17 Conjunctions and other linking constructions

17.1 Introduction

All languages have devices for linking words, phrases and clauses into more complex structures. This chapter deals with the linking function of conjunctions, past participles, present participles and gerunds.

17.2 Coordinating conjunctions

TABLE 17.A

Conjunction Translation Comments
et and Where coordinating conjunctions link two clauses, the verb in the second clause is always in the indicative, e.g. il y avait des bals, mais on ne pouvait pas danser 'There were dances, but we weren't able to dance'.
et . . . et both... and
mais but
ou or
ou ...ou
soit . . . soit		 either... or
puis then means '(first) X then Y'
car for (because) mainly used in written French
or now a logical connector (mainly used in written and formal spoken French) - see 17.2.1

Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases or clauses into more complex structures:

Coordinating conjunctions differ from subordinating conjunctions (see 17.3) in that they, and the word, phrase or clause they introduce, normally cannot be placed at the front of the sentence, whereas subordinating conjunctions usually can. Compare car ‘for’ (a coordinating conjunction) with parce que ‘because’ (a subordinating conjunction close in meaning):

Il est heureux, car il est riche NOT *Car il est riche, il est heureux
He is happy, for he is rich For he is rich, he is happy

Coordinating conjunctions never introduce clauses in which the verb is in the subjunctive, whereas a number of subordinating conjunctions do (see 17.3.8).

17.2.1 or

or ‘now’ is a conjunction which marks the next step in a narrative or a logical argument:

‘now’ in English can function as a coordinating conjunction (as above), a subordinating conjunction of time, and a time adverb. The subordinating conjunction of time function is fulfilled in French by maintenant que (see 17.3.1). The time adverb function is translated in French by maintenant (or alors if ‘now’ refers to an event in the past):

17.3 Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions introduce an item (usually a clause) which is dependent on another clause (for the use of subordinating conjunctions with infinitives see 17.6):

Some introduce clauses in which the verb is in the indicative (as parce que and comme above). Others introduce verbs in the subjunctive (like bien que).

17.3.1 Subordinating conjunctions of time followed by the indicative

TABLE 17.B

Conjunction Translation Comments
ainsi de même que just as
(au fur et) à mesure que à proportion que as With the meaning: 'all the while'
attendu que vu que étant donné que dès lors que seeing that, given that, since dès lors que also has a time meaning: Dès lors qu'elle a su la vérité, elle a cessè de lui faire confiance 'As soon as she knew the truth, she lost confidence in him'
(pour) autant que as far as Is sometimes followed by the subjunctive to express uncertainty
plutôt que rather than, more than ne can be optionally inserted in front of the subordinate verb

17.3.2 Future and conditional tenses in clauses introduced by quand, lorsque, aussitôt que, dés que, sitôt que, dès lors que, tant que, après que

When subordinate clauses introduced by quand, lorsque, aussitôt que, dès que, sitôt que, dès lors que, tant que or après que are linked to main clauses in which the verb is in a future or conditional tense, the verb in the quand, lorsque, etc. clause is also in the future or conditional. This is different from English where the verb in a ‘when’, ‘as soon as’, etc. clause is usually in the present or past:

Where the event in the quand, lorsque, etc. clause would be translated by the perfect or pluperfect tense in English, French has the compound future or compound conditional:

More generally, when an event described in a quand, lorsque, etc. clause has not yet taken place, the verb is in a future or conditional tense:

17.3.3 Double compound past and compound pluperfect tenses in clauses introduced by quand, lorsque, aussitôt que, dès que, sitôt que, dès lors que, tant que, après que

When clauses introduced by quand, lorsque, etc. describe an event which takes place prior to an event described by a past-tense verb in the main clause, Fr ench can use the double compound past or the compound pluperfect in the quand, lorsque, etc. clause (although it is not obligatory to do so – see Chapter 10.5.3):

When the verb in the main clause is in the compound past tense, the verb in the quand, lorsque, etc. clause is in the double compound past tense (as in the above examples); when the verb in the main clause is in the pluperfect, the verb in the quand, lorsque, etc. clause is in the compound pluperfect:

Alternatively, one can simply use the ordinary compound past and pluperfect tenses in the quand, lorsque, etc. clause: Aussitôt que j’avais fini le livre, j’ai commencé . . ., Quand elle est revenue, il lui a présenté . . .

NB: The double compound past can also be used in main clauses when adverbs expressing urgency or speed accompany a past event:

The use of the double compound tense emphasizes the idea that the event is over and done with.

