Question 1

Why use à cause de here instead of parce que or grâce à?

Accepted Answer

À cause de translates to "because of" and is followed by a noun (here, la polémique). We use it because a disastrous controversy is a negative thing. If it were a positive cause, we would use grâce à (thanks to). We can't use parce que (because) here, since that must be followed by a full subject and verb.

Question 2

Why is the verb avait démissionné instead of a démissionné?

Accepted Answer

Avait démissionné is the plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) tense, which translates to "had resigned." It is formed using the imperfect of the helping verb (avait) plus the past participle (démissionné). You use this tense to show that an action happened further back in the past, before another past event. A démissionné would simply mean "resigned" or "has resigned."

Question 3

Does la polémique mean "the polemic"?

Accepted Answer

Literally yes, but it is much more common in everyday French than "polemic" is in English. It is usually the best word to use for a "controversy," a "heated debate," or even a "scandal."

Question 4

Why does the adjective désastreuse end in "-euse" and come after the noun?

Accepted Answer

Like most French adjectives, it is placed after the noun it describes. It ends in -euse because it must agree with the feminine singular noun la polémique. If it were describing a masculine noun, it would be désastreux.

Le ministre avait démissionné à cause de la polémique désastreuse.

Breakdown of Le ministre avait démissionné à cause de la polémique désastreuse.

Questions & Answers about Le ministre avait démissionné à cause de la polémique désastreuse.

Learn Le ministre avait démissionné à cause de la polémique désastreuse and more in French