Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to distinguish coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and use them to build compound and complex sentences.

Lesson Explanation

Building on Part 1, Lesson 6: coordinating and subordinating conjunctions serve genuinely different structural roles in French, though — unlike German’s verb-position system from an earlier-built Gabal course — neither type changes French word order.

Coordinating conjunctions (et, ou, mais, donc, car) join two independent clauses of equal weight: Je veux partir, mais il pleut. (I want to leave, but it’s raining.) Both clauses remain grammatically independent and could stand alone.

Subordinating conjunctions (parce que, quand, si, bien que, pendant que, dès que) introduce a dependent clause that cannot stand alone: Je reste à la maison parce qu’il pleut. (I’m staying home because it’s raining.) Note parce que elides to parce qu’ before a vowel.

A genuinely important, distinctive detail: bien que (although) and a few other subordinating conjunctions of concession require the subjunctive mood (covered fully in Part 4, Lessons 4-5) in the clause they introduce — a requirement with no equivalent among the other subordinating conjunctions listed here: Bien qu’il soit fatigué, il continue. (Although he is tired, he continues — “soit,” subjunctive of “être,” not “est.”)

Unlike German, where subordinating conjunctions force the verb to the end of the clause, French subordinate clauses keep normal Subject-Verb-Object order regardless of the conjunction used — a genuinely important simplification compared to German’s verb-last rule.

Practice Questions