Giving your opinion and reasons in French

What you already have

You can compare two places with plus, moins or aussi + adjective + que, and meilleur means "better"; it agrees like any adjective, so la bibliothèque est meilleure. You can describe a place with a short clause using où or qui. And parce que gives a reason.

That's already most of an opinion. This lesson adds the words around it.

• La bibliothèque est plus calme que le café.🔊

  The library's quieter than the café.

• C'est un endroit où on peut parler.🔊

  It's a place where you can talk.

• Je préfère ce café parce qu'il est plus près.🔊

  I prefer this café because it's closer.

The words for this lesson

The first four are the new tools. The others keep coming up in the examples: endroit is the everyday word for "place", and plein means "full", so "packed" when you're talking about a café or a restaurant.

• à mon avis🔊in my opinion
• penser🔊think
• pourtant🔊and yet
• puisque🔊since
• par exemple🔊for example
• préférer🔊prefer
• endroit🔊place
• plein🔊full
• bruyant🔊loud

Listen first: two friends choose a place

Notice how short each turn is. Nobody talks for long, Et toi ? hands the conversation over, and the decision comes out of the exchange.

• Ainformal

  Samedi, on travaille à la bibliothèque ou au café ?🔊

  Are we working at the library or the café on Saturday?

• Binformal

  À mon avis, le café est plus pratique : on peut parler. Et toi ?🔊

  In my opinion, the café's more convenient: we can talk. What about you?

• Ainformal

  Moi, je pense que la bibliothèque est meilleure, parce que le café est trop bruyant le samedi.🔊

  I think the library's better, because the café's too noisy on Saturdays.

• Binformal

  Pourtant, tu travailles toujours au café !🔊

  And yet you always work at the café!

• Ainformal

  Oui, mais pas le samedi. La semaine dernière, par exemple, on a attendu vingt minutes pour avoir une table.🔊

  Yes, but not on Saturdays. Last week, for example, we waited twenty minutes to get a table.

• Binformal

  Bon, puisque le café est plein le samedi, on va à la bibliothèque.🔊

  OK, since the café's packed on Saturdays, let's go to the library.

À mon avis or je pense que

Both announce your view, and in these sentences they mean the same. À mon avis stands alone, so it takes a comma and then a complete sentence. Je pense needs que, and unlike English "I think it's expensive" you can never leave it out: je pense que ce cinéma est trop cher.

Before a vowel, que becomes qu', as in je pense qu'on peut marcher. Use one or the other, because à mon avis, je pense que… says the same thing twice. English "in my opinion" can sound a bit formal, but à mon avis is at home in everyday conversation.

• À mon avis, ce cinéma est trop cher.🔊

  In my opinion, this cinema's too expensive.

• Je pense que ce cinéma est trop cher.🔊

  I think this cinema's too expensive.

• informal

  Je pense qu'on peut marcher : c'est tout près.🔊

  I think we can walk: it's really close.

Pourtant: not what you'd expect

Pourtant links two true facts when the first should have ruled out the second. A restaurant is expensive, so it ought to be empty, and yet it's full. Mais only sets two ideas side by side, while pourtant stresses that the result is surprising.

It can open a sentence or follow et, as in et pourtant il est toujours plein. In conversation it also makes a friendly challenge: Pourtant, tu travailles toujours au café ! points to a fact that doesn't fit what the other person just said.

• Ce restaurant est cher, et pourtant il est toujours plein.🔊

  This restaurant's expensive, and yet it's always packed.

• Ce café est près de la gare. Pourtant, il est très calme.🔊

  This café's near the station. And yet it's really quiet.

• informal

  Pourtant, tu travailles toujours au café !🔊

  And yet you always work at the café!

Parce que or puisque

Parce que gives a reason as news: it's the answer to Pourquoi ? Puisque starts from a reason you both already know or can't dispute, then moves on to what follows from it, so it usually opens the sentence. Compare it with English "since" in its reason sense.

The "since" of time is depuis in French, never puisque. You can't answer Pourquoi ? with puisque. Before il, elle or on it becomes puisqu', as in Puisqu'on est là, on entre ?

• Je vais à cette boulangerie parce que le pain est meilleur.🔊

  I go to this bakery because the bread's better.

• informal

  Puisque tu connais la ville, tu choisis le restaurant.🔊

  Since you know the city, you pick the restaurant.

• informal

  Puisqu'on est là, on entre ?🔊

  Since we're here, shall we go in?

View, reason, example

That's the whole structure: one view, one reason, one example. Make the example something that happened or that anyone can check, then stop and let the other person speak. Par exemple can open the sentence or come after its first element, between commas.

In the last example, une place is a cinema ticket, not a place.

À mon avis, point de vue, parce que raison. Par exemple, un fait précis.

• À mon avis, ce parc est meilleur pour les enfants, parce qu'il est plus calme. Par exemple, il n'y a pas de voitures.🔊

  In my opinion, this park's better for kids because it's quieter. There are no cars, for example.

• Je pense que cette boulangerie est meilleure que l'autre, parce que le pain est plus frais. Ce matin, par exemple, il était encore chaud.🔊

  I think this bakery's better than the other one because the bread's fresher. This morning, for example, it was still warm.

• À mon avis, le cinéma qui est près de la gare est meilleur, parce qu'il est moins cher. Une place, par exemple, coûte sept euros le lundi.🔊

  In my opinion, the cinema near the station is better because it's cheaper. A ticket, for example, costs seven euros on Mondays.

The same moves with vous

These two colleagues say vous, and they use exactly the same tools. Only the pronouns and verb endings change: Et vous ? for Et toi ?, vous connaissez, vous pouvez.

• Aformal

  Pour le déjeuner de l'équipe, vous préférez ce restaurant ou la boulangerie ?🔊

  For the team lunch, would you rather have this restaurant or the bakery?

• Bformal

  Je pense que le restaurant est plus agréable, parce qu'il y a des tables. Et vous ?🔊

  I think the restaurant's nicer because there are tables. What about you?

• Aformal

  À mon avis, il est trop cher.🔊

  In my opinion, it's too expensive.

• Bformal

  Pourtant, le menu coûte seulement quinze euros.🔊

  And yet the set menu's only fifteen euros.

• Aformal

  Bon, puisque vous le connaissez, vous pouvez réserver ?🔊

  OK, since you know it, could you book?

Your turn

Pick two places you know, say a café and a library. Out loud, give your view in one sentence with à mon avis or je pense que, and add parce que with a comparison such as plus calme or moins cher.

Give one example with par exemple, then finish with Et toi ? Now imagine you defended the café and your friend answers Le café est trop bruyant: reply with a sentence that starts with Pourtant, such as Pourtant, il est très calme le matin. Close the decision with puisque, as the friends did: Bon, puisque le café est plein le samedi, on va à la bibliothèque.

In short

À mon avis + a sentence, or je pense que + a sentence: one or the other, not both. Parce que gives a new reason; puisque starts from one you both accept. Pourtant marks a fact that goes against what you'd expect. View, reason, example, then Et toi ?: that keeps it a conversation.