et, mais, ou, parce que and si - Easy Learning Grammar French
- et, mais, ou, parce que and si are the most common conjunctions that you need to know in French.
- et and
| toi et moi | you and me |
| Il pleut et il fait très froid. | It’s raining and it’s very cold. |
- mais but
| C’est cher mais de très bonne qualité. | It’s expensive, but very good quality. |
- Note that mais is also commonly found in front of oui and si.
| ‘Tu viens ce soir?’ – ‘Mais oui!’ | ‘Are you coming tonight?’ – ‘Definitely!’ |
| ‘Il n’a pas encore fini?’ – ‘Mais si!’ | ‘Hasn’t he finished yet?’ – ‘He certainly has!’ |
- ou or
| Tu préfères le vert ou le bleu? | Do you like the green one or the blue one? |
| Donne-moi ça ou je me fâche! | Give me that or I’ll get cross! |
TipBe careful not to confuse ou (meaning or) with où (meaning where).
- parce que because
| Je ne peux pas sortir parce que j’ai encore du travail à faire. | I can’t go out because I’ve still got work to do. |
Tipparce que changes to parce qu’ before a word beginning with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.
| Il ne vient pas parce qu’il n’a pas de voiture. | He isn’t coming because he doesn’t have a car. |
- si if
| Je me demande si elle ment. | I wonder if she’s lying. |
| Si j’étais à ta place, je ne l’inviterais pas. | If I were you, I wouldn’t invite him. |
Tipsi changes to s’ before il or ils.
PreviousNext | S’il ne pleut pas, on mangera dehors. | If it doesn’t rain, we’ll eat outside. |