Why connectors?
When you tell a story, give reasons and weigh things up, you speak in more than one sentence. The connecteurs du discours are the signposts that tell your listener where they are: at the start, in the middle of an explanation, at a contrast or already at the conclusion.
The sequence: d'abord, ensuite, puis, enfin
These words are the skeleton of every story, set of directions and recipe. They answer the question and then?
The sequence at a glance
| French | English | Use |
|---|---|---|
| d'abord | first, first of all | opens the sequence |
| ensuite | then, next | the neutral next step |
| puis | then | shorter, usually no comma after it |
| après | afterwards | colloquial, very common in speech |
| enfin | finally, lastly | marks the last point |
| finalement | in the end, eventually | the outcome after some back and forth |
From the first step to the last
A short story
D'abord, on a visité le musée.
First, we visited the museum.
Ensuite, nous sommes allés au bord de la Seine.
Then we went to the banks of the Seine.
Puis on a mangé dans un petit restaurant.
Then we ate in a small restaurant.
Enfin, on est rentrés à pied.
Finally, we walked home.
Backing up and adding: en effet, d'ailleurs, de plus
After a claim, your listener expects support. These connectors supply it: evidence, an extra argument, or a side remark that happens to fit too.
Backing up and adding
| Connector | English | Function |
|---|---|---|
| en effet | indeed, you see | confirms and explains what was just said |
| d'ailleurs | besides, by the way | a side remark that supports the argument |
| de plus | moreover, besides | adds a second argument |
| en plus | on top of that | like de plus, but more spoken |
| c'est-à-dire | that is, i.e. | clarifies or rephrases |
What each connector announces
Additions in a sentence
Ce quartier est très agréable. D'ailleurs, mon frère y habite.
This neighbourhood is very pleasant. My brother lives there, by the way.
L'appartement est petit. De plus, il est assez cher.
The flat is small. Besides, it is quite expensive.
Je pars demain, c'est-à-dire jeudi matin.
I'm leaving tomorrow, that is, Thursday morning.
Contrasts: en revanche, par contre, cependant
When you set two sides against each other, you need a contrast marker. Unlike mais, these words do not join clauses: they stand at the start or in the middle of a sentence of their own.
Contrast markers and their register
| Connector | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| en revanche | on the other hand, in return | neutral to elevated, always correct |
| par contre | on the other hand, but then | colloquial, very common; in writing prefer en revanche |
| cependant | however | rather written |
| au contraire | on the contrary | contradicts directly |
All roughly mean "on the other hand, however", but they sound different
Contrasts in conversation
Mon frère adore le sport. Moi, par contre, je préfère lire.
My brother loves sport. I, on the other hand, prefer reading.
L'hôtel était cher. En revanche, le service était parfait.
The hotel was expensive. On the other hand, the service was perfect.
Tu ne me déranges pas, au contraire !
You're not disturbing me, on the contrary!
Summing up and closing
With bref (in short), en somme (all in all) and pour conclure (to conclude) you draw the balance and show that you are done. bref is also the emergency exit when you have tangled yourself up in a sentence.
What a closing sounds like
On a mangé, on a dansé, on a beaucoup ri. Bref, une soirée réussie.
We ate, we danced, we laughed a lot. In short: a successful evening.
En somme, le projet avance bien.
All in all, the project is going well.
Pour conclure, je dirais que ça vaut la peine.
To conclude, I would say that it is worth it.
