FlexiLingoIn one line
In the writing section of an exam, good ideas without connectives do not get full marks — because "coherence" is scored separately.
The table
| Function | Words | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| opening | d'abord tout d'abord premièrement pour commencer | /da.bɔʁ/ · /tu da.bɔʁ/ · /pʁə.mjɛʁ.mɑ̃/ · /puʁ kɔ.mɑ̃.se/ |
| continuing | ensuite puis deuxièmement de plus en outre | /ɑ̃.sɥit/ · /pɥi/ · /dø.zjɛm.mɑ̃/ · /də plys/ · /ɑ̃.n‿utʁ/ |
| adding | aussi (after the verb) également par ailleurs non seulement … mais aussi | /o.si/ · /e.ɡal.mɑ̃/ · /paʁ a.jœʁ/ · /nɔ̃ søl.mɑ̃ mɛ.z‿o.si/ |
| giving an example | par exemple notamment ainsi comme | /paʁ ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/ · /no.ta.mɑ̃/ · /ɛ̃.si/ · /kɔm/ |
| contrasting | mais cependant pourtant toutefois en revanche par contre | /mɛ/ · /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃/ · /puʁ.tɑ̃/ · /tut.fwa/ · /ɑ̃ ʁə.vɑ̃ʃ/ · /paʁ kɔ̃tʁ/ |
| cause | parce que car puisque comme en effet | /paʁs.kə/ · /kaʁ/ · /pɥis.kə/ · /kɔm/ · /ɑ̃.n‿e.fɛ/ |
| result | donc alors par conséquent c'est pourquoi ainsi | /dɔ̃k/ · /a.lɔʁ/ · /paʁ kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃/ · /sɛ puʁ.kwa/ · /ɛ̃.si/ |
| purpose | pour afin de pour que afin que | /puʁ/ · /a.fɛ̃ də/ · /puʁ kə/ · /a.fɛ̃ kə/ |
| condition | si à condition que sauf si | /si/ · /a kɔ̃.di.sjɔ̃ kə/ · /sof si/ |
| closing | enfin finalement en conclusion pour conclure en somme | /ɑ̃.fɛ̃/ · /fi.nal.mɑ̃/ · /ɑ̃ kɔ̃.kly.zjɔ̃/ · /puʁ kɔ̃.klyʁ/ · /ɑ̃ sɔm/ |
English has the same inventory doing the same job — firstly, moreover, however, therefore, in conclusion. So nothing here is a new idea. What has to be learnt is which French word carries which shade, and the four pairs below are where that goes wrong.
Four pairs that are always confused
mais · cependant · pourtant · en revanche
| Word | The difference | Example |
|---|---|---|
mais /mɛ/ | neutral, spoken — "but" | C'est cher mais bon. /sɛ ʃɛʁ mɛ bɔ̃/ |
cependant /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃/ | formal — "however" | C'est cher. Cependant, ça vaut le coup. /sɛ ʃɛʁ/ · /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃ sa vo lə ku/ |
pourtant /puʁ.tɑ̃/ | surprise — "and yet" | Il a étudié, pourtant il a raté. /i.l‿a e.ty.dje puʁ.tɑ̃ i.l‿a ʁa.te/ |
en revanche /ɑ̃ ʁə.vɑ̃ʃ/ | comparing two things — "on the other hand" | Paris est cher ; en revanche, Lyon est abordable. /pa.ʁi ɛ ʃɛʁ ɑ̃ ʁə.vɑ̃ʃ ljɔ̃ ɛ.t‿a.bɔʁ.dabl/ |
pourtantcarries surprise. If the outcome is unexpected,pourtantis better thancependant. It is English "and yet", not "however".
parce que · car · puisque · comme
| Word | Where | Example |
|---|---|---|
parce que /paʁs.kə/ | answering "why", mid-sentence | Je pars parce que j'ai froid. /ʒə paʁ paʁs kə ʒe fʁwa/ |
car /kaʁ/ | written, never sentence-initial | Je pars, car j'ai froid. /ʒə paʁ kaʁ ʒe fʁwa/ |
puisque /pɥis.kə/ | a cause both parties already know | Puisque tu le sais, agis. /pɥis.kə ty lə sɛ a.ʒi/ |
comme /kɔm/ | cause, always sentence-initial | Comme j'ai froid, je pars. /kɔm ʒe fʁwa ʒə paʁ/ |
parce quenever opens a sentence except in answer to a question:
— Pourquoi tu pars ? — Parce que j'ai froid.English "because" can open a sentence freely, which is exactly why this rule gets broken. Use
commethere instead.
donc · alors · par conséquent
| Word | Register | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
donc | neutral, anywhere | /dɔ̃k/ |
alors | spoken | /a.lɔʁ/ |
par conséquent | formal, written | /paʁ kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃/ |
c'est pourquoi | formal, sentence-initial | /sɛ puʁ.kwa/ |
en effet — the classic trap
| Meaning | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|
en effet | indeed, as I said — confirming what came before | /ɑ̃.n‿e.fɛ/ |
en fait | actually, contrary to expectation — correcting | /ɑ̃ fɛt/ |
These two are near opposites and swapping them inverts your meaning.
