Breakdown of Le chien obéit au maître, alors que le chat est têtu.
être
to be
le chat
the cat
le chien
the dog
au
to the / at the (masculine singular)
obéir
to obey
alors que
whereas
têtu
stubborn
le maître
the master
Questions & Answers about Le chien obéit au maître, alors que le chat est têtu.
Does alors que mean something different from tandis que here?
Not really! Both alors que and tandis que can mean whereas or while to express a contrast between two facts. In this sentence, you could easily swap alors que for tandis que without changing the meaning.
Why is it obéit au maître instead of obéit le maître?
Does alors que trigger the subjunctive mood?
No, it takes the standard indicative mood, which is why we use est here. While many conjunctions ending in que require the subjunctive (like bien que), alors que simply states a contrasting fact, so no subjunctive is needed.
If the cat were female, would têtu change?
Yes! Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe. If you specifically referred to a female cat (la chatte), the adjective would need an extra e at the end, becoming têtue.
Learn Le chien obéit au maître, alors que le chat est têtu 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