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Le chef est absent, alors nous annulons la réunion.

Le chef est absent, alors nous annulons la réunion.
The boss is absent, so we are cancelling the meeting.
From Lesson 57:Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)·French

Questions & Answers about Le chef est absent, alors nous annulons la réunion.

Since this lesson is about parce que (because), why does this sentence use alors?
Parce que introduces the cause, while alors (so) introduces the result. We use alors here because we are starting with the reason (the boss is absent) and finishing with the result (so we cancel). To use parce que, you would flip the sentence order: Nous annulons la réunion parce que le chef est absent (We are cancelling the meeting because the boss is absent).
Wait, doesn't chef mean someone who cooks in a restaurant?
It can, but in everyday French, un chef simply means a boss, manager, or leader of any kind. The English word 'chef' actually comes from the French job title chef de cuisine (head of the kitchen), but the French use chef for the boss in an office setting, too.
What is the base verb for annulons?
The infinitive (dictionary form) is annuler (to cancel), which is a regular -er verb. Just like you learned in earlier lessons, to match nous (we), you drop the -er and add the standard ending -ons, giving you nous annulons.
Do I pronounce the 's' at the end of nous in this sentence?
Yes, you do! Normally, the 's' at the end of nous is silent. However, because annulons starts with a vowel, you must link the two words together. The 's' makes a 'z' sound, so it sounds like 'noo-zah-noo-lohn'. This connection is called a liaison.

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