TranslateConjunctions
Conjunctions | Les conjonctions
A conjunction links words or groups of words. There are two types of conjunctions used in the French language: coordinate and subordinate.
Coordinating Conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction joins words and groups of words of equal value
(nouns + nouns, verbs + verbs, independent clause + independent clause).
Some of the most commonly used coordinating conjunctions in French are:
car | for, because
Pierre-Oh met son chandail, car la météo annonce du froid.
Pierre-Oh puts on his sweater because the weather is cold.
donc | so, thus
La météo annonce du froid, donc, Pierre-Oh met son chandail.
The weather is cold, so Pierre-Oh puts on his sweater.
et | and
Pierre-Oh aime les pommes et les bananes.
Pierre-Oh likes apples and bananas.
mais | but
Pierre-Oh aime les pommes mais il n’aime pas les oranges.
Pierre-Oh likes apples but he does not like oranges.
ni … ni | neither … nor
Pierrette ne mange ni des pommes ni des bananes.
Pierrette eats neither apples nor bananas.
or | so, now
Les fruits sont bons pour la santé, or, Pierre-Oh mange des fruits.
Fruits are good for your health, so, Pierre-Oh eats fruits.
ou | or
Aimes-tu les pommes ou les bananes?
Do you like apples or bananas?
Subordinating Conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction joins an independent clause to a dependent clause (independent and dependent). An independent clause is any clause that can stand alone to form a grammatical sentence. A dependent clause cannot stand alone and depends on the main clause in order to form a complete thought.
The main French subordinating conjunctions are:
comme | as, since
Pierre-Oh et Pierrette sont amusants comme nos mascottes de notre site Web.
Pierre-Oh and Pierrette are fun as our mascots on our website.
lorsque | when
Pierre-On se lève lorsque le réveil matin sonne.
Pierre-Oh wakes up when the alarm clock rings.
puisque | since
Puisque il fait si beau, nous irons à la plage.
Since the weather is beautiful, we will go to the beach.
que | that
Il est évident que Pierre-Oh aime manger.
It is evident that Pierre-Oh likes to eat.
quand | when
Appelle-moi quand tu arrives.
Call me when you arrive.
si | if
Si Pierre-Oh était riche, il t’achèterait ce jeu.
If Pierre-Oh was rich, he would buy you this game.
A conjunctive phrase is a group of two or more words that function as a conjunction.
French conjunctive phrases usually end in que and are usually subordinating conjunctions.
Some commonly used conjunctive phrases in French are:
afin que | so that
Écoute-moi afin que je puisse t’expliquer le mot.
Listen to me so that I may explain the word.
depuis que | since
Depuis que Pierre-Oh mange beaucoup de fruits, il a plus d’énergie.
Since Pierre-Oh eats a lot of fruit, he has more energy.
parce que | because
Pierre-Oh aime manger de la pizza parce que c’est bon.
Pierre-Oh likes to eat pizza because it is good.
pendant que | while
Pendant que j’y pense, notez mon adresse éléctronique.
While I am thinking about it, jot down my email address.
tandis que | while, whereas
Pierre-On travaille tandis que Pierrette s’amuse.
Pierre-Oh is working while Pierrette is having fun.