This is a subordinating conjunctive phrase that answers the question why – pourquoi. ย A subordinating conjunction is a word which joins together a dependent clause and an independent clause.ย You can begin a sentence with parce que if you wish.ย Car is a synonym of parce que, and you may use them interchangeably.ย
Parce quโil รฉtait en retard, il nโa pas mangรฉ son petit-dรฉjeuner.
Because he was late, he didn’t eat his breakfast.
Il a lu toute la nuit parce quโil avait un examen le lendemain.ย
He read all night because he had an exam the next day.
2. Car – Because
This is a coordinating conjunction that answers the question why – pourquoi.ย This type of conjunction can join two verbs, two nouns, two adjectives, two phrases, or two independent clauses.ย You should not begin a sentence with car.ย Parce que is a synonym of car, and you may use them interchangeably.ย
Elle ne mange jamais de hamburgers car elle est vรฉgรฉtarienne.
She never eats hamburgers because she is vegetarian.
Ils ont fait du stop car leur voiture est tombรฉe en panne.ย
They hitchhiked because their car broke down.
3. Comme – Because, As, Since
In this lesson, weโll consider comme as a conjunction though it can have many other uses. It is a synonym of puisque and car.
Comme sa copine รฉtait en retard, il a dรฉcidรฉ de commander un coca en attendant.ย
As his girlfriend was late, he decided to order a coke while waiting.
Julie a mis ses lunettes de soleil comme elle avait mal aux yeux.ย
Julie put on her sunglasses as her eyes were hurting.
4. Puisque – Because, Since
Like parce que, this subordinating conjunction can be used to begin a sentence.
Je ne suis pas allรฉ(e) au cinรฉma hier soir puisque je nโavais pas dโargent.ย
I didn’t go to the movies last night because I didn’t have any money.
Puisque tu รฉcris si bien, cโest toi qui vas rรฉdiger la lettre.ย
Since you write so well, you will write the letter.
5. ร cause de – Because of
ร cause de can only be followed by a noun, and it is often used to give negative credit to something. Remember to follow normal contraction rules when followed by definite articles (de + le = du / de + les = des).
Cette petite fille sโest fait gronder ร cause de sa voisine qui bavardait.
This little girl was scolded because her neighbor was chatting.
Cโest ร cause du trafic important que cette ville est trรจs polluรฉe.
It is because of the heavy traffic that this city is very polluted.
6. Grรขce ร – Thanks to, Because of
Grรขce ร is often used to give positive credit to someone or something. Remember to follow normal contraction rules when followed by definite articles (ร + le = au / ร + les = aux).
Cโest grรขce ร son pรจre quโil a dรฉcouvert la musique cubaine.ย
It is thanks to his father that he discovered Cuban music.ย
Son franรงais sโest amรฉliorรฉ grรขce aux efforts quโelle a fait depuis quelques mois.
Her French has improved as a result of her efforts over the past few months.
7. Du fait de – Because, Due to the fact
This is certainly a more formal way of saying because. You still need to follow normal contraction rules when followed by definite articles (de + le = du / de + les = des).
Du fait de la grave crise รฉconomique, le taux de chรดmage a beaucoup augmentรฉ.ย ย
As a result of the severe economic crisis, the unemployment rate has risen sharply.
8. En raison de – Because of, Due to
Just like du fait, this is a formal way to say because.
En raison de lโannulation du vol en direction de New York, les passagers devront attendre quelques heures.ย
Due to the cancellation of the flight to New York, passengers will have to wait a few hours.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions in both French and English. It is important to remember them, as these are the words that are used to join other words or clauses.
LISTEN TO AN AUDIO VERSION OF THIS LESSON
A mnemonic is a tool that helps us remember certain information. I can remember as a child learning the mnemonic FANBOYS to remember coordinating conjunctions in English.
F
FOR
A
AND
N
NOR
B
BUT
O
OR
Y
YET
S
SO
French kids also learn a mnemonic to help them remember coordinating conjunctions! Interestingly, Ornicar is now the name of an asteroid in the main belt discovered on March 24, 1998. The French astronomer Alain Maury named the asteroid Ornicar in memory of the famous mnemonic formula Mais oรน est donc Ornicar? used to remember coordinating conjunctions in French.
