The Conjunctive Phrases: à ce que, à condition que, afin que, ainsi que, and alors que

There are two kinds of conjunctions. The conjunctions of coordination and the conjunctions of subordination. Conjunctions are invariable words or phrases that join two parts of speech, two clauses or even two sentences . Conjunctions can help form a relation between words, clauses or sentences such as opposition, addition, consequence, cause etc...

In this chapter, we will study the conjunctive phrases. These are phrases formed with conjunctions of subordination and which link two or more clauses. There are so many conjunctive phrases that it would be hard to study them all. That’s why we selected the most common ones to study in this chapter.

In today’s lesson we will study the following conjunctive phrases: à ce que, à condition que, afin que, ainsi que, alors que.

à ce que

“à ce que” means “that” or “to”. It introduces a complement clause. It can only be followed with a few intransitve verbs such as: s’attendre à, tenir à, veiller à, etc... It is used with the subjunctive mode when the verb that precedes it implies insistence, certitude, or doubt.