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Connecteurs logiques
French connectives are links: they combine words, phrases, or sentences. Connectives do not constitute a single part of speech, but rather a category of terms including all conjunctions and prepositions as well as certain types of adverbs and pronouns used in this way.
Conjunctions
All conjunctions – both coordinating and subordinating – are, by definition, connectives.
Je veux un chien et un chat. | I want a dog and a cat. | |
Il a dit qu‘il serait en retard. | He said (that) he’d be late. |
Prepositions
All prepositions and prepositional phrases are connectives.
J’habite en France. | I live in France. | |
Il a réussi grâce à sa femme. | He succeeded thanks to his wife. |
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are connectives between main and relative clauses.
C’est lui qui a menti. | He’s the one who lied. | |
Voici le livre dont je t’ai parlé. | Here’s the book I told you about. |
Adverbs
Many adverbs of frequency, place, and time are connectives.
Je suis arrivé avant David. | I arrived before David. | |
C’est ici que nous nous sommes mariés. | It’s here that we got married. |
Types of Connectives
Rather than being sorted by grammatical function as above, connectives are typically grouped by how they are used, what purpose they serve.
Usage / Purpose | Par exemple … | |
Addition | et, de surcroît, en outre | |
Addition | and, in addition, furthermore | |
Alternative | ou, soit … soit, ne …. ni … ni | |
Alternative | or, either … or, neither … nor | |
But | pour, afin que, de peur que | |
Purpose | for, so that, for fear that | |
Cause / Justification | parce que, par conséquent, grâce à | |
Cause / Justification | because, as a result, thanks to | |
Classification | d’abord, deuxièmement, ensuite | |
Ranking | first of all, secondly, next | |
Comparaison | comme, de même, plus que | |
Comparison | like, similarly, more than | |
Concession | malgré, bien que, même si | |
Concession | despite, even though, even if | |
Conclusion | donc, pour conclure, finalement | |
Conclusion | so, to conclude, in the end | |
Condition | si, au cas où, pourvu que | |
Condition | if, in case, provided that | |
Conséquence | en conséquence, c’est pourquoi, de façon que | |
Outcome | as a result, that’s why, so that | |
Explication | à savoir, c’est-à-dire, autrement dit | |
Explanation | namely, that is, in other words | |
Illustration | par exemple, notamment, tel que | |
Example | for example, notably, such as | |
Liaison | en fait, en effet, justement | |
Link | in fact, indeed, exactly | |
Lieu | ici, devant, au nord | |
Location | here, in front of, to the north | |
Opposition / Restriction | mais, cependant, sauf | |
Opposition / Restriction | but, however, unless | |
Résumé | bref, enfin, en somme | |
Summary | in short, finally, all in all | |
Supposition | à supposer que, dans le cas où, probablement | |
Supposition | supposing that, in case, probably | |
Temps | avant que, depuis que, quand | |
Time | before, since, when |
Related lessons
- Clauses
- Contractions
- Definite articles
- Imperative
- Past participles
- Prepositions
- Present participles
- Subjunctive
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