Does this happen to you?
Then launched into a presumedly infallible argument, your mind rejoices at the idea of leading a clear reasoning.
The words fuse under the pen.
When suddenly, the momentum stops dead:
“What is this term that I need?
I seem to have it
on the tip of my tongue
… Too bad, I'll come back to it later, the time to go through the dictionary of synonyms.”
To discover
Crosswords, arrow words, 7 Letters... Free to play anywhere, anytime with the Le Figaro Games app
Too often replaced orally by expressions of the "du coup" type, a counterfeit of the many logical connectors that the French language conceals, linking words tend to flee our minds as we rely on many tics meaningless language to translate his thought.
Whether it is to express the consequence, the comparison, the accumulation, or other, our vocabulary seems to be impoverished.
So, here are some terms that you should strive to cherish.
The cause, the consequence
“What we call chance is and can only be the unknown cause of a known effect
,” said Voltaire.
But it is still necessary that we can explain his reasoning in an intelligible way.
For this, mastering the terms relating to cause and effect links is essential.
“Indeed”, “since”, “given that”, “due to”, “consequently”... We know them.
No need to rack your brains for long for them to resonate with us.
But it is possible to enrich its subject with the help of other expressions.
Why not try "in view of", for example?
In the sense of “whereas”, “insofar as”, state:
“The journey is likely to be long, given the traffic conditions.”
In other words:
"Vehicle traffic consequently risks
(in a logical way, drawing the necessary consequences, with consistency, according to the
Treasure of the French language
)
to have a negative impact on travel time.
The concession, the assumption
Renowned in the academic world, the triplet "thesis-antithesis-synthesis" induces a thought divided into three stages, which poses a solution, before refuting it and going beyond the contradiction by going further.
Whether for this kind of exercise or in a less conventional setting, it is always useful to use the appropriate words to qualify your remarks.
The logical connectives make it possible to highlight an opposition or a contrary argument are very well known: "on the other hand", "however", "nevertheless", "on the other hand", or even "although".
Read alsoThe ten tips for having an unstoppable repartee
If your wish is to affirm that you have a perfect command of the French language, opt for slightly more elaborate expressions such as “despite” or, better still, the literary “notwithstanding”.
“The lawsuit may take place by virtue of a provisional or final judgment, enforceable by provision, notwithstanding appeal”
, indicates article 2215 of the Civil Code.
And in case you are not sure of what you have just said, do not hesitate to express your reservations through the prudent formulas "assuming that", "provided that", "provided that", "to assume that”, “unless”, “provided that” and “in the event that”.
The comparison, the example
As Larousse reminds us, the conjunction “like” (from the Latin “quomodo”, “in what way”) is a free electron that can equally well indicate the cause, the time, the quality and, finally, the comparison.
As important as the introduction of examples, similes and metaphors is in the context of a demonstration, we cannot confine ourselves to this one word.
In this way, the synonym "such" (which one must be wary of regarding the rules of agreement), as well as the expressions "as well as", "similar to", "similar to", "in the image of ”, “in the manner of”, “in the manner of”, or “in accordance with”, are to be adopted.
Example:
"It seems correct to claim, in accordance with what La Rochefoucauld said, that nothing is so contagious as example."
The enumeration, the objective
The purpose of the process is to support a statement, to link argument to argument, example to example, in order to illustrate the trajectory of a thought or to expose a thorough research work, several logical connectors serve the enumeration.
In addition to the conjunction "and", opt for "in the same way", "not to mention that", "in addition", "but still", "in addition", "not only", "in addition", or "to the rest" .
Because if it is certain that by varying your vocabulary words your argument will be more fluid, this will allow you just as much to achieve the objective of this reasoning, which you will most certainly have expressed by the conjunctions of subordination "in order to of”, “in order to”, but also “in view of”.