Learn Hardcore French: Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier au cas où la toux reviendrait. - She keeps the prescription in a folder in case the cough comes back.

Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier au cas où la toux reviendrait.

She keeps the prescription in a folder in case the cough comes back.

Breakdown of Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier au cas où la toux reviendrait.

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Questions & Answers about Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier au cas où la toux reviendrait.

What exactly does garde mean here, and why is it garde and not another form?

Garde is the 3rd person singular of the verb garder in the present tense:

Elle garde = She keeps / She is keeping.

Garder commonly means:

to keep: Elle garde l’ordonnance. = She keeps the prescription.
It can also mean to look after / to guard: garder les enfants = to look after the children.

Other forms you might wonder about:

je garde – I keep
tu gardes – you keep
il/elle/on garde – he/she/one keeps
nous gardons – we keep
vous gardez – you keep
ils/elles gardent – they keep

So elle garde is simply “she keeps” in the present tense, which in English can be translated as either simple present (she keeps) or present continuous (she is keeping), depending on context.

Why is it l’ordonnance instead of la ordonnance? What is the gender of ordonnance?

Ordonnance is a feminine noun in French: une ordonnance, la ordonnance in theory.

However, in French, la becomes l’ in front of a word that begins with a vowel sound, to make pronunciation easier. This is called elision.

la + ordonnance → l’ordonnance

So we write and say:

l’ordonnance (and not la ordonnance).

Gender recap:

Singular: une ordonnance, l’ordonnance
Plural: des ordonnances, les ordonnances

What does ordonnance mean here, and is it always “prescription”?

In this sentence, l’ordonnance means a doctor’s prescription (the piece of paper or document with the treatment).

Ordonnance has several meanings in French, depending on context:

Medical: doctor’s prescription
- L’ordonnance du médecin = the doctor’s prescription
Legal / administrative: an order, decree, or ruling
- une ordonnance du juge = a judge’s order
- une ordonnance royale (historical) = a royal decree

In everyday modern French, if you are in a medical or pharmacy context, ordonnance will almost always be understood as a medical prescription.

What does dans un dossier mean exactly? Is dossier a physical folder or a file?

Dans un dossier literally means “in a folder / in a file.”

Dossier can refer to:

A physical folder containing papers:
- un dossier = a cardboard folder or file where you put documents.
A set of documents / case file:
- le dossier d’un patient = a patient’s file
- le dossier scolaire = school records
In modern usage, also a computer folder (depending on the context):
- un dossier sur l’ordinateur = a folder on the computer.

In this sentence, the default understanding is a physical folder or a paper file where she stores the prescription.

What does the expression au cas où mean, and how is it used?

Au cas où means “in case” (expressing precaution or a possible future situation).

In English:

Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier au cas où la toux reviendrait.
→ She keeps the prescription in a folder in case the cough comes back.

Usage:

It introduces a clause describing something that might happen.
It often goes with the conditional tense in more formal or careful French:
- Au cas où tu aurais un problème, appelle-moi.
  = In case you have (might have) a problem, call me.

You can place au cas où:

At the end: Elle garde l’ordonnance au cas où la toux reviendrait.
At the beginning: Au cas où la toux reviendrait, elle garde l’ordonnance…

Why is it reviendrait (conditional) instead of revient or reviendra?

Reviendrait is the present conditional of revenir (to come back).

la toux reviendrait = the cough would come back / might come back

With au cas où, traditional/“correct” written French usually uses the conditional to express something that is possible but not certain:

au cas où la toux reviendrait
= in case the cough were to come back / might come back

Alternatives and nuance:

au cas où la toux revient (present indicative): heard in spoken, informal French; many grammars consider it less correct or more colloquial.
si la toux revient (present indicative after si): fully correct, means if the cough comes back; this is slightly more direct and less “precautionary” in tone than au cas où.

Reviendra would be future tense (will come back) and does not fit naturally after au cas où; French doesn’t say au cas où la toux reviendra.

Does au cas où take the subjunctive? Could I say au cas où la toux revienne?

In standard modern French, au cas où is not followed by the subjunctive. The usual patterns are:

au cas où + conditionnel (more formal / recommended)
- au cas où la toux reviendrait
au cas où + présent de l’indicatif (common in spoken language)
- au cas où la toux revient

Forms like au cas où la toux revienne (subjunctive) are not standard and will sound wrong to most native speakers.

So, for correct French, stay with:

au cas où + conditionnel (safest in writing)
or au cas où + présent (common in speech).

Why is it la toux and not just toux without an article? Is toux always feminine?

Yes, toux is always feminine in French:

une toux, la toux = a cough / the cough

In this sentence, la toux refers to a specific cough that they have already been talking about (for example, the same cough that needed the prescription). French usually requires an article (definite or indefinite) before countable nouns, unlike English where you can sometimes omit it.

Examples:

J’ai une toux. = I have a cough.
La toux est revenue. = The cough has come back.
Sa toux = his/her cough.

So la toux here is “the (same) cough” they already know about.

Can I move au cas où la toux reviendrait to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Both word orders are grammatically correct:

Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier au cas où la toux reviendrait.
Au cas où la toux reviendrait, elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier.

Putting au cas où… at the beginning:

Sounds a bit more formal or more written.
Emphasizes the condition (“in case the cough comes back”) before the action.

In everyday speech, many people keep au cas où… at the end, as in the original sentence.

Could I say si la toux revient instead of au cas où la toux reviendrait? What’s the difference?

You can say:

Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier si la toux revient.

The meaning is very close: both talk about the cough possibly coming back. The nuance:

si la toux revient = if the cough comes back
- More direct condition: if X happens, then Y.
au cas où la toux reviendrait = in case the cough comes back / in case it were to come back
- Emphasizes precaution rather than a simple if–then condition.

In everyday conversation, si + present is more common and simpler; in slightly more careful or formal language, au cas où + conditional adds a shade of cautious preparation.

How would I replace l’ordonnance with a pronoun? Can I say Elle la garde dans un dossier?

Yes. L’ordonnance is feminine singular, so the correct direct object pronoun is la.

Full form: Elle garde l’ordonnance dans un dossier.
With pronoun: Elle la garde dans un dossier. = She keeps it in a folder.

Word order rule in French:

Direct object pronouns (like la, le, les) usually go before the conjugated verb:
- Elle la garde.
- Je la prends.
- Nous les mettons ici.

If there is an infinitive, the pronoun goes before the infinitive:

Elle veut la garder dans un dossier.
= She wants to keep it in a folder.