In formal styles of written French where the dominant tense is the simple past (see Chapter 10.5.2), a form of the verb called the ‘past anterior’ is used in the contexts described above. The past anterior consists of the simple past forms of avoir or être and the past participle:

17.3.4 Tenses with depuis que, voilà/voici . . . que, il y a . . . que

When depuis que ‘since’, ‘for’ introduces a clause describing an event whose consequences are ongoing at the time it is being reported, the tense of the verb in that clause differs systematically from English as follows:

But when depuis que introduces a clause describing an event which has been completed by the time it is reported, without ongoing consequences, the tenses are the same as in English:

voilà/voici . . . que and il y a . . . que which also mean ‘since’, ‘for’ when used with time expressions – voilà plusieurs années que . . . ‘it’s been several years since . . .’, il y a/avait un mois que . . . ‘it has/had been a month since . . .’ – behave just like depuis que. When the clause introduced by these expressions describes an event whose consequences are ongoing at the time it is being reported, either the present tense or the imperfect tense is used in French where English uses, respectively, the perfect and the pluperfect:

But when the clause describes an event which has been completed at the time it is reported, the compound past tense or the pluperfect is used:

For tenses with depuis as a preposition see Chapter 10.4.4.

17.3.5 Non-time subordinating conjunctions normally followed by the indicative

TABLE 17.C

Conjunction Translation Comments
ainsi de même que just as
(au fur et) à mesure que à proportion que as With the meaning: 'all the while'
attendu que vu que étant donné que dès lors que seeing that, given that, since dès lors que also has a time meaning: Dès lors qu'elle a su la vérité, elle a cessè de lui faire confiance 'As soon as she knew the truth, she lost confidence in him'
(pour) autant que as far as Is sometimes followed by the subjunctive to express uncertainty
plutôt que rather than, more than ne can be optionally inserted in front of the subordinate verb

TABLE 17.C (continued)

Conjunction Translation Comments
comme as, like Also has a time meaning: Il arrivait comme midi sonnait 'He arrived as midday was chiming'
comme si as if
puisque since Not to be confused with depuis que — see 17.4.1
excepté que
sinon que
outre que
sauf que		 except that
parce que because

TABLE 17.C (continued)

Conjunction Translation Comments
selon que
suivant que		 depending on whether
si
même si
quand même		 if, even if For tenses with si see 17.3.6
tandis que
alors que		 while, whereas alors que also has a time meaning: Alors qu'il se promenait dans le parc, il a rencontré un vieil ami 'While he was walking in the park, he met an old friend'

17.3.6 si and the tense to use in si clauses

There are two si’s in French which function like conjunctions. One introduces indirect questions, and can always be translated by ‘whether’:

Etait-elle venue? Je ne savais pas si elle était venue
Had she come? I didn't know if/whether she had come

(Indirect questions are introduced by verbs such as comprendre, demander, se demander, dire, expliquer, savoir – see Chapter 14.7). In this usage the verb in the si clause can appear in all the tenses, including future and conditional tenses:

The other si introduces hypothetical clauses:

Here si cannot be translated by ‘whether’, and describes what might have happened but didn’t.

The verb in hypothetical si clauses can never appear in future or conditional tenses. Typical sequences of tenses are illustrated in Table 17.D:

TABLE 17.D

Main clause si clause
Present, future, conditional Present, imperfect
Je le fais I do it si je peux if I can
Je le ferai I'll do it si je peux if I am able
Je le ferais I would do it si je pouvais if I was able
Imperfect, compound conditional Imperfect, pluperfect
Je le faisais I used to do it si je pouvais if I was able
Je l'aurais fait I would have done it si je pouvais if I was able
si j'avais pu if I had been able

17.3.7 Alternatives to (même) si in written French for constructing hypothetical clauses

One alternative to hypothetical si clauses in very formal written French is a verb in the conditional tense or in the past subjunctive tense inverted with the subject:

Both mean: ‘Even if he were to die as a result, he would never consent to doing it’.

Another is to use quand (même) followed by a verb in the conditional:

or a conditional clause followed by que:

17.3.8 Subordinating conjunctions normally followed by the subjunctive

TABLE 17.E Time conjunctions

Conjunction Translation Comments
avant que before ne can be optionally inserted in front of the subordinate verb
en attendant que waiting for
jusqu'à ce que until

NB: ‘not until’, where it means ‘not before’, is translated by pas avant que:

TABLE 17.F Non-time conjunctions

Conjunction Translation Comments
bien que
quoique
encore que
malgré que		 although encore que is found only in formal written French malgré que is found in informal spoken French
afin que
pour que		 in order that, so that

TABLE 17.F (continued)

Conjunction Translation Comments
de façon que
de manière que
de sorte que
si bien que		 so that Followed by the indicative these describe something which has happened
Followed by the subjunctive they express a wish that something might happen
tel que such as tel in tel que agrees with the noun it refers to

TABLE 17.F (continued)

Conjunction Translation Comments
(soit/ou) que . . . (soit/ou) que whether . . . or
à moins que unless ne can be optionally inserted in front of the subordinate verb – it is most likely in formal French
pour peu quesi peu que however little
pourvu queà condition que providing that Conditional and future are possible in informal spoken French

TABLE 17.F (continued)

Conjunction Translation Comments
à supposer quesupposé queen supposant queen admettant que supposing that
non quen'est pas que not that
sans que without ne can be optionally inserted in front of the subordinate verb in formal French
de peur quede crainte que for fear that ne can be optionally inserted in front of the subordinate verb in formal French

17.4 Conjunctions sometimes confused by English speakers

Some conjunctions have several functions which only partially overlap between English and French.

17.4.1 'since'

17.4.2 'while'

NB: alors que can sometimes mean ‘while’ in the sense of ‘during the time that’: Alors qu’il se promenait dans le parc, il a rencontré un vieil ami ‘While he was walking in the park, he met an old friend’.

17.4.3 'as'

    • meaning ‘all the while’ = à mesure que
    • A mesure qu’il parlait, une idée se formait dans mon esprit
    • As he spoke, an idea formed in my mind
    • meaning ‘at the same time as’ = comme
    • Il arrivait comme midi sonnait
    • He arrived as midday was striking
    • meaning ‘in the manner of’ = comme
    • Les footballeurs s’embrassaient comme ils l’avaient vu faire à la télévision
    • The footballers kissed each other as they had seen it done on the television

17.4.4 'when'

    • meaning ‘at the time when’ = quand, lorsque
    • Quand sa femme est morte, il a déménagé
    • When his wife died, he moved house
    • meaning ‘whereas’ = alors que, tandis que
    • Je me demandais pourquoi il venait chez nous, alors qu’il habitait de l’autre côté de la frontière
    • I wondered why he was coming our way when he lived on the other side of the border

17.5 Repeated subordinating conjunctions

When clauses introduced by subordinating conjunctions are themselves linked together, que replaces the first conjunction (and is obligatory in French, while the repeated conjunction in English is often omitted):

The form of the verb in the clause introduced by que is in most cases the same as that of the verb in the first clause (indicative or subjunctive):

However, when si is repeated by que, the verb in the clause introduced by que is in the subjunctive:

(See also Chapter 11.1.10.)

17.6 Subordinating conjunctions used with infinitive clauses

A number of the conjunctions which introduce clauses with finite verbs can also be used without que to link infinitive clauses to a main clause as shown in Table 17.G.

TABLE 17.G Subordinating conjunctions without que

Followed by de
afin de (finir le premier) in order to (finish first)
avant de (monter à l'étage) before (going upstairs)
de crainte de/de peur de (déranger les voisins) for fear of (disturbing the neighbours)
à condition de (faire des bénéfices) subject to (making a profit)
à moins d'(avoir une augmentation) unless (I/you/we etc. get a pay rise)
Followed by à
(aller) jusqu'à (déclarer le contraire) (to go) as far as (stating the opposite)
de manière à/de façon à/de sorte à (assurer la victoire) so as to (be certain of victory)
Not followed by another preposition
pour (finir le premier) in order to (finish first)
sans (faire du bruit) without (making a noise)

NB: plutôt que ‘rather than’, ‘more than’ exceptionally keeps the que, but also adds de when it introduces an infinitive: Plutôt que de chercher partout, on devrait commencer par les tiroirs du bureau ‘Rather than searching everywhere, we should start with the desk drawers’.

Where the subject of a main clause is the same as the subject of a subordinate clause linked to it, it is more natural in French to use an infinitive than a finite clause:

rather than: Il a sorti le paquet de café avant qu’il (n’)ait allumé le chauffe- eau.

rather than: Je n’irai pas à moins que je (ne) sois certain d’avoir une place.

