Conjunctions and other linking constructions Flashcards
The competition is open to boys and girls
Le concours est ouvert aux garçons et aux filles
There were dances, but we weren’t able to dance
Il y avait des bals, mais on ne pouvait pas danser
Give me some peace or I’ll take your pocket money back
Laisse-moi tranquille ou je te reprends ton argent de poche
He will arrive either tomorrow, or the day after
Il arrivera soit demain soit après-demain
I lit a cigarette, then went down to the floor below
J’ai allumé une cigarette, puis je suis descendu à l’étage du dessous
I did not understand his question, for it was hardly in keeping with his character
Je ne comprenais pas sa question, car cela ne correspondait guère à sa personnalité
Now, it so happened that I already knew him
Or, il se trouve que le connaissais déjà
He is happy, for he is rich
II est heureux, car il est riche
He is happy because he is rich
Il est heureux, parce qu’il est riche
Because he is rich, he is happy
Parce qu’il est riche, il est heureux
Now, Jean was already married when he met Suzanne
Or, Jean était déjà marié lorsqu’il a rencontré Suzanne
All men are mortal; (now,) the King is a man; therefore the King is mortal
Tous les hommes sont mortels; or, le Roi est un homme; donc le Roi est mortel
Jean is now married
Jean est maintenant marié
Jean was now (= then) married
Jean était alors marié
He is happy because he is rich
Il est heureux, parce qu’il est riche
I continue to say ‘at our house’, although the house no longer belongs to us
Je continue à dire ‘chez nous’, bien que la maison ne nous appartienne plus
As he does not stop complaining, I avoid him as much as possible
Comme il n’arrête pas de se plaindre, je l’évite le plus possible
after subordinating conj.
après que + indic.
as soon as
aussitôt que + indic. dès que sitôt que dès lors que
as long as
aussi longtemps que + indic.
every time
chaque fois que + indic. toutes les fois que
since
depuis que + indic.
now
maintenant que + indic.
while, as
pendant que + indic.
when
quand + indic. lorsque
while, as
tant que + indic.
once
une fois que + indic.
After his wife died, he moved house
Après que sa femme est morte, il a déménagé
As soon as I get home, I will phone you
Sitôt que je serai rentré, je te téléphonerai
We’ll play as long as you wish
On jouera aussi longtemps que tu veux
Every time we phone her, she’s out
Toutes les fois que nous lui téléphonons, elle est sortie
Since he has been at our house, he is more and more fulfilled
Depuis qu’il est chez nous, il est de plus en plus épanoui
Now I have settled in, I can start work
Maintenant que je suis installé, je peux me mettre au travail
We had time for a coffee while the others were getting ready
On a eu le temps de prendre un café pendant que les autres se préparaient
She was already ill when I first knew her
Elle était déjà malade quand je l’ai connue
For as long as we haven’t tasted the fruits of peace, nothing will have been achieved
Tant qu’on n’aurait pas touché les dividendes de la paix, rien ne sera acquis
tant que means ‘the whole time while’ . Main clause is future, dependent clause is prior and conditional, therefore compound conditional
Once he had packed his bags, he went down to the bar for a beer
Une fois qu’il a eu fait ses valises, il est descendu au bar boire une bière
the main clause is in the compound past, the dependent clause occurs before it so is in the double compound past
Will you telephone me when he arrives?
Est-ce que tu me téléphoneras quand il arrivera?
As soon as she comes back, I will light the fire
Dès qu’elle reviendra, j’allumerai le feu
If we left at midday, it would still be daylight when we arrived
Si on partait à midi, il ferait encore jour quand on arriverait
He will arrive when I have left
Il arrivera quand je serai parti
main clause is in the future, dependent clause is prior to but in the future, therefore, it becomes future perfect
If he didn’t catch the plane until Tuesday, he would arrive after I had left
S’il ne prenait pas l’avion avant mardi, il arriverait après que je serais parti
Main clause is conditional (would arrive), dependent clause occurs before so is compound conditional.
I will fill in the form as soon as I have received it
Je remplirai le formulaire, aussitôt que je l’aurai reçu
I would have filled in the form as soon as I had received it
J’aurais rempli le formulaire aussitôt que je l’aurais reçu
Both clauses are in the compound conditional as they are simultaneous
As soon as he says ‘yes’, get him to sign
Dès qu’il aura dit ‘oui’, faites-le signer
As soon as I finished the book I began to draft the report
Aussitôt que j’ai eu fini le livre, j’ai commencé à rédiger le rapport
When she came back, he offered her his apologies
Quand elle a été revenue, il lui a présenté ses excuses
dependent clause is in double compound past because it occurs before the main clause, which is in the compound past
As soon as I had finished the book I began to draft the report
Aussitôt que j’avais eu fini le livre, j’avais commencé à rédiger le rapport
I quickly finished the book
J’ai eu vite fini le livre
double compound past is used to express urgency or speed
He had soon told her what he thought of her
II a eu bientôt fait de lui dire ce qu’il pensait d’elle
double compound past is used to express urgency or speed
when is the past anterior used and what is it
when, in formal written french, the dominant tense is the simple past, the thing that happened before it uses the past anterior. formed with the simple past forms of avoir or etre, with the past participle
As soon as I had finished the book I began to draft the report formal
Aussitôt que j’eus fini le livre, je commençai à rédiger le rapport
After she went out he wrapped her birthday present formal
Après qu’elle fut sortie, il emballa son cadeau d’anniversaire
I had quickly finished the book formal
J’eus vite fini le livre
Ever since we have been living together, I have seen her working late into the evening
Depuis que nous vivons ensemble, je la vois travailler tard le soir
Ever since we had been living together, I saw her working late into the evening
Depuis que nous vivions ensemble, je la voyais travailler tard le soir
report comes from the past, the action is ongoing to the time of report, both clauses are imperfect
Since he has finished his studies, I see a lot more of him
Depuis qu’il a fini ses études, je le vois beaucoup plus
Since he had finished his studies, I saw a lot more of him
Depuis qu’il avait fini ses études, je le voyais beaucoup plus
depuis clause is completed and in pluperfect, main clause is habitual and in the past so imperfect
For several years now she has been working late into the evening
Voilà/voici plusieurs années qu’elle travaille tard le soir
I had known her for a month/It was a month since I had known her
II y a
II y avait un mois que je la connaissais
It’s been two years since she stopped smoking
(Voilà/voici)
Voilà/voici deux ans qu’elle a arrêté de fumer
It was a month since he had disappeared
Il y avait un mois qu’il avait disparu
just as
ainsi + indic. de même que
all the while (as)
(au fur et) à mesure + indic. que à proportion que
seeing that, given that, since
attendu que + indic. vu que étant donné que dès lors que
as far as
(pour) autant que + indic.
rather than, more than
plutôt que + indic.
I looked at the moon just as she must have been looking at it
Je regardais la lune de même qu’elle devait la regarder
As he spoke he became more animated
A mesure qu’il parlait, il s’animait
Seeing that it is already midday, I propose that we restart after lunch
Vu qu’il est déjà midi, je propose qu’on reprenne après le déjeuner
I delegate as much as I can
Je délègue autant que je peux
As far as I know, they left on Monday
Pour autant que je sache, ils sont partis lundi
He is dozing rather than sleeping
II sommeille plutôt qu’il ne dort
as, like
comme + indic.
as if
comme si + indic.
since
puisque + indic.
except that
excepté que + indic. sinon que outre que sauf que
As he does nothing but complain, I avoid him as much as possible
Comme il n’arrête pas de se plaindre, je l’évite le plus possible
We had a summer like we have never seen before
On a eu un été comme on n’en a jamais vu
She lowered her head as if she had was ashamed of something
Elle a baissé la tête comme si elle avait honte
She speaks French since her mother is a Frenchwoman
Elle parle français puisque sa mère est Française
She had nothing to say except that she was hungry
Elle n’avait rien à dire, sinon qu’elle avait faim
He stayed here because he didn’t have the money for a ticket
Il est resté ici parce qu’il n’avait pas l’argent du billet
depending on whether
selon que suivant que
if, even if
si
même si
quand même
while, whereas
tandis que
alors que
I take the bus or go on my bike, depending on whether it is raining or is fine
Je prends le bus ou j’y vais en vélo, selon qu’il pleut ou qu’il fait beau
If you get him going on that subject, we’ll be here until tomorrow morning
Si on le branche là-dessus, on peut tenir jusqu’à demain matin
Even if he had arrived, I couldn’t have spoken to him
Même s’il était arrivé, je n’aurais pas pu lui parler
Even if he had said the exact opposite, it wouldn’t have changed anything
Quand même il m’aurait dit le contraire, ça n’aurait rien changé
He is blond, while the two of us are dark-haired
II est blond, alors que nous deux, nous sommes bruns
