फ़्रेंच चीटशीट

Expressing result — donc alors si … que

from cause to result, and the "so … that" structureB1

In one line

donc is the simplest route, and for "so … that" French has three structures, all ending in que.

The forms on this page

FormMeansSound
doncso · therefore — and the c is pronounced/dɔ̃k/
alorsthen · so — more spoken than donc/a.lɔʁ/
si … queso … that — two pieces with an adjective between/si … kə/

The table

WordRegisterExample
donc /dɔ̃k/neutralIl pleut, donc je reste. /il plø dɔ̃k ʒə ʁɛst/
alors /a.lɔʁ/spokenIl pleut, alors je reste. /il plø a.lɔʁ ʒə ʁɛst/
du coup /dy ku/very colloquialIl pleut, du coup je reste. /il plø dy ku ʒə ʁɛst/
par conséquent /paʁ kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃/formalPar conséquent, je reste. /paʁ kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃ ʒə ʁɛst/
c'est pourquoi /sɛ puʁ.kwa/formalC'est pourquoi je reste. /sɛ puʁ.kwa ʒə ʁɛst/
ainsi /ɛ̃.si/formalAinsi, tout est clair. /ɛ̃.si tu.t‿ɛ klɛʁ/
si bien que /si bjɛ̃ kə/writtenIl pleut, si bien que je reste. /il plø si bjɛ̃ kə ʒə ʁɛst/
de sorte que /də sɔʁt kə/written…, de sorte que je reste.
voilà pourquoi /vwa.la puʁ.kwa/spokenVoilà pourquoi je reste. /vwa.la puʁ.kwa ʒə ʁɛst/

donc is "so" and "therefore"; par conséquent is "consequently"; du coup is closest to "so" in casual speech.

"So … that" — three structures

They all mean the same thing; the difference is what follows:

StructureWhat followsExample
si … que /si … kə/adjective or adverbIl est si fatigué qu'il dort. /i.l‿ɛ si fa.ti.ɡe kil dɔʁ/
tellement … que /tɛl.mɑ̃ kə/adjective or adverbIl est tellement fatigué qu'il dort. /il ɛ tɛl.mɑ̃ fa.ti.ɡe kil dɔʁ/
tellement de … que /tɛl.mɑ̃ də kə/a nounIl a tellement de travail qu'il reste. /il a tɛl.mɑ̃ də tʁa.vaj kil ʁɛst/
tant de … que /tɑ̃ də kə/a nounIl a tant de travail qu'il reste. /il a tɑ̃ də tʁa.vaj kil ʁɛst/
tellement que /tɛl.mɑ̃ kə/a verbIl travaille tellement qu'il est épuisé. /il tʁa.vaj tɛl.mɑ̃ kil ɛ.t‿e.pɥi.ze/
tant que /tɑ̃ kə/a verbIl travaille tant qu'il est épuisé. /il tʁa.vaj tɑ̃ kil ɛ.t‿e.pɥi.ze/
un tel … que /œ̃ tɛl kə/a noun with an adjectiveIl a une telle énergie qu'il ne dort pas. /il a yn tɛl e.nɛʁ.ʒi kil nə dɔʁ pa/

The choice in summary:

adjective or adverb → si or tellement noun → tellement de or tant de verb → tellement or tant

English splits this the same way, between "so" and "such". "He is so tired that…" (adjective) versus "he has such a lot of work that…" (noun). si is English "so" and un tel is English "such a" — and the reason French adds de before nouns is the same reason English adds "a lot of".

donc — and where it goes

donc is the only word on this list that can sit mid-sentence:

Pronunciation
Il pleut, donc je reste.at the start of the second clause/il plø dɔ̃k ʒə ʁɛst/
Je reste donc à la maison.after the verb, no comma/ʒə ʁɛst dɔ̃k a la mɛ.zɔ̃/
Donc, tu viens ?sentence-initial, colloquial/dɔ̃k ty vjɛ̃/

English "therefore" can also sit mid-sentence — "I am therefore staying" — so this position needs no learning.

alors — and its second meaning

MeaningPronunciation
Il pleut, alors je reste.result/il plø a.lɔʁ ʒə ʁɛst/
Alors, tu viens ?"so then" — opening a turn/a.lɔʁ ty vjɛ̃/
Alors que je travaillais…"while" — time or contrast/a.lɔʁ kə ʒə tʁa.va.jɛ/

alors que means something completely different and is not a result: either simultaneity or contrast.

de sorte que — two meanings, two moods

This one has a trap:

MoodMeaningExamplePronunciation
indicativeresult — it happenedIl a parlé fort, de sorte que tout le monde a entendu./il a paʁ.le fɔʁ də sɔʁt kə tul.mɔ̃d a ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy/
subjunctivepurpose — so that it mayParle fort, de sorte que tout le monde entende./paʁl fɔʁ də sɔʁt kə tul.mɔ̃d ɑ̃.tɑ̃d/

The same for de façon que and de manière que. The subjunctive is detailed in subjonctif-declencheurs.

English "so that" is ambiguous in exactly the same way — "he spoke loudly so that everyone heard" (result) versus "speak loudly so that everyone can hear" (purpose). English disambiguates with "can/could"; French does it with the mood.

d'où and de là — compressed result

In formal writing, to point at a result without a full clause:

Le train est annulé, d'où le retard. — hence the delay De là son inquiétude. — hence his worry

This is English "hence", and it is equally formal in both languages.

Examples

EnglishFrenchPronunciation
It's raining, so I'm staying in.Il pleut, donc je reste./il plø dɔ̃k ʒə ʁɛst/
See you tomorrow, then.Alors, à demain./a.lɔʁ a də.mɛ̃/
Consequently, I decided.Par conséquent, j'ai décidé./paʁ kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃ ʒe de.si.de/
That's why I didn't come.C'est pourquoi je ne suis pas venu./sɛ puʁ.kwa ʒə nə sɥi pa və.ny/
He's so tired that he's asleep.Il est si fatigué qu'il dort./i.l‿ɛ si fa.ti.ɡe kil dɔʁ/
He has so much work that he isn't coming.Il a tellement de travail qu'il ne vient pas./i.l‿a tɛl.mɑ̃ də tʁa.vaj kil nə vjɛ̃ pa/
He works so much that he's ill.Il travaille tant qu'il est malade./il tʁa.vaj tɑ̃ ki.l‿ɛ ma.lad/
It was late, so I left.Il était tard, si bien que je suis parti./i.l‿e.tɛ taʁ si bjɛ̃ kə ʒə sɥi paʁ.ti/
The train is cancelled, hence the delay.Le train est annulé, d'où le retard./lə tʁɛ̃ ɛ.t‿a.ny.le du lə ʁə.taʁ/
Speak up so that people can hear.Parle fort, de sorte qu'on entende./paʁl fɔʁ də sɔʁt kɔ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃d/

Common mistakes

❌✅Why
Il a si travail que…Il a tellement de travail que…With a noun you need de
Il travaille si qu'il est fatigué.Il travaille tellement que…si does not go with a verb
donc at the start of every sentencevary itRepetition lowers the mark
alors que for a resultalorsalors que means "while"
de sorte qu'il vient for purpose… qu'il viennePurpose needs the subjunctive
si beaucoup de travailtellement de travailsi does not go with a noun

Why si, tant and tellement all exist

an old division of labour that was never finished

In Old French the division was clear:

WordWith whatPronunciation
siadjectives and adverbs — quality/si/
tantnouns and verbs — quantity/tɑ̃/

tellement arrived later — from tel + -ment — and being new, it had no restrictions and settled in everywhere.

The result today:

sitanttellement
with an adjective✅❌✅
with a noun❌✅✅
with a verb❌✅✅

So there is an easy way out: if you are unsure, use tellement. It is the only one that works in all three positions.

English preserved the same split more cleanly — "so" for adjectives, "such" for nouns — and never developed a word that covers both. French did, and tellement is it. Use it when in doubt, and vary it when writing carefully: three tellement in one text is as weak as three donc.

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