by John Elkhoury | Learning French | 16 comments
In French, what’s the difference between parce que, car, en effet, and puisque? Many students have aproblem between these words because they are used in very similar situations, so I’ll offer a quick explanation!
Parce Que
Parce que introduces a cause or reason. It’s also less formal and more universally accepted as the English equivalent for the wordbecause. Parce que has the ability to start a sentence which is something you can’t do with car.
Take a look at a few example sentences using parce que:
La pomme? Je l’ai mangée parce que j’avais faim.
The apple? I ate it because I was hungry.
Parce qu’elle est mignonne, elle gagne plus que Pauline.
Because she is cute, she earns more than Pauline.
Car
Caris a justification or explanation of something. It is definitely more formal than parce que and is written more than spoken. In English this could be translated into foror because.
Méfie-toi car il est violent.
Be wary for he is violent.
Puisque
Puisque could replace both parce que and car but its usage implies that the fact is already known or very obvious. In English, puisque is best represented by the word “since,” and it can start a sentence.
Vous ne pouvez pas l’acheter puisqu’il n’y a pas assez d’argent!
You can’t buy it because (since) there isn’t enough money!
Puisqu’il y a une grève, il n’est pas nécessaire que vous alliez au travail.
Since there’s a strike, it’s not necessary to come to work.
(À cause de la grève = due to the strike, could also work)
En Effet
In certain situations this word can loosely mean “because”.En effet introduces a confirmation. It’s translated to in fact.
Elle n’a pas mangé votre barre de chocolat, en effet, elle est allergique au chocolat.
She didn’t eat your chocolate bar, because she’s allergic to chocolate.
En effet is similar to the phrase, en fait, which I highlighted in my article: 25 French Slang Words You Don’t Learn in French Class.
There you go there’s the difference between parce que, car, puisque and en effet in French! Questions or comments can be posted below without any special subscription required.
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Jesuson July 4, 2022 at 09:55
Merci beaucoup , cela premiere fois que je ris une explication concise et claire
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Jamaon January 20, 2020 at 21:57
Thank you for clarity and your talent of explanation
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Maria Mouraon July 27, 2019 at 14:04
Great explanation
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anonon July 2, 2019 at 19:33
Hmm, 4th line of Canadian national anthem starts with car…
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix!Reply
Poorly Informed Linguiston January 17, 2021 at 19:44
Depends on what you mean by ‘start a sentence’. Starting with car is weird, but ‘poetical’ in this usage. The ‘regular’ sentence would start with the 2nd line (Il sait ….), which is still the independent clause, and the car introduces an intrinsically dependent (subordinate) clause. ‘Car ton bras …’ can’t be a sentence *on its own*, without being combined with an independent clause. This is why I hate traditional grammar teaching, it’s often about ‘the first clause is conditional, the second clause is subjunctive’, but it isn’t really about the order of the clauses, it’s about their relationship.
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Lirtidon March 10, 2021 at 10:11
This is quite normal since poetry and song allow more freeform expression and word usage.
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Nelson Pereiraon July 19, 2018 at 12:15
Superb. I got MORE than I had asked for, or expected.
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Alex Currieon May 29, 2017 at 04:03
Merci beaucoup. Une explication concise et claire.
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specteron November 14, 2016 at 04:17
So is car interchangeable with parce que?
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laur pasteon June 2, 2019 at 18:41
No because you can start a sentence with parce que but not with car.
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Jenn M. Zambellion November 13, 2016 at 21:16
EXCELLENT! Good job, many thanks!
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Jean Gustaveon April 5, 2016 at 16:00
I congratulate you for these explanations for I never know parce que is less formel than car in English!!!
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Johnon March 23, 2016 at 21:24
Best concise explanation of this I have seen……
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ayahon March 13, 2016 at 07:42
Thank you i have a french test tomorrow and this is sooo helpful:)
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Shuckyon February 20, 2015 at 17:45
Great explanations!!! Cleared up 40 years of mystery.
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BBon August 4, 2020 at 18:43
ça est une très bonne explication! merci beaucoup
Reply
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