A number of other conjunctions which are not capable of introducing finite clauses in modern French can introduce infinitive clauses:

17.7 après avoir/être + past participle linking an infinitive clause to a main clause

A frequently used construction translating English ‘having V- ed’, ‘after V- ing’ is après + the infinitive form of avoir or être and a past participle:

17.8 Past participle phrases used as linkers

The past participles of verbs which are conjugated with être in compound tenses (see Chapter 8.2.2) can be used without après to link subordinate clauses to main clauses, where English usually uses ‘having V- ed’:

The past participles of verbs referring to bodily posture are used where English uses ‘V-ing’: assis ‘sitting’, appuyé ‘leaning’, agenouillé ‘kneeling’, couché ‘lying’, etc.:

17.9 Present participles and gerunds

This section concerns French verb forms ending in - ant. They are formed from the stem of the first person plural (nous) of the present tense by deleting -ons and replacing it with - ant: donnons/donnant, finissons/finissant, dormons/dormant. They can also have a compound form composed of the - ant form of the auxiliary and the past participle of the verb: ayant donné, ayant fini, ayant dormi, étant devenu.

-ant forms have three main roles: they can function as adjectives, in which case they agree with the noun to which they refer, they can function as present participles, in which case they do not agree with any noun, and they can function as gerunds with the added form en (en donnant, en finissant, en dormant).

17.9.1 -ant forms as adjectives

Like all adjectives, - ant forms can occur close to a noun or be linked to it by a verb such as être, devenir, paraître (see Chapter 4.1.1). In both cases they agree with the noun.

une histoire passionnante a fascinating story
Cette histoire est passionnante This story is fascinating
une eau de toilette séduisante a seductive perfume
Cette eau de toilette est séduisante This perfume is seductive
une femme plaisante an agreeable woman
Cette femme est plaisante This woman is agreeable
une chaise roulante a wheelchair
une ferme avoisinante a neighbouring farm
une injustice criante a flagrant injustice

17.9.2 -ant forms as present participles

-ant forms can be used to form subordinate clauses. When they do so, they are called present participles. Used in this way, they are invariable (i.e. they do not agree with any noun):

In some cases, where the present participle follows a noun, it may be difficult to decide whether it is an adjective or a present participle. In the following examples, the -ant forms are all present participles, and hence invariable:

You can usually tell if an -ant form is an adjective (and hence must agree with a noun) if you can replace it by an ordinary adjective and still have a grammatical phrase. Compare:

un éditorial passionnant a fascinating editorial
un éditorial ennuyeux a boring editorial (OK - adjective)
une chaise roulante a wheelchair
une chaise haute a highchair (OK - adjective)
un éditorial ridiculisant le gouvernement *un éditorial ennuyeux le gouvernement (not OK - present participle)
une voiture roulant lentement *une voiture haute lentement (not OK -present participle)
des manifestants hurlant des slogans *des manifestants delicats des slogans (not OK - present participle)

The decision depends on whether the action described by the -ant form is seen mainly as a state (=adjective) or as an action (=verb).

NB: Where English has a simple-ing form, French may require a compound present participle:

17.9.3 Set expressions with invariable present participles

argent comptant in cash
Ils veulent être payés en argent comptant They want to be paid in cash
ne pas avoir un sou vaillant not to have a red cent
J'admets que je n'ai pas un sou vaillant I admit I am totally broke
ce disant in so saying
Ce disant il a fait un geste maladroit In so saying he made a clumsy
et a renversé un verre gesture and knocked over a glass
chemin faisant on the way
Chemin faisant on a chanté des chansons We sang songs on the way
donnant donnant a fair exchange, swop
Nous sommes d'accord si c'est donnant We agree as long as it's a fair exchange
donnant
strictement parlant strictly speaking
Strictement parlant je ne devrais pas Strictly speaking I should not say this to you
vous le répéter
tambour battant in an energetic manner
La droite a mené la campagne tambour The right led a thoroughly energetic campaign
battant d'un bout à l'autre from the beginning to the end

17.9.4 -ant forms used as gerunds with en

Where present participles are preceded by en they are known as ‘gerunds’. By using en, a speaker or a writer may be emphasizing the fact that the event described in the main clause and the event described in the gerundive clause take place simultaneously. This is often translated into English by ‘while’ or ‘as’:

Alternatively, the use of en with a gerund may emphasize a link of cause and effect between the gerundive clause and the main clause; this is translated by 'in' or 'by' in English:

When a gerund is preceded by tout en, it suggests that the event described in the gerundive clause is going on all the while the event described in the main clause takes place:

When present participles are used without en, they can refer to any of the participants in the main clause: subject, direct object, object of a preposition:

When en is present, however, the gerund can only refer to the subject of the main clause:

NB: Gerunds may also be formed from compound present participles. These are frequently translated into English by a simple ‘-ing’ form: