Mission: explain the causes and effects of a problem
Cause and consequence. Pick the right connector for the register you need.
FrenchB2 · Nuance and argumentAbout 8 min: 4 reading, 4 practiceUpdated
- Give a cause with étant donné que, vu que, comme, faute de, en raison de and à force de
- Give a result with si bien que, de sorte que, c'est pourquoi and par conséquent
- Express intensity with tellement… que
- Choose the right register for each connector
Nuance and argument: lesson 2 of 4
- B2 · Nuance and argument
- Mission: disagree without offending 8 min
- Mission: explain the causes and effects of a problem 8 min
- Mission: report news you're not sure about 6 min
- Mission: make your main point stand out 8 min
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Level Level B2 (around the DELF B2 exam). Real French: explaining a problem to a boss or an official.
What it is
Your mission: Mme Garnier, the mayor of a small town, asks you to explain why the Saturday market has lost customers and what has followed. Give two causes and two effects in clear, well-chosen French. Use vous.
Parce que (because) and donc (so) have carried you through B1. At B2, each connector also tells the listener how formal you are and what you are stressing.
Causes (all except faute de, en raison de and à force de take a clause with the indicative):
- vu que (spoken, relaxed): Vu qu'il pleut, on reste.
- comme (neutral; opens the sentence): Comme il pleuvait, on est restés.
- étant donné que (formal): Étant donné que le parking est fermé, …
- en raison de + noun (formal, written): En raison des travaux, …
- faute de + noun or infinitive (neutral): Faute de place, …
- à force de + noun or infinitive (neutral): À force de crier, …
Comme gives the cause as something known and normally comes first: Comme il n'y a plus de parking, les clients ne viennent plus. After the main clause, use parce que.
Faute de means "for lack of": faute de temps, faute de moyens, faute de mieux. It is followed by a noun or an infinitive, never a clause.
À force de means "by dint of": a repeated action or constant state has a result (often an unwelcome one): à force de travailler, il est tombé malade; à force de patience, elle a réussi.
Consequences:
- si bien que (neutral, often written): …, si bien que les clients sont partis.
- de sorte que (written): …, de sorte que le marché a fermé.
- c'est pourquoi (neutral): …; c'est pourquoi nous agissons.
- par conséquent (formal): Par conséquent, …
- tellement… que (everyday): Il y a tellement de bruit que…
Si bien que, de sorte que (for a result) and tellement… que take the indicative: Il y a tellement de bruit que personne n'entend. C'est pourquoi and par conséquent open a new sentence.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
Which connector gives a result?
- that gives a cause (for lack of)
- that gives a cause
Show answer
si bien que. si bien que introduces what happened as a result.
Why it matters
Explaining a problem means saying why it happened and what followed. In an email to the town hall you write en raison de; with a friend you say vu que. At B2 you must also stress a cause (à force de) or its intensity (tellement… que). The DELF B2 writing paper asks for a single text of at least 250 words, and a well-built paragraph of cause and effect is what makes it read as B2.
Worked example
Briefing the mayor:
- Mme Garnier: Pourquoi le marché perd-il des clients ?
- You: Comme le parking a fermé, les gens ne savent plus où se garer. Faute de place, beaucoup vont au supermarché.
- Mme Garnier: Et les commerçants ?
- You: Étant donné que les clients sont moins nombreux, trois commerçants ont arrêté. Il y a tellement peu de stands que le marché paraît vide, si bien que les clients restent chez eux.
- Mme Garnier: Que proposez-vous ?
- You: C'est pourquoi je propose d'ouvrir un petit parking temporaire. Par conséquent, les clients reviendraient peut-être.
Real French: in speech you often hear vu que or comme for causes (and parce que most of all), du coup (so, as a result) for effects: Il pleuvait, du coup on est restés. Reserve étant donné que, en raison de and par conséquent for meetings, letters and writing.
Common mistake
Following faute de with a clause: wrong: faute de il n'y a pas de parking. Use a noun: faute de parking.
Using the subjunctive after si bien que: wrong: si bien que les clients soient partis. A real result takes the indicative: si bien que les clients sont partis.
