Gestion du Sujet: dislocation et clefting

A conversation is not a list of sentences — it's a path. Speakers steer it: they open new topics, return to abandoned ones, postpone awkward ones, signal that they're wrapping up, invite a partner to take the floor, or politely cut in. French has a developed inventory of small phrases that do this work, and using them well is the difference between sounding like a participant in a conversation and sounding like someone reading aloud. This page maps the navigational tools: how to introduce a topic, how to return to one, how to wrap up, how to invite, how to interrupt — and how to do all of this with the right register.

Introducing a new topic — au fait and à propos

When you want to introduce a new topic that's tangentially connected (or not) to what was just said, French uses au fait and à propos.

The breakdown:

• Au fait — "by the way"; introduces information you just remembered, usually unrelated to the current topic. Pronounced /o fɛt/, with the t of fait heard — a clue that signals it as a fixed expression, since fait alone in en fait keeps the t silent in many speakers' usage. Both pronunciations exist for au fait.
• À propos — "by the way / regarding"; can stand alone or be followed by de + noun (à propos de Marie...). Slightly more formal than au fait but used freely in casual speech too.
• Tiens — "oh, by the way / look"; signals sudden remembering. Tiens, j'ai pensé à toi hier. ("Oh, I thought of you yesterday.")

Returning to a previous topic — pour revenir à

When you've been sidetracked and want to come back to what you were saying, French uses pour revenir à or comme je disais.

The construction pour en revenir à (with the pronoun en) is a polished variant — the en refers back to the topic. Comme je disais is more direct. Both signal: "let me reset and pick up the thread."

Postponing a topic — on verra plus tard

When someone raises a topic you don't want to address now (or ever), French has a graded set of postponements.

The key formulas:

• On verra plus tard — "we'll see later"; gentle deferral.
• On en reparlera — "we'll come back to it"; a soft commitment to revisit, often without sincere intent.
• C'est pas le moment — "this isn't the time"; firmer.
• J'ai pas la tête à ça — "I'm not in the headspace for that"; emotional postponement.

Note that on verra alone — "we'll see" — is a common way to close a topic without committing to anything.

Avoiding a topic — bof, on ne va pas en parler

When you want to deflect or refuse to engage with a topic, French uses dismissive markers and overt refusal.

Bof itself is an interjection of mild dismissal — equivalent to "meh." It works as a standalone reply or as a prefix that signals the speaker isn't enthusiastic. Laisse tomber (literally "let drop") is the colloquial "drop it / forget it" — common, fairly emphatic, (informal).

Confirming the current topic — comme je disais

To signal that you're still on the same topic and bringing it back into focus:

This is especially useful when you've been interrupted or distracted and need to mark the resumption explicitly.

Topic shift — mais bon, bon, autre chose

When you want to drop the current topic and start a new one — without claiming the new topic is connected — French uses transition phrases that explicitly close one topic before opening another.

Sinon deserves attention: it literally means "otherwise" but in topic management it serves as a fresh-start opener — "anyway, on a different note." This is one of the most useful conversational tools in French and a classic feature of small talk.

Concluding — bref, au final, en définitive

When you're wrapping up a thought or a topic:

The breakdown:

• Bref — "in short"; the everyday wrap-up. (neutral).
• Au final — "in the end"; (informal) but very common. Style guides condemn it; speakers ignore them.
• En définitive — "ultimately"; (formal), found in writing.
• Finalement — "in the end / finally"; mid-register, neutral.
• Tout compte fait — "all things considered"; reflective.
• En fin de compte — "ultimately, when all is said and done"; mid-formal.

Acknowledging an interruption — je t'interromps mais...

To politely cut into someone else's turn:

In formal contexts use vous: Je vous interromps / Pardon de vous interrompre / Excusez-moi. Note that French interrupters typically frame the interruption explicitly — saying nothing and just speaking over someone is rude in a way that English-speakers sometimes underestimate.

Inviting the other to speak — et toi ?, et alors ?

After answering a question or making a point, French speakers reciprocate with et toi ? — and the conversation continues.

The reciprocal et toi ? is essentially required after an et toi ?-shaped invitation in the prior turn. Skipping it makes you sound self-absorbed. Et alors ? with rising intonation invites continuation; with flat or falling intonation it can read as confrontational ("so what?"). Tone disambiguates.

Wrapping up the whole conversation — en tout cas, cela dit

When the entire conversation is winding down:

The closer set:

• En tout cas — "in any case / anyway"; a soft wrap-up that often precedes a goodbye.
• Cela dit — "that said"; transitions to a closing thought, slightly more formal in writing.
• Bon, je dois y aller — "OK, I've got to go"; standard departure formula.
• Allez, je file — (informal), "alright, I'm off"; filer literally means "to spin / to bolt."
• À plus / à plus tard — "see you later"; (informal), very common.
• À bientôt — "see you soon"; mid-register.

These wrap-ups pair with the leave-takings covered in the greetings-and-leavings page; the topic-management piece is the lead-in to the goodbye, not the goodbye itself.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

Conversation in French is steered with a small inventory of navigational tools. To open a new topic: au fait, à propos, tiens. To return to a topic: pour revenir à, comme je disais. To postpone: on verra plus tard, on en reparlera, c'est pas le moment. To avoid: bof, on en parle pas, laisse tomber, changeons de sujet. To shift to a new topic: mais bon, bon, autre chose, sinon. To conclude: bref, au final, en définitive, tout compte fait. To interrupt politely: je t'interromps mais, pardon de t'interrompre. To invite the other to speak: et toi ?, et alors ?. To wrap the conversation: en tout cas, cela dit, bon, je dois y aller. The single biggest distinction: au fait introduces a new topic; en fait corrects the current one. Get that pair right and you've solved half the topic-management problem at a stroke.