Log inSign up

En effet, elle s'étend dans le but de contrôler le marché.

En effet, elle s'étend dans le but de contrôler le marché.
Indeed, it expands with the aim of controlling the market.
From Lesson 398:Formal expressions of purpose (en vue de)·French

Breakdown of En effet, elle s'étend dans le but de contrôler le marché.

elle
she
le marché
the market
en effet
indeed
contrôler
to control
dans le but de
with the aim of
s'étendre
to expand

Questions & Answers about En effet, elle s'étend dans le but de contrôler le marché.

How does dans le but de differ from just using pour in this sentence?
Both express purpose (like "in order to"), but dans le but de is more formal and emphatic. It literally translates to "with the goal of" or "with the aim of". You will often see it in business, journalism, or academic contexts, making it a perfect fit for this sentence about market expansion.
The lesson says we can use a noun after dans le but de. How would that look here?
Instead of the infinitive verb contrôler, you could use the noun equivalent, le contrôle. The phrase would become: dans le but du contrôle du marché. Notice that de + le contracts to du. Both versions are correct, though using the infinitive is often a bit less clunky.
Why is "expands" translated with the reflexive verb s'étend?
The base verb étendre means "to stretch", "to lay out", or "to spread" something else. Because the company or entity (represented by elle) is doing the spreading to itself without an external direct object, it becomes reflexive: s'étendre (to spread oneself, or to expand).
Why is contrôler in the infinitive when the English translation says "controlling"?
In French, whenever a verb directly follows a preposition (such as de, à, pour, or sans), it must be in the infinitive form. While English often uses the "-ing" form after prepositions ("with the aim of controlling"), French always sticks to the infinitive (de contrôler).
Could I use en fait instead of en effet to start this sentence?
No, because they serve different purposes. En effet means "indeed" or "as a matter of fact" and is used to confirm, explain, or reinforce what was just said. En fait means "actually" or "in fact" and is typically used to contradict an assumption or introduce an unexpected truth.

Learn En effet, elle s'étend dans le but de contrôler le marché and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →