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Le phare aide à guider les navires en cas de tempête.

Le phare aide à guider les navires en cas de tempête.
The lighthouse helps to guide the ships in case of a storm.
From Lesson 348:Concession (même si)·French

Questions & Answers about Le phare aide à guider les navires en cas de tempête.

Why do we use à in aide à guider instead of de?
The verb aider requires the preposition à when followed by an infinitive. It is one of those verbs you simply have to memorize the pattern for: aider à faire quelque chose (to help to do something).
Why isn't there an article before tempête? Shouldn't it be en cas d'une tempête?
The prepositional phrase en cas de (in case of) is followed directly by a noun without an article when it refers to an unspecific, general event. It works just like en cas d'urgence (in case of emergency) or en cas de pluie (in case of rain).
The current lesson covers même si (even if). How could we change this sentence to use that instead of en cas de?
While en cas de is followed by a noun to express a condition, même si must be followed by a subject and a verb in the indicative mood. You could rewrite the end of this sentence as même s'il y a une tempête (even if there is a storm) to express a similar idea using a concession clause.
Is there a meaningful difference between navires and bateaux in this context?
Yes! A bateau is a general, everyday word for any boat, small or large. A navire specifically refers to a large, ocean-going vessel, such as a commercial cargo ship or a warship. Since lighthouses guide major sea traffic through dangerous waters, navires is the most precise word here.

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