Logical connectors (cause, consequence, goal, opposition)

Summary

Logical connectors link ideas by relation: cause (parce que, car, puisque, comme, à cause de / grâce à), consequence (donc, alors, c'est pourquoi, si bien que), goal (pour/afin de + infinitive, pour que/afin que + subjunctive), opposition/concession (mais, cependant, pourtant, bien que/quoique + subjunctive, malgré + noun) and addition (et, de plus, en outre).

Explanation

Logical connectors are the words and phrases that signal how one idea relates to another — cause, consequence, goal, opposition or addition. Choosing the right connector is partly a matter of meaning and partly a matter of grammar, because each connector imposes a particular construction: some take a full clause (with an indicative or a subjunctive verb), some take an infinitive, and some take a noun. Mastering them is what makes written and spoken French sound connected rather than like a list of separate sentences.

Cause is expressed by parce que ('because', the neutral default, answering pourquoi), car ('for', more written, never at the start of a sentence), puisque ('since', presenting the cause as already known), and comme ('as', which must begin the sentence). With a noun rather than a clause, French uses à cause de for a negative or neutral cause (« à cause de la pluie ») and grâce à for a positive one (« grâce à ton aide »). All the clause connectors here are followed by the indicative.

Consequence reverses the direction: it states the result of a cause. The everyday choices are donc ('so, therefore'), alors ('then, so'), c'est pourquoi ('that is why', more formal) and si bien que ('so that, with the result that'). Compare « Il pleut, donc je reste » with the cause version « Je reste parce qu'il pleut »: the same logical link is viewed from opposite ends. These connectors, too, govern the indicative.

Goal (purpose) is where grammar matters most. When the subject is the same in both parts, French uses pour or afin de followed by the infinitive: « Je travaille pour réussir. » When the subject changes, it uses the conjunctions pour que or afin que followed by the subjunctive: « Je travaille pour que mes enfants réussissent. » Using pour que with a single subject, or following it with the indicative, are the two classic errors here.

Opposition and concession set ideas against each other. Coordinating mais ('but') and the adverbs cependant and pourtant ('however, yet') link two indicative clauses. The concessive conjunctions bien que and quoique ('although') require the subjunctive: « Bien que ce soit difficile, il continue. » With a noun, French uses malgré ('despite'): « Malgré la pluie, nous sommes sortis » — malgré is never followed by a clause with que.

Addition simply piles ideas up. The basic link is et ('and'); to add a further point in more structured writing, French uses de plus, en outre or par ailleurs ('moreover, furthermore'), and to introduce the final item of a list, enfin ('finally'). These take ordinary indicative clauses. A simple way to keep the whole system straight is to remember which connectors demand the subjunctive — essentially the purpose pair pour que / afin que and the concessive pair bien que / quoique — since everything else takes the indicative, an infinitive or a noun.

Examples

Je reste à la maison parce qu'il pleut. — I'm staying home because it's raining. (Cause: parce que + indicative.)

Il pleut, donc je reste à la maison. — It's raining, so I'm staying home. (Consequence: donc + indicative (the cause seen from the other end).)

Je travaille pour réussir. — I work in order to succeed. (Goal, same subject: pour + infinitive.)

Je travaille pour que mes enfants réussissent. — I work so that my children succeed. (Goal, different subject: pour que + subjunctive (réussissent).)

Bien que ce soit difficile, il continue. — Although it's difficult, he keeps going. (Concession: bien que + subjunctive (soit).)

Malgré la pluie, nous sommes sortis. — Despite the rain, we went out. (Opposition with a noun: malgré + noun (no que clause).)

Common mistakes

Prerequisites

• Subjunctive triggers

Related rules

• Subjunctive triggers
• Subjonctif présent
• Adverbs: formation and position
• Verb + (à / de) + infinitive