il fit

did; made

→ il
phrase Uncommon #9,961
did; made Past historic (literary past tense) of faire. It means “he did” or “he made,” depending on context.
FR: Il fit un grand sourire en me voyant.
EN: He gave me a big smile when he saw me.

Il fit du bon boulot.

He did a good job.

Il fit part de sa déception.

He expressed his disappointment.

Il fit un large sourire de satisfaction.

He gave a broad smile of satisfaction.

Il fit ce que je lui dis de faire.

He did what I told him to do.

Il fit le contraire.

He did the opposite.

Il fit un bref compte rendu de l'accident.

He gave a brief account of the accident.

Il fit une vanne.

He made a joke.

Il fit ce qu'il fallait.

He did what needed to be done.

Il fit une blague à ce propos.

He made a joke about it.

Il fit comme s'il allait dire quelque chose mais resta plutôt tranquille.

He acted as if he were going to say something, but instead remained quiet.

Il fit du mieux qu'il pouvait.

He did the best he could.

Il fit rire les enfants.

He made the children laugh.

Il fit un récit détaillé de son étrange aventure.

He gave a detailed account of his strange adventure.

Au cours de notre conversation, il fit référence à sa jeunesse.

During our conversation, he referred to his youth.

Il fit ce que nous lui avions dit de faire.

He did what we told him to do.

Afin de ne pas oublier ce qu'il devait accomplir, il fit un nœud à son mouchoir.

So that he wouldn’t forget what he had to do, he tied a knot in his handkerchief.

Il fit des cauchemars.

He had nightmares.

Il fit le détour de Java-Sumatra.

He made the detour through Java-Sumatra.

— Moscou ne croit pas aux larmes (1980)

Il fit un effort pour arriver tôt à la gare.

He made an effort to arrive at the station early.

Se sentant fatigué de marcher dans la campagne, il fit une sieste.

Feeling tired from walking in the countryside, he took a nap.

Il fit ce qu'il promit de faire pour moi.

He did what he had promised to do for me.

Il fit grise mine et écouta ce que son professeur avait à dire.

He grimaced and listened to what his teacher had to say.

Il fit une grande contribution à la recherche contre le cancer.

He made a great contribution to cancer research.

Il fit exprès de ne pas répondre à la question.

He deliberately chose not to answer the question.

Il fit savoir à ses amis qu'il n'avait pas l'intention d'être candidat.

He let his friends know that he had no intention of running.

Il fit un voyage autour du monde.

He made a trip around the world.

Il fit cela pendant trois ans.

He did this for three years.

— Le Sacrifice (1986)

Il fit des efforts désespérés pour atteindre le rivage.

He made desperate efforts to reach the shore.

Il fit les deux en même temps.

He did both at the same time.

Il fit un geste d'impatience.

He made an impatient gesture.

Il fit ce qu'on lui dit.

He did what he was told.

Il fit grève.

He went on strike.

Pour l'amour aussi, il fit de la politique.

For love, too, he went into politics.

Il fit tout le chemin depuis Kyushu pour voir Mona Lisa.

He came all the way from Kyushu to see the Mona Lisa.

Il fit une tentative de suicide.

He attempted suicide.

Il fit ce qu'il avait à faire.

He did what he had to do.

Cette nuit-là, il fit un rêve horrible.

That night he had a horrible dream.

Il fit de l'actrice son épouse.

He made the actress his wife.

Il fit semblant de ne pas m'entendre.

He pretended not to hear me.

Il fit une analyse détaillée du problème.

He made a detailed analysis of the problem.

Il fit comme je lui avais dit.

He did as I told him.