The job of a coordinating conjunction is to link two pieces of language that are grammatically equal — two main clauses, two nouns, two adjectives. Either piece could stand on its own; the conjunction tells you how they relate. French has exactly seven coordinators, and every French schoolchild memorizes them with the sentence Mais où est donc Ornicar? (But where is Ornicar then?). The trick is that the seven sounds in this sentence — mais, où, est, donc, or, ni, car — match the seven coordinators mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car through homophones (où ≈ ou, est ≈ et).
Memorizing seven words is easy. Using them well is the part that takes practice: each carries a slightly different shade — register, emphasis, what kind of clause it links — and the punctuation rules around them are not the same as English. This page goes through each one with examples, register notes, and the punctuation conventions that distinguish careful French from translation-flavoured French.
et — addition
Et (and) is the most basic coordinator. It joins anything to anything else as long as the pieces are grammatically parallel: two nouns, two adjectives, two verbs, two clauses.
J'ai pris du pain et du fromage.
I picked up some bread and cheese.
Elle est intelligente et drôle.
She's smart and funny.
Tu fais la vaisselle et je sors la poubelle.
You do the dishes and I'll take out the bin.
A few traps for English speakers.
No comma before et in a list of two or three. French does not use the Oxford comma. Du pain, du vin et du fromage, never du pain, du vin, et du fromage.
Il faut acheter du pain, du vin et du fromage.
We need to buy bread, wine and cheese.
Liaison is obligatory in writing-influenced careful speech. Et itself never makes a liaison with a following vowel — there is no *et[t]il — but the word before et sometimes carries one with what comes next inside the conjoined phrase. The rule for et-itself: silent t, never linked.
Stylistic et at the start of a sentence. Educated French often starts a sentence with Et… for rhetorical effect. This is acceptable in writing, contrary to old prescriptive advice in English.
Et puis, il s'est levé sans dire un mot.
And then he got up without saying a word.
ou — alternative
Ou (or) presents an alternative. It does not carry an accent — that distinguishes it from où (where). The two are pronounced identically, so beginners often confuse them in writing.
Tu veux du thé ou du café?
Do you want tea or coffee?
On peut sortir ou rester à la maison.
We can go out or stay home.
Trois ou quatre personnes ont annulé.
Three or four people cancelled.
For a stronger, exclusive or — either…or — French uses ou…ou or soit…soit.
Soit tu acceptes leurs conditions, soit tu pars.
Either you accept their terms, or you leave.
mais — contrast
Mais (but) introduces a contrast or an objection.
Il fait froid, mais le soleil brille.
It's cold, but the sun is shining.
Je suis fatiguée, mais je vais venir quand même.
I'm tired, but I'm going to come anyway.
Ce n'est pas grand, mais c'est confortable.
It's not big, but it's comfortable.
In conversation, mais is also a discourse-marker meaning roughly come on, look, or but really.
Mais oui, bien sûr!
Why yes, of course!
Mais qu'est-ce que tu fais?
What on earth are you doing?
The conjoined-pair pattern non seulement… mais aussi (not only… but also) is extremely common in writing.
Non seulement il est en retard, mais en plus il n'a pas appelé.
Not only is he late, but on top of that he didn't call.
Punctuation with mais
In short coordinations of two clauses, French often uses a comma before mais — more reliably than before et or ou. The longer or more contrasted the clauses, the stronger the comma.
Petit, mais costaud.
Small, but tough.
Je voulais venir, mais le train était annulé.
I wanted to come, but the train was cancelled.
donc — consequence
Donc (so, therefore) introduces a consequence drawn from what came before. It is one of the most frequent connectors in French and ranges from very neutral conversation up into formal writing.
Il pleut, donc je prends mon parapluie.
It's raining, so I'm taking my umbrella.
Je pense, donc je suis.
I think, therefore I am.
Le train est en grève, donc nous serons en retard.
The trains are on strike, so we'll be late.
