📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 8 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 2 · Les tournures impersonnelles
Force est de constater
Module 13 of the free French course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 8 of 30: Two fixed expressions do heavy work in French argument. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 8.
The words
French
English
Say it
force est de constater
one must acknowledge
fors eh duh koh(n)-stah-TAY
reste à savoir si
it remains to be seen whether
rehst ah sah-vwahr SEE
l'expression figéefeminine — the article elides to l'
the fixed expression
lehks-preh-syoh(n) fee-ZHAY
à contrecœur
reluctantly
ah koh(n)-truh-KUHR
garder le contrôle
to keep control
gahr-day luh koh(n)-TROHL
résoudre
to resolve
ray-ZOODR
en douze mots
in twelve words
ah(n) dooz MOH
lourd de sens
weighty
loor duh SAH(n)S
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Two fixed expressions do heavy work in French argument. Force est de constater que... — one must acknowledge that, said by someone who would rather not. Reste à savoir si... — the question that remains.
Et aussi · And also
Both concede while keeping control of the paragraph. Force est de constater que nous avons échoué; reste à savoir pourquoi. That is a whole argument in twelve words.
Attention · Watch out
force est de constater que is fixed: force takes no article and constater keeps its que. reste à savoir takes si or a question word, never que.
résoudre — the table
je résous · tu résous · il/elle résout · nous résolvons · vous résolvez · ils/elles résolvent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with force est de constater.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out résoudre in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.