{"id":31803,"date":"2020-01-28T05:30:56","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T04:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=31803"},"modified":"2020-01-25T22:31:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-25T21:31:10","slug":"french-grammar-tell-me-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-grammar-tell-me-why\/","title":{"rendered":"French Grammar – Tell me why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently we looked\u00a0les pronoms d\u00e9monstratifs<\/a><\/strong>. You remember, those words that help answer the question “Which ______?”<\/em> This week we’ll look at how to respond to the question “Pourquoi?”\u00a0<\/strong>using a few useful conjunctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Parce que<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyone with little children is used to hearing them ask “Pourquoi?” <\/strong><\/a>(“Why?”)<\/em>. It’s a question that follows us throughout our lives. The most common way to respond to that question in French involves the conjunction\u00a0parce que<\/strong> (because).\u00a0<\/em>You use\u00a0parce que\u00a0<\/strong>to introduce a reason when someone asks you\u00a0pourquoi<\/strong> something is or isn’t, is happening or happened, etc.<\/p>\n

Pourquoi est-ce que tu n’es pas venu hier soir? \/ Parce que je ne me sentais pas bien.
\n<\/strong>Why didn’t you come last night? \/ Because I wasn’t feeling good.<\/em><\/p>\n

Est-ce que tu sais pourquoi Jeanne est partie si t\u00f4t? \/ Oui, elle est partie parce que sa m\u00e8re avait besoin d’elle \u00e0 la maison.<\/strong>
\nDo you know why Jeanne left so early? \/ Yes, she left early because her mother needed her at home.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pourquoi est-ce que le match a \u00e9t\u00e9 annul\u00e9? \/ Parce qu’il<\/strong>1<\/a><\/sup>Remember to make the elision when parce que<\/em> precedes a word that starts with a vowel.<\/span> va pleuvoir.<\/strong>
\nWhy was the game canceled? \/ Because it is going to rain.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Puisque<\/strong><\/p>\n

You will also encounter the word\u00a0puisque<\/strong> introducing a cause or reason. Unlike parce que<\/strong>, which answers the specific question\u00a0why<\/em> and provides new information to someone,\u00a0puisque\u00a0<\/strong>is used when the reason or cause is already generally known, but you want someone to know the reason for an action, event, or state. Like parce que<\/strong>, puisque<\/strong> can be translated in English as\u00a0because,<\/em> but it really means something more like since<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Puisqu’il<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>Like parce que, you need to make the elision when puisque precedes a vowel.<\/span> fait beau aujourd’hui, nous allons pouvoir aller \u00e0 la plage.<\/strong>
\n<\/em>Since it is nice out today, we will be able to go to the beach.<\/em><\/p>\n

Puisque vous \u00eates d\u00e9j\u00e0 l\u00e0, nous pouvons partir tout de suite.<\/strong>
\nSince you’re already here, we can lean right way.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bonus \u00e0 la fin<\/strong><\/p>\n

On est en plein hiver<\/a> ici dans le New Hampshire et j’ai envie de m’offrir des vacances virtuelles. Une bonne raison pour un petit saut au sud de la France avec Josef Salvat<\/a>. 3<\/a><\/sup>Click here<\/a> if you’d like to see the same song\/video in English.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo source: Pexels<\/a> [CC0]<\/p>\n