French Conjunctions

Quick Answer

Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence. Some commonly used French conjunctions are: et(and), mais(but), ou(or), que(that), and si(if). Below are a few examples of French conjunctions!

examples
Jacques et Monique viennent de Lyon. Jacques and Monique are from Lyon.
Tu aimes les fruits, mais tu manges rarement des pommes. You like fruit, but you rarely eat apples.
Je pense que mes voisins sont sympathiques. I think that my neighbors are nice.

examples

Jacques et Monique viennent de Lyon.

Jacques and Monique are from Lyon.

Tu aimes les fruits, mais tu manges rarement des pommes.

You like fruit, but you rarely eat apples.

Je pense que mes voisins sont sympathiques.

I think that my neighbors are nice.

Questions This Article Answers

What are conjunctions?

How are conjunctions used in French?

What are the most common French conjunctions?

What are the French coordinating conjunctions?

What are some French subordinating conjunctions?

How are correlative conjunctions used in French?

What Are Conjunctions and How Are They Used in French?

In French, les conjonctions(conjunctions) establish connections between different parts of a sentence, just as they do in English. They can connect words, phrases, or clauses. There are two main types of French conjunctions: les conjonctions de coordination(coordinating conjunctions) and les conjonctions de subordination(subordinating conjunctions). Some French coordinating conjunctions can also be used as correlative conjunctions. Let's take a look at these different types of conjunctions and how they are used in French!

Coordinating Conjunctions in French

Coordinating conjunctions connect two words or phrases that have the same grammatical function. This can be, for example, two subjects, two direct objects, or two independent clauses. In English, these are sometimes called FANBOYS (an acronym including: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So). Here's a table of the French coordinating conjunctions!

Conjunction	Example Sentence
mais but	Luc joue au foot mais pas au tennis. Luc plays soccer but not tennis.
ou or	Nous restons ou nous partons ? Are we staying, or are we going?
et and	Tu aimes les fraises et les framboises. You like strawberries and raspberries.
donc so	Il est tard, donc on va se coucher. It's late, so we're going to bed.
or however, but, yet	Brigitte adore la musique ; or, elle n'est pas venue au concert. Brigitte loves music, yet she didn't come to the concert.
ni neither, nor	Vous ne parlez ni anglais ni français. You speak neither English nor French.
car because, for	Je vais me reposer, car je suis très fatigué. I'm going to rest because I'm very tired.

French Equivalent of FANBOYS: Mais Où Est Donc Ornicar ?

While there's no acronym to help remember the French coordinating conjunctions, there is a mnemonic that includes them all in one sentence: Mais où est donc Ornicar ?(But where is Ornicar, then?). If you say this sentence out loud, you'll hear the French coordinating conjunctions: mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car!

Correlative Conjunctions in French

In English, correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that are used together to show a symmetrical relationship between two words or phrases. The most common ones in English are either … or and neither … nor. In French, the coordinating conjunctions ou and ni are most commonly used to create this same effect, simply by repeating them within a sentence. Here are some examples!

examples
Il faut choisir : ou tu nettoies la cuisine, ou tu sors la poubelle. You need to choose: either you clean the kitchen, or you take out the trash.
Antoine n'aime ni les chats ni les chiens. Il a un serpent comme animal domestique. Antoine likes neither cats nor dogs. He has a snake as a pet.
Bernadette ne va ni au travail ni à l'école. Bernadette doesn't go to work or to school.

Note that since ni … ni is used as a form of negation in French, neprecedes the verb, as in the last two examples above. However, as you can see, this construction may translate as neither … nor (with an affirmative verb in English) or as either … or or just or (with a negative verb in English).

Learn more about the translations of ou and ni by consulting our French Dictionary entries for these conjunctions!

Subordinating Conjunctions in French

Subordinating conjunctions usually connect a subordinate clause to the main clause of a sentence. A subordinate clause, also sometimes called a dependent clause, is a phrase that has a subject and a verb but can't stand alone as an independent sentence. In French, simple subordinating conjunctions are just one word, while subordinating conjunction phrases are comprised of two or more words. Let's take a look at some examples!

Simple Subordinating Conjunctions

Conjunction	Example Sentence
comme like, as	Je fais mes devoirs, comme le professeur me l'a demandé. I'm doing my homework, like the professor asked me to.
lorsque when	Tu m'appelleras lorsque tu seras arrivé ? Will you call me when you arrive?
puisque since	Puisque c'est cher, nous irons manger ailleurs. Since it's expensive, we'll eat somewhere else.
quand when	Nous avons déménagé à Lyon quand j'avais trois ans. We moved to Lyon when I was three.
que that	Christine dit qu'il y a un concert gratuit ce soir. Christine says that there's a free concert tonight.
quoique even though, although	Éric adore les chiens, quoiqu'il y soit allergique. Éric loves dogs, even though he's allergic to them.
si if	Je ferai la lessive si tu fais la vaisselle. I'll do the laundry if you do the dishes.
sinon otherwise	Nous devons nous reposer, sinon nous serons trop fatigués. We need to rest, otherwise we'll be too tired.

