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Planning a surprise party requires extreme stealth. You will need a good ruse, some clever diversions, and the ability to pretend nothing is happening while you secretly prepare.

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### The minimal condition: pour peu que

When coordinating a complex surprise, it sometimes takes only one tiny mistake to ruin everything—or one small action to ensure success. To express this "minimal condition," use the conjunction **pour peu que**.

It translates to "provided that," "if only," or "if [someone] so much as [does something]."

Because this conjunction sets up a hypothetical condition, **pour peu que** must always be followed by the **subjunctive** mood.

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Notice how the subjunctive forms *donne* and *distraies* immediately follow the conjunction. The rule applies just as strictly to irregular subjunctive verbs like *être*, *avoir*, and *voir*:

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Minimal condition conjunction (pour peu que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

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
secretly	secrètement
the caterer	le traiteur
We secretly hired the caterer for the surprise.	Nous avons secrètement engagé le traiteur pour la surprise.
the ruse	la ruse
He is secretly preparing the ruse for the birthday.	Il prépare secrètement la ruse pour l'anniversaire.
provided that (even a little)	pour peu que
The caterer is going to be ready, provided that we give him some time.	Le traiteur va être prêt, pour peu qu'on lui donne du temps.
to arouse	éveiller
He is going to arouse suspicion, provided that he is talkative.	Il va éveiller les soupçons, pour peu qu'il soit bavard.
the diversion	la diversion
to distract	distraire
The diversion is going to succeed, provided that you distract him.	La diversion va réussir pour peu que tu le distraies.
to unveil	dévoiler
She is going to unveil the ruse, provided that we ask her the question.	Elle va dévoiler la ruse, pour peu qu'on lui pose la question.
to pretend to	faire semblant de
Pretend to dance so that we distract her with this diversion.	Fais semblant de danser pour qu'on la distraie avec cette diversion.
Do not unveil the gift and pretend to work.	Ne dévoile pas le cadeau et fais semblant de travailler.
We hid the cake in order not to arouse suspicion.	Nous avons caché le gâteau afin de ne pas éveiller les soupçons.
We are pretending to sleep so that the caterer arrives secretly.	Nous faisons semblant de dormir pour que le traiteur arrive secrètement.
the pretext	le prétexte
The surprise will work provided that we find the right pretext.	La surprise fonctionnera pour peu que nous trouvions le bon prétexte.
the garland	la guirlande
Provided that you put up the garland, half of the living room will be ready.	Pour peu que tu mettes la guirlande, la moitié du salon sera prête.
suspicious	méfiant
My brother is suspicious because of this garland.	Mon frère est méfiant à cause de cette guirlande.
The party will be a success provided that he is not suspicious.	La fête sera un succès pour peu qu'il ne soit pas méfiant.
He will become suspicious if he so much as sees this garland.	Il deviendra méfiant pour peu qu'il voie cette guirlande.
The diversion works provided that you have a pretext.	La diversion fonctionne pour peu que tu aies un prétexte.