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### Justifying Decisions with "étant donné que"

When explaining decisions based on undisputed facts, use the connector **étant donné que** (given that). Because it states a reality, it is always followed by the **indicative** mood (standard tenses like the present), not the subjunctive.

Place it at the beginning of a sentence to set the context:

{{item:890416}}

Or use it in the middle to link a decision directly to its cause:

{{item:890423}}

### Stating the Facts with "vu que"

Another useful connector is **vu que** (seeing that). It functions exactly like *étant donné que* and also takes the indicative mood. While *étant donné que* is slightly more formal, *vu que* is very common in everyday and professional situations.

{{item:890420}}

Like *étant donné que*, *vu que* can easily be placed in the middle of a sentence to justify an action.

{{item:890432}}

Argumentative causes (étant donné que, vu que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and elision (le, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, une)

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
given that	étant donné que
the curriculum	le cursus
to justify	justifier
Given that the curriculum is changing, we must justify this choice.	Étant donné que le cursus change, nous devons justifier ce choix.
seeing that	vu que
the class size (m)	l'effectif
the workload	la charge
Seeing that the class size is increasing, the workload is heavy.	Vu que l'effectif augmente, la charge de travail est lourde.
the education (m)	l'enseignement
fundamental	fondamental
Teaching is fundamental, given that the students learn quickly.	L'enseignement est fondamental, étant donné que les élèves apprennent vite.
the adjustment (m)	l'ajustement
the schooling	la scolarité
This adjustment is useful, seeing that schooling starts early.	Cet ajustement est utile, vu que la scolarité commence tôt.
The teacher justifies the decision given that the class size is increasing.	Le professeur justifie la décision étant donné que l'effectif augmente.
Is the director explaining the adjustment of the curriculum to the parents?	Le directeur explique-t-il l'ajustement du cursus aux parents ?
Modern teaching requires more time for schooling.	L'enseignement moderne exige plus de temps pour la scolarité.
Given that the workload is increasing, this adjustment is fundamental.	Étant donné que la charge augmente, cet ajustement est fondamental.
The school accepts this adjustment seeing that the class size is dropping.	L'école accepte cet ajustement vu que l'effectif baisse.
The administration must justify the curriculum, seeing that the schooling is changing.	L'administration doit justifier le cursus vu que la scolarité change.
The teaching is admittedly difficult, but the workload is normal given that the year is starting.	L'enseignement est certes difficile, mais la charge est normale étant donné que l'année commence.
Is this rule fundamental seeing that the situation is changing?	Ce règlement est-il fondamental vu que la situation change ?