Advanced logical connectors
At B2 level, a written argument is judged less on isolated correct sentences than on how those sentences are linked. Logical connectors are the signposts that tell the reader where your reasoning is going: this causes that, this contradicts that, this is the consequence of that. Mastering a varied, register-appropriate set of connectors is the single fastest way to move an essay from B1 to B2.
We will work through four relations that recur in every TEF and TCF written task: cause (why something happens), consequence (what follows from it), opposition (two ideas placed side by side as contrary), and concession (admitting a point while maintaining your own). The trick is to vary your connectors and to respect the grammar each one demands.
| étant donné que | given that (cause, formal) |
| dans la mesure où | insofar as / since (cause, nuanced) |
| du fait de | owing to (cause + noun) |
| par conséquent | consequently |
| de ce fait | as a result / hence |
| si bien que | so that / with the result that |
| en revanche | on the other hand (opposition) |
| alors que | whereas (opposition) |
| tandis que | while / whereas |
| bien que | although (concession + subjunctive) |
| même si | even if (concession + indicative) |
| quand bien même | even though / even if (formal, conditional) |
| certes, ... mais | admittedly, ... but (concession) |
| néanmoins | nevertheless |
Associez chaque connecteur à la relation qu'il exprime.
Match each connector to the relation it expresses.
Choisissez la forme correcte après un marqueur de concession.
Choose the correct form after a concession marker.
Complétez avec un connecteur de cause suivi d'une proposition.
Complete with a cause connector followed by a clause.
____ le marché est saturé, l'entreprise a revu sa stratégie.
To express cause beyond the basic parce que, reach for étant donné que or dans la mesure où (both followed by a full clause in the indicative) or, with a noun, du fait de and en raison de. For consequence, prefer par conséquent, de ce fait or si bien que. Note that si bien que introduces a clause, whereas par conséquent behaves like an adverb and can sit after the verb.
Quelle phrase emploie correctement un connecteur de conséquence ?
Which sentence uses a consequence connector correctly?
Écoutez et tapez la phrase de concession que vous entendez.
Listen and type the concession sentence you hear.
Remettez les mots dans l'ordre pour former une phrase d'opposition correcte.
Put the words in order to form a correct opposition sentence.
Opposition simply contrasts two facts: use en revanche, alors que or tandis que. Concession goes further: you concede that something is true and then argue against its weight. The classic markers are bien que and quoique (which require the subjunctive), même si (indicative), and the rhetorical pair certes ... mais, much prized by examiners because it shows you can weigh both sides.
Complétez avec le bon connecteur de concession devant un verbe à l'indicatif.
Complete with the right concession connector before an indicative verb.
____ les coûts augmentent, nous maintiendrons nos investissements.
Traduisez en français avec un connecteur de cause formel suivi d'un nom.
Translate into French using a formal cause connector with a noun.
Owing to the bad weather, the event was postponed.
Choisissez le connecteur qui marque le mieux la conséquence en introduisant une proposition.
Pick the connector that best signals consequence introducing a clause.
Traduisez en français en gardant la structure concession puis contre-argument.
Translate into French, keeping the concession-then-counter structure.
Although the policy is costly, it is nevertheless necessary.
Construisez une phrase de concession formelle avec un verbe au conditionnel.
Build a formal concession sentence with a conditional verb.
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