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Chapter 14 – Conjunctions

The nature of conjunctions, as well as their function in linking phrases and sentences, is explained initially. The two types of conjunction, co-ordinating and subordinating, and their different roles within a sentence are then outlined. The remainder of the chapter is dedicated to analysing the way in which these two different types work in French. The section on co-ordinating conjunctions lists the most common ones (mais, car, et, ou etc.), the function of each of which is then illustrated in a separate sub-section. Similarly, a list of common subordinating conjunctions which are followed by the indicative (ansi que, comme, parce que etc.), is listed in the next section, with examples of their use. There follow lists of subordinating conjunctions of time (quand, après que, depuis que etc), conditional conjunctions (même si, si) and conjunctions followed by the subjunctive (avant que, à condition que, sans que etc.), with illustrations of their use. Finally, some subtleties in the use of certain conjunctions are explained, such as those that might be followed by the indicative or the subjunctive, depending on meaning, and those that have more than one meaning. The last part of the chapter contains a passage with examples of both types of conjunction, which are then analysed. At the end of the chapter there are five exercises for grammar practice.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

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