Sentence builder
A French sentence nested three clauses deep: find each finite verb
Build nested French sentences while recovering every finite verb and pronoun antecedent. Use a parsing diagram before working through completive and relative clauses.
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In short
Identify a finite verb and its subject at each clause level. In nous admettons que le critère que la commission retient reste utile lorsque le contexte change, the verbs are admettons, retient, reste and change. Nesting does not remove any of those subject–verb links.
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The sentence has a main stance, a proposition containing a relative, and a circumstance limiting usefulness. The diagram below keeps the reference explicit before you build similar sentences. The relative que represents the criterion; it is not the subject of retient.
| Level | Clause frame | Finite verb and subject |
|---|---|---|
| Main | Nous admettons [cette proposition]. | nous → admettons |
| Completive | que le critère [relative] reste utile [circonstancielle] | le critère → reste |
| Relative | que la commission retient | la commission → retient; que represents the criterion as object |
| Circumstantial | lorsque le contexte change | le contexte → change |
Tap the words in the right order. Tap a placed word to send it back.
We accept that the criterion the panel retains remains useful when the context changes.
Léa considers that the distinction Nora proposes remains necessary because the two terms differ.
The committee recognises that the conditions the report describes must be clarified before the trial begins.
We know that the qualification Malik makes concerns cost, whereas Nora discusses access.
The researcher explains that the scores the team compares vary when the task lasts longer.
A name can be clearer than another pronoun
The examples keep Nora, Malik and the committee named where another elle or il might compete with an earlier antecedent. Repetition can protect reference. In your own sentence, a demonstrative such as cette réserve may also help, provided it points to one clearly identified object.
Nora répond à Léa. La réserve que Nora formule concerne le coût.
Nora answers Léa. The qualification Nora makes concerns cost.
If the nesting becomes too dense, split the sentence at the completive or circumstance. Complexity is useful when it expresses relationships the reader needs; it is not a target number of clauses. Preserve causal or concessive links when splitting, rather than leaving a list of disconnected short assertions.