Il est fatigué. En effet, il a travaillé toute la nuit.— confirmingIl semble fatigué. En fait, il va très bien.— correctingEnglish "in effect" is a false friend for
en effet.en effetis "indeed";en faitis "in fact / actually".
The skeleton of a written text
These four paragraphs get full marks in an exam:
| Paragraph | Connectives | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| introduction | De nos jours, … On se demande souvent si … | /də no ʒuʁ/ · /ɔ̃ sə də.mɑ̃d su.vɑ̃ si/ |
| paragraph 1 | Tout d'abord, … Par exemple, … | /tu da.bɔʁ paʁ ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/ |
| paragraph 2 | De plus, … En effet, … | /də ply ɑ̃.n‿e.fɛ/ |
| counter-argument | Cependant, … En revanche, … | /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃ ɑ̃ ʁə.vɑ̃ʃ/ |
| conclusion | En conclusion, … C'est pourquoi … | /ɑ̃ kɔ̃.kly.zjɔ̃ sɛ puʁ.kwa/ |
Punctuation with connectives
| Position | Example |
|---|---|
| sentence-initial | Cependant, il est parti. /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃ il ɛ paʁ.ti/ — comma after |
| mid-sentence | Il est parti, cependant, sans rien dire. /il ɛ paʁ.ti sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃ sɑ̃ ʁjɛ̃ diʁ/ — two commas |
mais /mɛ/ and car /kaʁ/ | Il est parti, mais il reviendra. /il ɛ paʁ.ti mɛ.z‿il ʁə.vjɛ̃.dʁa/ — comma before |
donc /dɔ̃k/ after the verb | Il est donc parti. /il ɛ dɔ̃k paʁ.ti/ — no comma |
non seulement … mais aussi
A two-part structure that scores well in writing:
Non seulement c'est cher, mais c'est aussi mauvais.
And in formal writing, non seulement at the start of a sentence triggers inversion:
Non seulement est-ce cher, mais c'est aussi mauvais.— literary
English does exactly the same: "Not only is it expensive, but it is also bad." Same inversion, same register.
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| First of all, … | Tout d'abord, … | /tu da.bɔʁ/ |
| Then, … | Ensuite, … | /ɑ̃.sɥit/ |
| Moreover, … | De plus, … | /də plys/ |
| For example. | Par exemple. | /pa.ʁ‿ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/ |
| However, … | Cependant, … | /sə.pɑ̃.dɑ̃/ |
| He studied, and yet he failed. | Il a étudié, pourtant il a raté. | /i.l‿a e.ty.dje puʁ.tɑ̃ i.l‿a ʁa.te/ |
| Consequently, I'm leaving. | Par conséquent, je pars. | /paʁ kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃ ʒə paʁ/ |
| Since it's cold, I'm going. | Comme j'ai froid, je pars. | /kɔm ʒe fʁwa ʒə paʁ/ |
| Indeed, he was tired. | En effet, il était fatigué. | /ɑ̃.n‿e.fɛ i.l‿e.tɛ fa.ti.ɡe/ |
| In conclusion, … | En conclusion, … | /ɑ̃ kɔ̃.kly.zjɔ̃/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Parce que j'ai froid, je pars. | Comme j'ai froid, je pars. | parce que cannot open a sentence |
Car j'ai froid, je pars. | Je pars, car j'ai froid. | car always follows the main clause |
En fait where you mean confirmation | En effet | The two are opposites |
Malgré il pleut | Malgré la pluie | malgré takes a noun |
Bien que c'est cher | Bien qu'il soit cher | bien que needs the subjunctive |
Donc, je pars at the start of every sentence | vary them | Repeating one connective lowers the mark |
Why these earn marks
coherence is scored separately
In writing assessment, four criteria are scored separately:
| Criterion | What it measures |
|---|---|
| task completion | did you write what was asked? |
| coherence | do the sentences connect? |
| vocabulary | range and precision |
| grammar | accuracy of structures |
"Coherence" is the only one you can improve with a short list — the rest take years.
A text with simple ideas that connect scores higher than one with complex ideas that do not. Assessors say this explicitly.
So in an exam:
At least one connective per paragraph, and no repeats.
One habit worth breaking if English is your first language: English conversation runs on "so", "but" and "and", and those map onto donc, mais and et. A French text built from those three reads as spoken, not written. The written register expects par conséquent, cependant, de plus, en outre — and using them is a large part of what moves a script from B1 to B2.
And an important trap: the connective has to express the right relationship. donc where there is no causal link is worse than no connective at all — the assessor sees that a list was memorised, not understood.