Breakdown of Pourtant, quand nous aurons lu les statistiques, nous comprendrons le déclin.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
avoir
to have
comprendre
to understand
quand
when
lire
to read
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
les
them (direct object pronoun)
pourtant
yet, however
la statistique
the statistic
le déclin
the decline
Questions & Answers about Pourtant, quand nous aurons lu les statistiques, nous comprendrons le déclin.
Why does the French sentence use aurons lu (will have read) when the English translation says "have read"?
In French, after time words like quand (when) or dès que (as soon as), you must use a future tense if the action refers to the future. Because reading the statistics happens before understanding the decline, French uses the futur antérieur (future perfect) to show this sequence, even though English just uses the present perfect.
How do I know whether to use the futur simple or the futur antérieur after quand?
It depends on the order of events! Use the futur antérieur (like aurons lu) for the action that is completed first. Use the regular future tense (like comprendrons) for the action that happens afterward. You finish reading the stats first, and then you understand the decline.
How is the futur antérieur aurons lu formed here?
It is built just like the passé composé, but shifted into the future. You take the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and conjugate it in the future tense (nous aurons), then add the past participle of your main verb (lu, which comes from lire).
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