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Willing French Expression
| Meaning | willingly, happy to | |
| Literally | of good desire | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation | [deu bo(n) gray] | |
| IPA | [də bɔ̃ gʁe] | |
Usage notes: The French expression de bon gré indicates a willingness to do something, with no sense of obligation, hesitation, or displeasure. It’s synonymous with de plein gré and both expressions can be modified with a possessive adjective:
| de mon bon gré | de mon plein gré | |
| de ton bon gré | de ton plein gré | |
| de son bon gré | de son plein gré | |
| de notre bon gré | de notre plein gré | |
| de votre bon gré | de votre plein gré | |
| de leur bon gré | de leur plein gré |
You can also leave out the adjectives bon and plein:
| de mon gré |
| de ton gré |
| de son gré |
| de notre gré |
| de votre gré |
| de leur gré |
Par exemple…
| J’ai fini le travail de bon gré. | I finished the work willingly, I was happy to finish the work. | |
| Elle fait les achats de plein gré. | She’s doing the shopping willingly, She’s happy to do the shopping. | |
| Nous l’achèterons de notre bon gré. | We’ll buy it willingly, We’ll be happy to buy it. | |
| Ils assistent à la réunion de leur gré. | They are attending the meeting willingly, They’re happy to attend the meeting. |
Synomyms
- avec bonne volonté
- avec plaisir
- de bon cœur
- de bonne grâce
- librement
- volontairement
- volontiers
Antonym: de mal gré – reluctantly
Related expression: bon gré mal gré – like it or not
More: Expressions with bon
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