Conjunctions That Contract in French

Note that que and other conjunctions ending in -que will contract to qu' when followed by a vowel or silent h, as you see in the example sentences for que and quoique above.

The conjunction lorsque is the only exception to this rule; it will contract in front of il (he or it), elle (she or it), on (we), un (a), une (a), and sometimes in front of the pronoun en, but it will never contract in front of a vowel or silent h otherwise. For example, Lorsque Anne est partie, il s'est mis à pleuvoir.(When Anne left, it started to rain.) but Lorsqu'elle est partie, il s'est mis à pleuvoir.(When she left, it started to rain.)

The conjunction si also sometimes contracts, becoming s' before il (he or it) and ils (they). For example, S'il pleut, on ne sort pas ce soir.(If it rains, we're not going out tonight.)

Using the Future Tense with Certain Conjunctions in French

In French, when a conjunction joins clauses with verbs expressing simultaneous actions in the future, both verbs should be conjugated in the same timeframe. In these cases, the future tense is used in both the main clause and the subordinate clause that follows the conjunctions quand(when), lorsque(when), dès que(as soon as), and aussitôt que(as soon as). This is different from English. In English, when there are two clauses connected by the conjunction when or as soon as and the verb in the main clause is in the future tense, the verb in the subordinate clause is often conjugated in the present tense. Let's take a look at a few examples to show you what we mean!

In the French sentences below, the verbs are all conjugated in the future tense, while the English verbs in the subordinate clauses of each sentence are translated in the present tense.

examples
Nous prendrons le repas quand tu arriveras. We'll have our meal when you arrive.
Tu ne parleras pas au téléphone lorsque tu conduiras ma voiture. Compris ? You won't talk on the phone while you're driving my car. Understood?
Françoise te racontera l'histoire dès que tu l'appelleras. Françoise will tell you the story as soon as you call her.

examples

Nous prendrons le repas quand tu arriveras.

We'll have our meal when you arrive.

Tu ne parleras pas au téléphone lorsque tu conduiras ma voiture. Compris ?

You won't talk on the phone while you're driving my car. Understood?

Françoise te racontera l'histoire dès que tu l'appelleras.

Françoise will tell you the story as soon as you call her.

Learn more about how to conjugate verbs in the future tense in French by reading this article!

The Future in French

Subordinating Conjunction Phrases

Conjunction	Example Sentence
à condition que provided, as long as	Je te prête ce livre à condition que tu me le rendes. I'll lend you this book as long as you give it back to me.
afin que so that	Paul économise afin que ses enfants puissent aller à l’université. Paul is saving money so that his children can go to college.
alors que while	Pourquoi Giselle est-elle sur son téléphone alors que tout le monde est en train de dîner ? Why is Giselle on her phone while everyone is having dinner?
après que after	Prenons un café après que les enfants seront partis à l'école. Let's have a coffee after the kids have left for school.
au cas où in case	Je vais racheter du lait au cas où nous en manquerions. I'm going to buy some more milk in case we run out.
au moment où at the moment	Nous crierons tous « Surprise ! » au moment où David arrivera. We'll all shout "Surprise!" at the moment David arrives.
aussitôt que as soon as	Hervé prend son dîner aussitôt qu'il rentre du travail. Hervé has dinner as soon as he gets home from work.
bien que even though	J’ai acheté ce livre, bien qu’il soit cher. I bought this book, even though it’s expensive.
depuis que since	Laurent fait du ski depuis qu'il est tout petit. Laurent has been skiing ever since he was really little.
dès que as soon as	Je me réveille toujours dès que le soleil se lève. I always wake up as soon as the sun rises.
jusqu'à ce que until	Les enfants continuent à jouer jusqu'à ce qu'ils aient faim. The kids continue to play until they get hungry.
parce que because	Mes amis travaillent parce qu'ils ont besoin d'argent. My friends work because they need money.
pendant que while	Je lirai mon livre pendant que tu regarderas le film. I'll read my book while you watch the movie.
pourvu que provided that, as long as	Nous irons à Paris le week-end prochain pourvu qu'il ne pleuve pas. We'll go to Paris next weekend, provided that it doesn't rain.
tandis que while	Noémie se repose tandis que Quentin nage dans la mer. Noémie is resting while Quentin is swimming in the sea.

Some French Subordinating Conjunctions Require the Subjunctive in French

Some French conjunctions require the verbs following them to be conjugated in the subjunctive mood in French. These include: à condition que, afin que, bien que, jusqu'à ce que, pourvu que, and quoique. Notice that the verbs following these conjunctions in the tables above are in the subjunctive form.

French conjunctions help you connect phrases and clauses to make more complex sentences when speaking or writing in French. Another way to make your sentences more elaborate is by using pronouns and prepositions. Check out these articles to learn more about using pronouns and prepositions in French!