📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 6 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 2 · La concession
Mais, pourtant, cependant
Module 8 of the free French course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 6 of 30: . On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 6.
The words
French
English
Say it
pourtant
and yet
poor-TAH(n)
cependant
however
suh-pah(n)-DAH(n)
toutefois
nevertheless
toot-FWAH
la concession
the concession
lah koh(n)-seh-SYOH(n)
le chiffre
the figure (number)
luh SHEEFR
autre chose
something else
ohtr SHOHZ
accorder
to grant
ah-kor-DAY
la position
the stance
lah poh-zee-SYOH(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
Concession is the move that makes an argument sound grown-up: you grant the other side something and keep your own position anyway. Mais is the plain one. Pourtant adds surprise — and yet.
Et aussi · And also
Cependant and toutefois are the written pair, meaning however, and they open a sentence with a comma after them: cependant, les chiffres racontent autre chose. B2 writing that never concedes reads as a list of opinions.
Attention · Watch out
cependant and toutefois open a sentence and take a comma after them; pourtant sits anywhere. In formal writing, reach for cependant before mais at the start of a paragraph.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with pourtant.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 6 in Module 8 are the written half of this page.
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.