📖LearnModule 15 · Lesson 8 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2 mastery — the capstoneUnit 2 · Le point de vue argumenté
Nuancer sans reculer
Module 15 of the free French course (CEFR C2 mastery — the capstone), lesson 8 of 30: Qualification is not retreat. 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
néanmoins
nevertheless
nay-ah(n)-MWA(n)
il reste que
it remains the case that
eel REHST kuh
reculer
to back down
ruh-kew-LAY
le renversement
the reversal
luh rah(n)-vehrs-MAH(n)
reformuler plus précisément
to restate more precisely
ruh-for-mew-lay plew pray-seez-MAH(n)
la reddition
the surrender
lah reh-dee-SYOH(n)
céder du terrain
to give ground
say-day dew teh-RA(n)
ferme et souple
firm and flexible
fehrm ay SOOPL
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
Qualification is not retreat. Certes, il est vrai que, dans une certaine mesure — each grants ground and then takes the paragraph back with mais, néanmoins, il reste que.
Et aussi · And also
The structure is fixed and worth drilling: concession, then reversal, then the point restated more precisely than before. A qualification that does not return is a surrender.
Attention · Watch out
certes, il est vrai que and dans une certaine mesure each need their RETURN: mais, néanmoins, il reste que. A concession that does not come back is la reddition, a surrender, not a nuance. il reste que takes the indicative.
être, subjonctif passé — the table
je aie été · tu aies été · il/elle ait été · nous ayons été · vous ayez été · ils/elles aient été
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with néanmoins.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out être, subjonctif passé 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.