Question 1

Why is there no "un" before "médiateur"?

Accepted Answer

After the phrase en tant que (meaning "in the capacity of" or "as"), French drops the indefinite article (un or une) when referring to someone's profession, role, or title. You just use the bare noun, so it is en tant que médiateur, never en tant qu'un médiateur.

Question 2

Could I use "comme" instead of "en tant que" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Il a travaillé comme médiateur is perfectly correct and very common. However, en tant que is slightly more formal and places a stronger emphasis on his official capacity or role during the event. Note that both comme and en tant que drop the article before professions.

Question 3

Why use the passé composé (a travaillé) here instead of the imparfait (travaillait)?

Accepted Answer

The phrase pendant la grève frames the strike as a specific, completed event. Because his time working as a mediator is viewed as a single, completed block of time in the past, the passé composé is the natural choice. If you were setting the background scene (for example, "While he was working as a mediator, the boss arrived"), you would use the imparfait.

Question 4

Could I use "lors de" instead of "pendant" for "during the strike"?

Accepted Answer

You could, but there is a subtle difference. Pendant la grève emphasizes the duration of the strike, meaning he was working throughout that period of time. Lors de la grève simply points to the event itself (meaning "at the time of the strike"), without emphasizing the duration.

Il a travaillé en tant que médiateur pendant la grève.

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