Learn French: Puisque tu hésites, nous n'achetons pas ce bibelot. - Since you are hesitating, we are not buying this trinket.

Puisque tu hésites, nous n'achetons pas ce bibelot.

Since you are hesitating, we are not buying this trinket.

Breakdown of Puisque tu hésites, nous n'achetons pas ce bibelot.

you (informal singular)

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

not (used before the verb)

pas

not (used after the verb)

Questions & Answers about Puisque tu hésites, nous n'achetons pas ce bibelot.

Why is puisque used here instead of parce que?

Puisque (since / seeing as) is used when the reason is already obvious or known to the person you are talking to. In this sentence, the fact that the person is hesitating is already obvious to both people. If you wanted to give a brand-new reason they didn't know about, you would use parce que (because).

Can I put puisque in the middle of the sentence?

Yes! You can absolutely say Nous n'achetons pas ce bibelot puisque tu hésites. Putting puisque at the beginning of the sentence simply highlights the known fact first, setting the stage for the decision that follows.

Does puisque drop its final 'e' before a vowel, the way que does?

Yes, it does. If the next word started with a vowel, like il or elle, it would become puisqu'il or puisqu'elle. Here, because tu starts with a consonant, the 'e' stays. Keep in mind that in standard French, the 'u' in tu is never dropped before a vowel, which is why it is tu hésites and not t'hésites.

Why does the French sentence use the simple present (tu hésites) when the English uses the continuous '-ing' form (you are hesitating)?