More detail: de sorte que with the subjunctive
De sorte que can also mean "so that" (purpose). Then it takes the subjunctive: Il a parlé lentement de sorte que tout le monde comprenne. With the indicative it is a result: Il a parlé lentement de sorte que tout le monde a compris.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
Which sentence is correct?
- faute de takes a noun, not a clause
- there is no such form
Show answer
Faute de parking, les clients sont partis.. faute de + noun.
Key terms
- vu que
- since, seeing that (spoken)
- comme
- since, as (opens the sentence)
- étant donné que
- given that (formal)
- en raison de
- because of (formal, written)
- faute de
- for lack of
- à force de
- by dint of, from so much
- si bien que
- so that, with the result that
- de sorte que
- so that (result: indicative)
- c'est pourquoi
- that is why
- par conséquent
- consequently (formal)
- tellement… que
- so… that
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 11 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| vu que | since, seeing that (spoken) |
| comme | since, as (opens the sentence) |
| étant donné que | given that (formal) |
| en raison de | because of (formal, written) |
| faute de | for lack of |
| à force de | by dint of, from so much |
| si bien que | so that, with the result that |
| de sorte que | so that (result: indicative) |
| c'est pourquoi | that is why |
| par conséquent | consequently (formal) |
| tellement… que | so… that |
Practice
Sort it
Does it give a cause or a consequence?
étant donné que
it explains whyShow answer
Cause. it explains why
vu que
it explains whyShow answer
Cause. it explains why
faute de
lack is the reasonShow answer
Cause. lack is the reason
à force de
repeated effort is the reasonShow answer
Cause. repeated effort is the reason
si bien que
it introduces the resultShow answer
Consequence. it introduces the result
par conséquent
it introduces the resultShow answer
Consequence. it introduces the result
c'est pourquoi
it introduces the resultShow answer
Consequence. it introduces the result
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
« … travaux, la rue est fermée. » (formal notice)
- that means for lack of, which doesn't fit
- that needs a verb after it
Show answer
En raison des. en raison de + noun, formal.
« … il n'y a plus de parking, les clients ne viennent plus. » (starting the sentence)
- that gives a result, not a cause
- that contrasts, it doesn't give a cause
Show answer
Comme. comme gives the cause at the start of the sentence.
« Il y a tellement de bruit … je n'entends rien. »
- that opens a new sentence and can't follow tellement de bruit
- that gives a cause, but this is a result
Show answer
que. tellement… que + indicative.
Build the sentence
Build "For lack of parking, the customers left." (start with the cause)
Show answer
Faute de parking, les clients sont partis.. faute de + noun, then the main clause.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Mme Garnier, the mayor of a small French town, at level B2, and I use vous. Start with « Pourquoi le marché du samedi perd-il des clients ? ». Ask one question at a time about causes (le parking, les prix, la concurrence) and then effects (les commerçants, les habitants, la ville). After each of my answers, tell me in English what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again; watch the mood after each connector and the register: vu que and comme for speech, étant donné que and en raison de for formal, faute de + noun, à force de, si bien que, c'est pourquoi, tellement… que. I will make up the facts. The mission is complete when I have given two causes and two effects with four different connectors, all correct: then say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 3 sentences.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- Cause: vu que (spoken), comme (opens the sentence), étant donné que (formal) + indicative.
- Faute de, en raison de and à force de take a noun (faute de and à force de also an infinitive).
- Consequence: si bien que, de sorte que and tellement… que take the indicative.
- C'est pourquoi and par conséquent open a new sentence; par conséquent is formal.
- Speech often prefers vu que and du coup; save the formal ones for writing.
Mastery check
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Check yourself
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Which cause connector belongs in a formal notice, with a noun?
Show answer
En raison de (en raison des travaux).
Complete: « Il y a tellement de monde … nous ne pouvons pas passer. »
Show answer
que.
Say "for lack of time" in French.
Show answer
Faute de temps.
Further reading
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français, free exercises on connectors and register.
- RFI, Journal en français facile, a free daily news bulletin: listen for the causes and effects in each story.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.