Position of donc
Unlike English therefore, donc is mobile within the clause. It often sits after the verb for a slightly less heavy feel, or at the head of the second clause for normal usage.
Il pleut. Je prends donc mon parapluie.
It's raining. I'm therefore taking my umbrella.
Tu es donc bien arrivé?
So you got there safely?
In the second example, donc has moved into a discourse role meaning so (drawing a conclusion from a known situation), and is no longer linking two clauses.
car — explanation (formal)
Car (for, because) introduces a justification for what was just said. It is formal, far more common in writing than in spoken French.
Le bâtiment sera fermé, car des travaux sont prévus.
The building will be closed, for works are scheduled. (formal)
Elle n'est pas venue, car sa voiture est tombée en panne.
She didn't come, for her car broke down. (formal)
In conversation, French speakers use parce que almost exclusively. Car in spoken French sounds bookish or news-anchor.
car vs parce que
Both translate to because, but they are not interchangeable.
- Parce que answers the question why? It can be the entire answer to a question: Pourquoi tu pars? — Parce que je suis fatigué. It can also start a sentence rhetorically.
- Car cannot answer why? on its own. It only joins two clauses, and only in the order result, car cause. It is formal and written.
✅ Pourquoi? — Parce que je suis fatigué.
Why? — Because I'm tired.
❌ Pourquoi? — Car je suis fatigué.
Incorrect — car cannot stand alone as an answer.
or — turn / new information (literary)
Or is the slipperiest of the seven for English speakers. It does not mean or (that is ou); it means roughly now, yet, however — and its job is to introduce a new piece of information that turns the argument in a new direction. It is literary and characteristic of formal writing — essays, news commentary, classical narrative.
Il croyait être seul. Or, quelqu'un l'observait depuis la fenêtre.
He thought he was alone. Yet someone was watching him from the window. (literary)
On annonçait la fin de la crise. Or, les chiffres ont continué à s'aggraver.
The end of the crisis had been announced. However, the figures continued to worsen. (formal)
In conversation, French speakers use mais or pourtant instead. Recognizing or in writing is essential; producing it is a marker of high formal style.
ni — negative coordination
Ni (nor) is the negative twin of et. It coordinates two negatives. The construction is ne… ni… ni… — and the verb still carries ne even though pas has dropped out.
Il n'a ni pain ni vin.
He has neither bread nor wine.
Je ne veux ni le voir ni lui parler.
I don't want to see him or talk to him.
Ni Marie ni Sophie ne sont venues.
Neither Marie nor Sophie came.
A few important details.
Drop pas. When ni is in play, the negation is already complete. Je n'ai ni pain ni vin, never *je n'ai pas ni pain ni vin.
No partitive after ni. Du, de la, des disappear: du pain, du vin becomes ni pain ni vin, not *ni du pain ni du vin.
Plural agreement when subjects are coordinated by ni…ni…. Ni Marie ni Sophie ne *sont venues* — the verb is plural even though strictly speaking neither one of them came.
A side-by-side reference
| Coordinator | Meaning | Register | Comma before? |
|---|---|---|---|
| et | and | neutral | usually no |
| ou | or | neutral | usually no |
| mais | but | neutral | often yes (longer clauses) |
| donc | so, therefore | neutral → formal | yes |
| car | for, because | formal / written | yes |
| or | now, yet | literary | yes |
| ni | nor | neutral | no (paired construction) |
Sentence-initial coordinators
French is more permissive than older English style about beginning a sentence with Et, Mais, Or, Car. In contemporary writing, this is normal and often punchy.
Et puis, plus rien.
And then, nothing more.
Mais que faire?
But what to do?
Or, la vérité était tout autre.
Now, the truth was quite different. (literary)
This is one of the things that distinguishes natural French from textbook English-translated French.
Coordination of unequal partners — a warning
A coordinating conjunction expects grammatically parallel partners. If they are not parallel, the sentence sounds wrong.
❌ Elle aime danser et la lecture.
