Phrasebook
Bon, alors, au fait: changing direction in a French conversation
Practise bon to move to a decision, alors to return to an arrangement and au fait to bring in another question. Compare them with en fait.
- B1
- 12 phrases
- 3 situations
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In short
Bon often moves a conversation towards a next step: “Right…”. Alors can pick up an arrangement: “So…”. Au fait introduces another thought or question: “By the way…”. Read the words that follow to see where the conversation is going.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Bon: move from discussion to action
The options are clear; now propose the next step.
Alors: return to the arrangement
Bring an earlier plan back into focus.
Au fait: bring in another question
The booking is settled. A different detail comes to mind.
Introduce a thought or clarify a fact?
| Expression | Example | Meaning here |
|---|---|---|
| Au fait | Au fait, Lina vient aussi ? | By the way, is Lina coming too? |
| En fait | En fait, Lina vient dimanche. | Actually, Lina is coming on Sunday. |
Compare two turns: Au fait, tu travailles samedi ? adds a question. En fait, je travaille samedi explains or corrects the situation. The expressions are close on the page, but they do different work in these examples.
Ce repas est bon. Bon, on y va ?
This meal is good. Right, shall we go?
The first bon describes the meal. The second opens a move towards leaving.
Alors also means “then” in a sequence or “so” in a consequence. Il pleut, alors on reste ici gives a reason for staying. In Alors, pour samedi…, the speaker returns to an arrangement. The rest of the turn makes the connection clear.