ou…ou

In French, the construction “ou…ou” is commonly used to present alternatives or choices. It translates to “either…or” in English.

Examples:

  1. “Tu peux choisir ou le chocolat ou la vanille.” (You can choose either chocolate or vanilla.)
  2. “Nous irons au cinéma ou nous resterons à la maison.” (We’ll either go to the cinema or stay at home.)
  3. “Elle peut prendre le train ou l’avion pour se rendre à Paris.” (She can either take the train or the plane to go to Paris.)
  4. “Veux-tu du café ou du thé?” (Do you want either coffee or tea?)
  5. “Il doit décider s’il veut partir maintenant ou attendre demain.” (He needs to decide whether he wants to leave now or wait until tomorrow.)

Read more:

See the post about the “soit…soit” construction in French.

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • depending on

    English uses “depending on” in many ways. It can mean “according to”, “based on”, “if this changes”, or “in relation to”. French does not use one fixed phrase for all these cases. The best choice depends on what follows, and on the kind of link between the two parts of the sentence. The most common…

  • bel et bien

    The French expression bel et bien is an adverbial phrase used to assert that something is unequivocally, undeniably, or definitely the case. It translates to “well and truly,” “clearly,” “definitely,” or “without a doubt.” The grammatical form of “bel et bien” The phrase is an immutable locution, meaning its form does not change. It is…

  • |

    -al words

    French words that end in the letters “al” can be a trap for learners. That’s because in the plural, they change their spelling to “aux.” The classic example is “un cheval,” which in the plural becomes “des chevaux.” But this applies to every single noun and adjective ending in the letters “al.” Nouns are relatively…

  • verb: dessiner

    Meaning The primary meaning of the French verb “dessiner” is “to draw,” “to design,” “to map out,” “to outline,” “to depict” or even “to portray.” For example, “Il a su dessiner un tableau vivant de la scène.” Conjugation “Dessiner” is a regular “-er” verb, meaning it follows the typical conjugation patterns for this type of…