📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 4 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 1 · Cause, conséquence, but
Pour que, afin de — purpose
Module 8 of the free French course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 4 of 30: Purpose is the third joint. 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 4.
The words
French
English
Say it
afin de
in order to
ah-FA(n) duh
afin que
in order that
ah-FA(n) kuh
dans le but de
with the aim of
dah(n) luh BEWT duh
le but
the goal
luh BEWT
l'objectifmasculine — the article elides to l'
the objective
lohb-zhehk-TEEF
viser
to aim at
vee-ZAY
la démarche
the approach
lah day-MAHRSH
volontairement
deliberately
voh-loh(n)-tehr-MAH(n)
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
Purpose is the third joint, and it repeats the rule you met with il faut. Two different people means pour que plus the subjunctive: je t'écris pour que tu saches. One person means pour plus the infinitive: je t'écris pour expliquer.
Et aussi · And also
Afin que and afin de are the formal twins of those two, identical in grammar and one step up in register. Dans le but de is the heaviest of them, and reads as administrative.
Attention · Watch out
pour que and afin que take que + subjunctive with TWO people; pour and afin de take an infinitive with ONE: je t'écris pour que tu saches, but j'écris pour savoir.
savoir, subjonctif — the table
je sache · tu saches · il/elle sache · nous sachions · vous sachiez · ils/elles sachent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with afin de.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out savoir, subjonctif 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.