Learn French: Puisque ce bibelot est cher, je n'achète rien. - Since this trinket is expensive, I am buying nothing.

Puisque ce bibelot est cher, je n'achète rien.

Since this trinket is expensive, I am buying nothing.

Breakdown of Puisque ce bibelot est cher, je n'achète rien.

être

to be

not (used before the verb)

this (before a noun)

Questions & Answers about Puisque ce bibelot est cher, je n'achète rien.

Why use puisque instead of parce que to mean "since" or "because" in this sentence?

Puisque is used when the reason is already obvious or known to the person you are talking to. Here, the speaker is pointing out that the trinket being expensive is an established fact, whereas parce que would be used to introduce brand new information.

Will puisque ever change its spelling depending on the next word?

Yes. Just like que, puisque will drop its final e and become puisqu' before a word starting with a vowel or a silent h (for example, puisqu'il). Because ce starts with a consonant, it stays as puisque here.

Why isn't there a pas in je n'achète rien?

In French, ne ... rien is a complete two-part negative structure meaning "nothing" or "not anything". It replaces the standard ne ... pas, so adding pas alongside rien would be grammatically incorrect.

What determines the use of ce in ce bibelot?