Learn French: Mon pull est laid, mais je le garde tout de même. - My sweater is ugly, but I am keeping it all the same.

Mon pull est laid, mais je le garde tout de même.

My sweater is ugly, but I am keeping it all the same.

Breakdown of Mon pull est laid, mais je le garde tout de même.

Questions & Answers about Mon pull est laid, mais je le garde tout de même.

Could I use quand même instead of tout de même here?

Yes, absolutely. Quand même and tout de même are completely interchangeable in this context, both meaning "all the same" or "anyway." Tout de même is just slightly more formal or elegant, while quand même is far more common in everyday spoken French.

Why is tout de même placed at the very end of the sentence?

In French, concession connectors like tout de même and quand même usually go right after the conjugated verb. Here, it directly follows the verb garde. If the sentence were in the past tense, it would go between the helping verb and the past participle, like this: je l'ai tout de même gardé.

Why is the pronoun le placed before the verb?

Le is a direct object pronoun replacing mon pull (my sweater). As a quick refresher, in French, object pronouns must come immediately before the conjugated verb, giving us je le garde (literally "I it keep") rather than placing it after the verb like in English.

Is laid the most common word for "ugly"?

Laid is the standard, neutral word for "ugly." However, in casual, everyday speech, you will hear French people use the word moche much more often. For instance: Mon pull est moche, mais je le garde quand même.