ABSTRACT
Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases or clauses into more complex structures:
Le concours est ouvert aux garçons et aux fi lles The competition is open to boys and girls
J’inviterai et lui et sa sœur I’ll invite both him and his sister
Il y avait des bals, mais on ne pouvait pas danser There were dances, but we weren’t able to dance
Laisse-moi tranquille ou je te reprends ton argent de poche Give me some peace or I’ll take your pocket money back
Il arrivera soit demain soit après-demain He will arrive either tomorrow, or the day after
J’ai allumé une cigarette, puis je suis descendu à l’étage du dessous I lit a cigarette, then went down to the fl oor below
Je ne comprenais pas sa question, car cela ne correspondait guère à sa personnalité I did not understand his question, for it was hardly in keeping with his character
Coordinating conjunctions differ from subordinating conjunctions (see 17.3) in that they, and the word, phrase or clause they introduce, normally cannot be placed at the front of the sentence, whereas subordinating conjunctions usually can. Compare car ‘for’ (a coordinating conjunction) with parce que ‘because’ (a subordinating conjunction close in meaning):
Il est heureux, car il est riche NOT *Car il est riche, il est heureux
He is happy, for he is rich For he is rich, he is happy
Il est heureux, parce qu’il est riche He is happy because he is rich
Parce qu’il est riche, il est heureux Because he is rich, he is happy
Coordinating conjunctions never introduce clauses in which the verb is in the subjunctive, whereas a number of subordinating conjunctions do (see 17.3.8).
