose ou de la gérer.

En anglais simple : To accept responsibility for looking after or managing something.

• The guardian took possession of the child.
• The new manager took possession of the department’s records.
• Who will take possession of the equipment for safekeeping?

Comment l'utiliser : take possession of someone/something (The guardian took possession of the child under the court order.)

Synonymes : take charge of, assume responsibility for

Expressions courantes : take possession formally, take possession temporarily

posséder, s’emparer

Pour une idée ou une émotion, devenir si forte qu’elle dirige les pensées ou les actes d’une personne.

En anglais simple : To become so strong in someone’s mind that it controls their thoughts or actions.

• Anger took possession of him.
• A strange spirit seemed to take possession of her.
• Jealousy had taken possession of his thoughts.

Comment l'utiliser : take possession of someone/something (Fear took possession of her mind.)

Synonymes : possess, consume, dominate

Expressions courantes : take possession completely, take possession gradually

s’installer, occuper

S’établir dans un lieu et commencer à l’utiliser comme son propre espace.

En anglais simple : To settle in a place and begin using it as your own space.

• The cat took possession of the empty bedroom.
• We took possession of our rooms and unpacked.
• By evening, the guests had taken possession of every spare corner.

Comment l'utiliser : take possession of somewhere (She took possession of the spare room and unpacked.)

Synonymes : occupy, settle in

Contraires : vacate

Expressions courantes : take possession quietly, take possession upstairs