Given an arbitrary sequence of elements ξ=false{ξnfalse}n∈double-struckN$\xi =\lbrace \xi _n\rbrace _{n\in \mathbb {N}}$ of a Hilbert space false(scriptH,false⟨·,·false⟩false)$(\mathcal {H},\langle \cdot ,\cdot \rangle )$, the operator Tξ$T_\xi$ is defined as the operator associated to the sesquilinear form Ωξ(f,g)=∑n∈double-struckN⟨f,ξn⟩⟨ξn,g⟩$\Omega _\xi (f,g)=\sum _{n\in \mathbb {N}} \langle f , \xi _n\rangle \langle \xi _n , g\rangle$, for f,g∈false{h∈scriptH:∑n∈double-struckNfalse|⟨h,ξn⟩|2<∞false}$f,g\in \lbrace h\in \mathcal {H}: \sum _{n\in \mathbb {N}}|\langle h , \xi _n\rangle |^2<\infty \rbrace$. This operator is in general different from the classical frame operator but possesses some remarkable properties. For instance, Tξ$T_\xi$ is always self‐adjoint with regard to a particular space, unconditionally defined, and, when ξ is a lower semiframe, Tξ$T_\xi$ gives a simple expression of a dual of ξ. The operator Tξ$T_\xi$ and lower semiframes are studied in the context of sequences of integer translates of a function of L2(R)$L^2(\mathbb {R})$. In particular, an explicit expression of Tξ$T_\xi$ is given in this context, and a characterization of sequences of integer translates, which are lower semiframes, is proved.