Learn French: Comme le gaspillage coûte cher et que nous voulons une alternative, nous changeons ce système. - Since waste costs a lot and we want an alternative, we are changing this system.

Comme le gaspillage coûte cher et que nous voulons une alternative, nous changeons ce système.

Since waste costs a lot and we want an alternative, we are changing this system.

Breakdown of Comme le gaspillage coûte cher et que nous voulons une alternative, nous changeons ce système.

we / us (object pronoun)

this (before a noun)

Questions & Answers about Comme le gaspillage coûte cher et que nous voulons une alternative, nous changeons ce système.

Why is there a que after et in the middle of the sentence?

This is a stylish way to avoid repeating the conjunction comme. Instead of saying Comme le gaspillage... et comme nous voulons..., French uses que for the second clause. This rule works for avoiding the repetition of many conjunctions, including quand, lorsque, and si.

Does the que here trigger the subjunctive mood?

No, voulons remains in the indicative mood here. When que replaces a conjunction, it generally keeps the same mood as the original conjunction. Since comme takes the indicative, its replacement que also takes the indicative. The major exception you will learn is when que replaces si (if), which does force the following verb into the subjunctive.

Could I start this sentence with Parce que instead of Comme?

It is much better to use Comme (or Puisque) here. In French, parce que is rarely used at the very beginning of a sentence unless you are directly answering a question. When you want to state a cause before the consequence at the start of a sentence, Comme is the natural and most common choice.

Why is it coûte cher instead of coûte chèrement?