Connectors for formal argument
CEFR C1
The passé simple: for reading, not speakingRecognising passé simple forms when reading and knowing which infinitive they belong to…Inversion after a fronted adverbInverting the subject after the adverbs that require it, adding the linking -t- where…Cleft sentences: c'est… qui, ce qui… c'estHighlighting an element with c'est… qui, c'est… que and the ce qui / ce que / ce dont…The imperfect subjunctive, for readingRecognising the forms when reading and knowing which spoken tense they match, without…The impersonal constructions of formal FrenchOpening the sentence with impersonal il and giving each phrase its preposition and mood.Accents and the cedillaPlacing é, è, ê and ç correctly, and knowing that in French an accent changes the sound…The rule, in three lines
The connectors of argumentative French: or (now, as it happens), certes… mais (concede then rebut), d'autant plus que (all the more so because), quitte à (even at the cost of), à moins que (unless, with the subjunctive), encore que (although), en revanche, du reste.
The usual slip. Reading or as a choice. Or introduces a fact that turns the argument, and mistaking it for ou flips the whole paragraph.
Why it catches you out. English has no single word for or in this sense and uses now, yet or as it happens. And certes… mais is the French of admittedly… but, a two-part move English usually makes with one word and so leaves half-finished.