Learn French: La pelote est petite, mais il a quand même fini le pull. - The ball of yarn is small, but he finished the sweater anyway.

La pelote est petite, mais il a quand même fini le pull.

The ball of yarn is small, but he finished the sweater anyway.

Breakdown of La pelote est petite, mais il a quand même fini le pull.

Questions & Answers about La pelote est petite, mais il a quand même fini le pull.

Why is quand même placed between the auxiliary a and the past participle fini?

In compound tenses like the passé composé, the connector quand même is typically placed immediately after the conjugated verb (in this case, the auxiliary a). It follows the same standard placement rule as short adverbs like déjà, bien, or toujours.

Could I put quand même at the very end of the sentence instead?

Yes, you can. Saying mais il a fini le pull quand même is very natural, especially in spoken French where tagging it at the end adds emotional emphasis. However, placing it directly after the conjugated verb is the standard, slightly more polished word order.

Could I use tout de même in this sentence?

Absolutely. You could say il a tout de même fini le pull. Both expressions mean 'anyway' or 'all the same' and act as concessions. Quand même is very frequent in daily conversation, while tout de même carries the exact same meaning but sounds just a touch more formal.

Why is 'ball' translated as pelote and not balle or boule?