Opinion and discussion

The list that turns vocabulary into conversation. Two of its entries hang on one word that no longer exists on its own. Le gré was somebody’s liking or will, from Latin gratum, what pleases — and it survives only inside fixed phrases. Malgré is mal plus gré: against somebody’s liking, which is why it means « despite ». The pair bon gré, mal gré still says both halves out loud: willingly or not. And the other entry is hiding in the English translation rather than the French: « to agree » is itself old French a gré, to somebody’s liking — so être d’accord and « agree » both describe two wills falling into the same shape. One thing the French phrase makes explicit that English hides: être d’accord is an adjective phrase with the verb être, so it agrees with nothing and never conjugates — elles sont d’accord.