When navigating treacherous waters, conditions are rarely ideal. To talk about coastguards and lighthouses guiding ships through the storm, we need vocabulary for the sea, as well as the grammar to express pushing forward despite obstacles.
Concession with même si
To express "even if," use the phrase même si. It introduces a concession or a hypothetical condition that does not prevent the main action from happening. Like standard si (if), même si is always followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive.
Remember that si drops its i and contracts to s' before the pronouns il and ils (but not before elle, on, or other vowels).
Sentence Placement
When a même si clause starts a sentence, it is followed by a comma.
You can also place même si in the middle of a sentence. In this case, no comma is needed.
Expressing Cause with comme
While même si introduces a condition that fails to stop an event, you will often need to express a condition that causes an event (such as bad weather halting a voyage). To say "since" or "as," use comme.
Like même si, comme uses the indicative mood. It is almost always placed at the very beginning of the sentence.