Day 28: Linking your speech

mais · et · parce que · donc + conversation keepers · 25 min

So far you have been throwing out one sentence at a time. Today you join them up. What separates a beginner from an intermediate speaker is not vocabulary size, it is the ability to link. Eight connectors will double or triple how long you can talk.

1. Eight connectors

★ donc and alors are near-interchangeable. Strictly, donc is a logical consequence and alors a situational one. A beginner can use alors for everything without any trouble.⚠️ ou (or) vs où (where) — identical sound, one accent apart. Day 1's warning that accents are not decoration, in its most common form.⚠️ aussi goes at the end, not next to the verb: Je parle anglais aussi, not Je aussi parle. English "too" behaves the same way — trust that instinct, not the "also" one.

2. ★ Sentence-stretching drill

Take one idea and grow it.

★ Step 5 contains the grammar from Days 5, 22, 25 and 26 all at once. Today's assignment is to build five sentences of your own at that length.

3. Devices that keep a conversation alive

These are not grammar, they are habits. With them, conversations stop dying.

Bouncing it back

Buying time (when you're stuck)

★ Alors… beats silence every time. ⚠️ And note the French filler is not "um" — an English um marks you as foreign instantly, where euh and alors do the same job in French. Swapping your filler sound is one of the cheapest accent upgrades available.It turns you from "a foreigner who's stuck" into "a person who's thinking".

Agreeing

⚠️ Moi aussi only after a positive; Moi non plus only after a negative.— J'aime le café. — Moi aussi.— Je n'aime pas le café. — Moi non plus.English splits these too (me too / me neither), so the concept is familiar — but the instinct to say moi aussi to everything is strong. Watch for it.

4. Dialogue — packed with connectors

A: Tu as passé un bon week-end ? tew a pa-SAY uhn bohn wee-KEND?B: Oui ! Je suis allé à Lyon et j'ai visité le vieux quartier.wee! zhuh swee za-lay a lee-OHN ay zhay vee-zee-TAY luh vyuh kar-TYAY.A: Ah bon ? C'était comment ? a BOHN? say-teh ko-MAHN?B: Alors… c'était très beau, mais il y avait beaucoup de touristes, donc je suis parti tôt.a-LOR… say-teh treh BOH, meh eel ya-VEH boh-koo duh too-REEST, dohnk zhuh swee par-TEE toh.A: Je comprends. Moi, je n'aime pas les foules.zhuh kohn-PRAHN. mwa, zhuh nem pa lay FOOL. I don't like crowds either.B: Moi non plus ! Et toi, qu'est-ce que tu as fait ?mwa nohn PLEW! ay TWA, kess kuh tew a FEH?A: Rien de spécial. J'ai travaillé parce que j'ai un projet important.ryan duh spay-SYAL. zhay tra-va-YAY par-suh kuh zhay uhn pro-zheh am-por-TAHN.B: Bon courage !

★ C'était comment ? (say-teh ko-MAHN) = How was it? · Rien de spécial = Nothing special ★ tôt (toh) = early ↔ tard (tar) = late

5. Exercises

A. Insert the right connector (et / mais / parce que / donc).

1. C'est cher ___ c'est très bon.
2. J'ai faim ___ je vais manger.
3. Je suis fatigué ___ j'ai mal dormi.
4. J'ai un frère ___ une sœur.

B. Moi aussi or Moi non plus?

1. — J'adore le café. — ___
2. — Je ne mange pas de viande. — ___

C. Join these into one sentence.

Je suis fatigué. / J'ai travaillé jusqu'à minuit. / Je vais rentrer. / Je vais dormir.

D. Build five of your own step-5 sentences (the §2 method).

6. Today's 10 sentences

1. C'est cher mais c'est bon. — It's expensive but it's good (seh shair meh seh BOHN)
2. J'ai faim, donc je vais manger. — I'm hungry, so I'm going to eat (zhay FAN, dohnk zhuh veh mahn-ZHAY)
3. Je suis fatigué parce que j'ai travaillé. — I'm tired because I worked (…par-suh kuh zhay tra-va-YAY)
4. Et toi ? — And you? (ay TWA)
5. Ah bon ? — Oh really? (a BOHN)
6. Vraiment ? — Really? (vreh-MAHN)
7. Alors… — So… (a-LOR)
8. Moi aussi. — Me too (mwa oh-SEE)
9. Moi non plus. — Me neither (mwa nohn PLEW)
10. C'était comment ? — How was it? (say-teh ko-MAHN)

7. 📲 Upload to LangNote

The conversation devices (3) + the dialogue (4). Today's material is speech habits, not grammar, so shadowing and role-play are the only missions that will do anything. A grammar drill is pointless today.

langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.