Questions & Answers about Nous partirons en fonction du temps.
Why is it du temps instead of de temps?
The phrase for 'depending on' is en fonction de. Because temps is a masculine singular noun here ('the weather'), it takes the definite article le. In French, de and le must contract to form du. How does en fonction de relate to conditional connectors like sinon?
While this lesson focuses on sinon (otherwise), en fonction de is another common way to express a condition. Instead of using an 'if' clause, you use en fonction de followed by a noun to show that your action depends entirely on that noun. Does temps mean 'time' or 'weather' here?
In this sentence, it means 'weather'. The French word temps translates to both 'time' and 'weather'. If you wanted to say 'depending on the time' (as in clock-time), you would usually say en fonction de l'heure. Could I use the verb dépendre (to depend) instead?
Yes, but the sentence structure would change. En fonction de is a prepositional phrase that modifies the main verb partirons. If you wanted to use dépendre, you would have to make it the main verb, like Notre départ dépendra du temps (Our departure will depend on the weather). Learn Nous partirons en fonction du temps and more in French
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