Gap-fill
Parce que, en effet or donc? Follow the reason and the result
Complete a French committee update with reason and result links. Compare a claim followed by support with a circumstance followed by a consequence.
- B2
- 6 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Parce que attaches a reason to a statement. En effet introduces support or an explanation for what came before. Donc and c’est pourquoi move from a circumstance to what follows from it.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
What is the difference between parce que, en effet and donc?
| Order | French | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Claim → reason | Nous devons réduire les dépenses parce que le budget a diminué. | Why must we reduce spending? The budget fell. |
| Claim → support | Nous devons réduire les dépenses. En effet, le budget a diminué. | Here is the explanation for that need. |
| Circumstance → consequence | Le budget a diminué. Nous devons donc réduire les dépenses. | Given the smaller budget, this is what follows. |
| Circumstance → consequence | Le budget a diminué. C’est pourquoi nous devons réduire les dépenses. | That is why we need to reduce spending. |
The first two versions look back to explain a claim. The last two move forward to a consequence. The facts stay the same; the order changes the useful connector. C’est pourquoi already links the result: follow it directly with the subject and verb.
An explanation can be evidence
Le dossier semble incomplet. En effet, deux annexes manquent.
The file appears incomplete. Indeed, two appendices are missing.
The missing appendices support the assessment. The sentence explains why the writer thinks the file is incomplete.
Keep semble if the original gives an impression, and keep permettrait if it gives a possible saving. A result connector can link possibilities: Nous pourrions donc réduire les dépenses. It leaves the conditional intact.
Complete the committee update
Use this bank: parce que, en effet, donc, c’est pourquoi. Follow each English cue and keep the capital letter at the start of a sentence. A connector may be used more than once.
Le budget du prochain trimestre
Le comité doit réduire les dépenses (because) le budget du prochain trimestre a diminué. La baisse est importante. (support for that statement), le budget passe de 10 000 à 8 000 euros.
Deux activités coûtent chacune 1 000 euros. Leur suppression permettrait (a consequence, inside the sentence) d’économiser 2 000 euros. Le comité veut toutefois garder ces activités (because) les participants y tiennent.
Une autre solution serait de réduire certaines dépenses administratives. Les montants exacts restent à vérifier. (that is why) le comité demande un relevé détaillé avant de choisir. Il ne peut pas encore comparer les deux solutions. (explanation of that difficulty), il manque plusieurs chiffres.
Read it in English
The committee must reduce spending because next quarter’s budget has fallen. The fall is substantial: the budget goes from 10,000 to 8,000 euros.
Two activities each cost 1,000 euros. Removing them would therefore save 2,000 euros. However, the committee wants to keep these activities because the participants value them.
Another solution would be to reduce certain administrative expenses. The exact amounts still need checking. That is why the committee asks for a detailed breakdown before choosing. It cannot yet compare the two solutions: several figures are missing.