Incorrect — danser is an infinitive, la lecture is a noun. They aren't parallel.
✅ Elle aime danser et lire.
She likes to dance and read.
✅ Elle aime la danse et la lecture.
She likes dancing and reading.
This is the same rule English follows but French is stricter about enforcing it.
Common Mistakes
❌ Je n'ai pas ni pain ni vin.
Incorrect — drop pas when ni…ni is used.
✅ Je n'ai ni pain ni vin.
I have neither bread nor wine.
❌ Tu prends du thé où du café?
Incorrect — où means where; the conjunction or is ou (no accent).
✅ Tu prends du thé ou du café?
Are you having tea or coffee?
❌ Pourquoi tu pleures? — Car je suis triste.
Incorrect — car cannot answer why? on its own.
✅ Pourquoi tu pleures? — Parce que je suis triste.
Why are you crying? — Because I'm sad.
❌ J'ai acheté du pain, du vin, et du fromage.
Incorrect — French does not use the Oxford comma.
✅ J'ai acheté du pain, du vin et du fromage.
I bought bread, wine and cheese.
❌ Elle aime nager et la natation.
Incorrect — coordinated items must be parallel (both verbs or both nouns).
✅ Elle aime nager et courir.
She likes swimming and running. (both infinitives)
Register check: which one to use when?
If you are speaking informally, lean on et, ou, mais, donc. They cover almost everything.
If you are writing formally, you will want car (for because) and or (for the yet/however turn). Adding these two to your active production is one of the fastest ways to make your written French sound less translated.
If you are writing a negative coordination, ni…ni is the only option — there is no informal alternative. Drilling je n'aime ni…ni… until it feels automatic pays off.
Key takeaways
Seven coordinators, memorized in one sentence, cover every grammatical situation where you want to link two equal partners. The differences between them are about register and logical relation: et adds, ou alternates, mais contrasts, donc concludes, car justifies, or turns, ni negates. Pay attention to punctuation — French does not use the Oxford comma, but it does take a comma before mais and donc in longer constructions. And remember that or and car live mostly in writing; if you are speaking, the everyday set is et, ou, mais, donc, parce que (the last technically a subordinator, but worth pairing with this list mentally).
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Start learning French→Related Topics
- Les Conjonctions: OverviewA1 — A map of French conjunctions — the small words that link clauses and phrases. Two big classes: coordinators (et, mais, ou, donc, car, or, ni) link equal partners; subordinators (que, parce que, quand, si, bien que, pour que…) introduce a dependent clause. The choice of subordinator also determines whether the verb stays in the indicative or shifts to the subjunctive.
- Conjonctions CausalesA2 — How French expresses cause — the network of conjunctions for because, since, given that. The eight main causal conjunctions are not interchangeable: each carries information about register, what the speaker presupposes the listener already knows, and where the cause sits in the information flow. All take the indicative.
- Phrases Coordonnées: Mais Où Est Donc Ornicar ?A1 — Coordinated sentences link two equal clauses with conjunctions like et, ou, mais, donc, car, or, ni. This page covers all seven coordinating conjunctions, their meaning, register, and the famous OUF mnemonic.
- Phrases avec Marqueurs DiscursifsB2 — Discourse markers — alors, donc, bon, eh bien, en fait, du coup, bref, par contre — are the small connective words that organize French speech and writing. They signal transitions, hedge claims, structure arguments, and texture conversations. Mastering them is the single biggest step a learner can take toward sounding fluent.
- Conjonctions d'OppositionB1 — How French expresses opposition and contrast — but, whereas, on the other hand, instead of. Oppositional conjunctions set two ideas side by side as contrasts, without the concessive acknowledgment that one obstructs the other. This page distinguishes simple opposition (mais, par contre, en revanche) from the comparative whereas-pair (tandis que, alors que), and from the substitutive instead-of construction (au lieu de). All take the indicative — the contrast itself does not trigger the subjunctive.