Coordinating conjunctions<\/strong> \u2013 in English these are words like and<\/em>, but,<\/em> for, or, nor, so,<\/em> and yet <\/em>— connect words or clauses with EQUAL emphasis. For example, in English you could say: I like apples and oranges. In French, this would be J\u2019aime les pommes e<\/strong>t les oranges.<\/em> Et<\/em> \u2013 which means \u201cand\u201d \u2013 is the coordinating conjunction here that connects two words of equal importance to the sentence.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a list of some more French coordinating conjunctions: car<\/em> (for, because), donc<\/em> (so), ensuite <\/em>(next), et<\/em> (and), mais<\/em> (but), or<\/em> (now, yet), ni <\/em>(neither), ou<\/em> (or), ou bien<\/em> (either\/or else), puis <\/em>(then). In order to correctly use these words, they must join words that are the same part of speech or similar clauses.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s use some of these conjunctions in example sentences:<\/p>\n Je pense donc<\/strong> je suis<\/em> (Descartes\u2019 famous phrase) \u2013 I think therefore<\/strong> (or so<\/strong>) I am.<\/p>\n Je me l\u00e8ve, puis <\/strong>je me brosse les dents<\/em> \u2013 I wake up, then<\/strong> I brush my teeth.<\/p>\n Je veux le faire, mais<\/strong> je n\u2019ai pas d\u2019argent<\/em> \u2013 I want to do it, but<\/strong> I don\u2019t have any money<\/p>\n Fais tes devoirs et ensuite<\/strong> lave la vaisselle<\/em> \u2013 Do your homework, and then<\/strong> wash the dishes.<\/p>\n Je n\u2019aime ni<\/strong> les lentilles ni<\/strong> les \u00e9pinards<\/em> \u2013 I like neither<\/strong> lentils nor<\/strong> spinach.<\/p>\n Il \u00e9tait sur de gagner, or<\/strong> il a perdu<\/em> \u2013 He was sure he would win, and yet<\/strong> he lost.<\/p>\n Nous sommes inquiets car<\/strong> il n\u2019est pas encore rentr\u00e9<\/em> \u2013 We are worried because <\/strong>he hasn\u2019t yet come back.<\/p>\n **Ou bien elle est malade ou bien elle est tres fatigue\u00e9<\/em> \u2013 Either <\/strong>she is sick or<\/strong> she is very tired.<\/p>\n Notice that all of these examples either connect the same parts of speech or use similar commands, tenses, or employ similar moods.<\/p>\n **In this sense, ou bien<\/em> is similar to ou <\/em>but with enumeration. However, ou bien<\/em> can be used to mean \u201cor what\u201d informally as well, as in Elle est malade, ou bien?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>A tip to help you remember these coordinating conjunctions: French children are taught the mnemonic Mais o\u00f9 est donc Ornicar?<\/em>, which includes the most common coordinating conjunctions.<\/p>\n French subordinating conjunctions<\/strong> link dependent or subordinate clauses to main clauses. A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot be used alone because its meaning is incomplete without the main clause. For example, if you say: \u201cI\u2019m scared when he travels\u201d, the main clause is \u201cI\u2019m scared\u201d. Why? Because you are not scared all the time, but only <\/strong>when he travels. Here, the word when <\/strong>is the subordinating conjunction, which signals that something happens if and only if the dependent clause occurs first.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a list of the most common French subordinating conjunctions: comme <\/em>(as, since), lorsque<\/em> (when), puisque<\/em> (since, as), quand<\/em> (when), que<\/em> (that), **quoique<\/em> (even though), and si <\/em>(if). Unlike coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions can<\/strong> be used at the beginning of a sentence.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s use these subordinating conjunctions in example sentences:<\/p>\n J\u2019ai dit que<\/strong> j\u2019aime les oranges<\/em> \u2013 I said that<\/strong> I like oranges. Here the main clause is J\u2019ai dit<\/em> because it doesn\u2019t matter whether or not the speaker actually likes oranges, but rather what matters is that the speaker said he or she likes oranges.<\/p>\n Il est blanc comme <\/strong>neige \u2013 <\/em>It is white like <\/strong>snow. The main clause here is Il est blanc.<\/em><\/p>\n Lorsque <\/em><\/strong>tu arrives je pars <\/em>\u2013 When<\/strong> you arrive, I\u2019m leaving. Tu arrives <\/em>is the main clause.<\/p>\n Si <\/em><\/strong>tu es le plus intelligent du groupe, prouve-le-nous<\/em> \u2013 If <\/strong>you are the most intelligent of the group, prove it to us. Can you guess what the main clause is here?<\/strong><\/p>\n Puisque <\/em><\/strong>je suis ici, profites-en!<\/em> \u2013 Since<\/strong> I am here, take advantage of it!<\/p>\n **Quoiqu<\/em><\/strong>\u2019il ait grandi, il reste le plus petit de sa classe<\/em> \u2013 Even though<\/strong> he grew, he is still the smallest one in his class. What is the main clause in this sentence?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>**The conjunction quoique<\/strong> uses the subjunctive, so you should avoid using this if you do not feel comfortable using this advanced tense.<\/p>\n There are also many conjunctive phrases<\/strong> in French, which are two or more words that function together as a conjunction. You can identify many of them because they normally end in que. <\/em>These include: ainsi que <\/em>(just so, so as), alors que <\/em>(while, whereas), apr\u00e8s que <\/em>(after), avant que <\/em>(before), bien que <\/em>(although),<\/em> and many, many more.<\/p>\n Stay tuned next week for our lesson on French conjunctive phrases. And, if you\u2019ve already studied the subjunctive, be sure to brush up on it because many conjunctive phrases are followed by verbs in the subjunctive.<\/p>\n Comme toujours, vous pouvez laisser vos commentaires, critiques, et questions juste en bas. <\/em>\u00c0 la prochaine!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today we\u2019re going to learn about French conjunctions. What are conjunctions? They are words or phrases that link similar words or groups of works together. In French, there are two different kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions (les conjonctions de coordination) and subordinating conjunctions (les conjonctions de subordination). These also exist in English. Coordinating conjunctions \u2013…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/01\/Link-234x350.jpg\")