Iโm sure it will help you as well! The French version is stated as a question:
Love Learning Languages offers quick French vocabulary lists or 10 Mots du Jour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each set follows a different theme, today the 10 French vocabulary words are about weddings. This is a fantastic way to increase your wedding vocabulary! You get a downloadable list of the words in French and English, and a Quizlet study set to learn, practice, and master them all. Quizlet is a platform for learning vocabulary that’s based on flashcards, but what has really made an impression on me is how fun it makes learning new language content! Click here for details.
It can be difficult knowing when to use direct and indirect object pronouns in French. The grammar can be very different than in English. The first thing to understand is the difference between a DIRECT OBJECT and an INDIRECT OBJECT, and then you can more easily identify them in a sentence.
๐ Scroll down to watch my video lesson on this French grammar topic ๐
Direct objects are not preceded by prepositions. They simply answer the questions who or what. They can be people, animals, or things. They can be replaced by direct object pronouns to avoid repetition.
Indirect objects are preceded by ร or pour, and they can be people or animals. They can be replaced by indirect object pronouns. They receive the action of the verb. It is important to note that indirect object pronouns cannot replace places or things following the preposition ร . For those, you need to use the pronoun Y.
The verb being used is very important when determining whether they are followed by direct or indirect objects. Many times, French verbs need prepositions while the English equivalent does not. Unfortunately, there are no rules to determine when French verbs need to be followed by prepositions. Memorizing lists is essential. Here is a list of common verbs followed by the preposition ร when followed by nouns, and another list of common verbs that do not require prepositions.
TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE USING THE VERB DEVOIR IN THE PRESENT TENSE:
๐ He has to leave the house now.
You have two options when translating this sentence to French.
๐ Il doit partir de la maison maintenant.
๐ Il doit quitter la maison maintenant.
It is important to notice that the verb partir is followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with de, while the verb quitter is followed by a direct object.
Translate using the verb falloir and an indirect object pronoun without using the subjunctive: ME – TE – LUI – NOUS – VOUS – LEUR
๐ He has to leave the house now.
You have two options when translating this sentence to French.
๐ Il lui faut partir de la maison maintenant.
๐ Il lui faut quitter la maison maintenant.
Place the pronoun lui before the verb, and notice the subject of the English translation is not the same as the subject in French (which is always il when using the verb falloir). The subject in English corresponds to the indirect object pronoun.
TRANSLATEUSING FALLOIR IN THE SUBJUNCTIVE. BEGIN WITH IL FAUT QUE:
Remember that the verb partir is followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with de, while the verb quitter is followed by a direct object. This is very important as we begin to look at using pronouns.
Love Learning Languages offers quick French vocabulary lists or 10 Mots du Jour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each set follows a different theme, today the 10 French vocabulary words are about the internet. This is a fantastic way to increase your internet vocabulary! You get a downloadable list of the words in French and English, and a Quizlet study set to learn, practice, and master them all. Quizlet is a platform for learning vocabulary that’s based on flashcards, but what has really made an impression on me is how fun it makes learning new language content! Click here for details.
Love Learning Languages offers quick French vocabulary lists or 10 Mots du Jour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each set follows a different theme, today the 10 French vocabulary words are about chores. This is a fantastic way to increase your chores vocabulary! You get a downloadable list of the words in French and English, and a Quizlet study set to learn, practice, and master them all. Quizlet is a platform for learning vocabulary that’s based on flashcards, but what has really made an impression on me is how fun it makes learning new language content! Click here for details.
The verb falloir can be used in many different ways. Get the comprehensive lesson here. In this mini lesson, we’ll talk about how to express need by using this verb.
You can still use avoir besoin de to mean need, but youโll sound much more French if you use falloir!
When you use the verb falloir with the indirect object pronouns ME – TE – LUI – NOUS – VOUS – LEUR you can totally avoid the subjunctive by following them up with an infinitive. Just remember when translating sentences to English, il will not be the first word you translate. The first translated word will be the pronoun. English and French are just different that way. Look at the following examples.
๐ Il me faut de la farine. ๐ I need some flour.
๐ Il te faut du lait? ๐ Do you need some milk?
๐ Il lui faut son livre de maths. ๐ He / She needs his / her math book.
๐ Il nous faut des vรฉlos. ๐ We need some bikes.
๐ Il vous faut de l’argent? ๐ Do you need some money?
๐ Il leur faut du travail. ๐ They need work.
