Breakdown of Le chercheur est fatigué, alors il va dormir.
être
to be
il
he
fatigué
tired
aller
to go
dormir
to sleep
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
alors
so, then
le chercheur
the researcher
Questions & Answers about Le chercheur est fatigué, alors il va dormir.
Could I use donc instead of alors in this sentence?
Yes, you could completely say Le chercheur est fatigué, donc il va dormir. Both words express a logical consequence. Alors translates well to "so" and is very common in everyday spoken French. Donc is closer to "therefore" or a slightly stronger "so," making the logical link a bit more formal or obvious.
If the researcher were a woman, how would the sentence change?
Why is it va dormir instead of just dort?
Il va dormir means "he is going to sleep," which is the near future tense. If you used the present tense il dort, the sentence would mean "The researcher is tired, so he is sleeping." This near future tense is formed exactly like it is in English: the present tense of aller (to go) plus the infinitive verb dormir (to sleep).
Does alors have any other meanings I should look out for?
Yes! While it acts as a logical connector meaning "so" in this sentence, alors can also mean "then" or "at that time" when you are telling a story about the past (for example: J'étais jeune, alors... meaning "I was young back then...").
Learn Le chercheur est fatigué, alors il va dormir and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free