C1 · The finishing touches
The nominal style
English keeps this for contracts; French uses it in the newspaper.
Après son départ, tout a changé. English can say after his departure, and does — in a contract. In ordinary prose it says after he left. French says après son départ in a newspaper article, in a letter, in an essay, and the clause version sounds like speech.
The move works with almost any action: à mon arrivée, dès la réception, lors de la signature, en cas de refus, malgré l'absence de. The vocabulary is largely shared with English, since both languages took it from Latin — réception, signature, refus, absence — so the words cost nothing. What has to change is the instinct about where they belong.
The price is abstraction: whoever acts disappears from the sentence. La fermeture de l'usine names nobody who closes it. That is deliberate in administration, the press and academic writing, and out of place in conversation.
The nouns are mostly in -tion, -ment, -age and -ure: la réception, le règlement, le passage, la lecture.
Die Form
| after he had left | après son départ |
| when I arrived | à mon arrivée |
| as soon as it comes in | dès la réception |
| at the signing | lors de la signature |
| if it is refused | en cas de refus |
| although there is no proof | malgré l’absence de preuves |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
A preposition plus a noun replaces the clause.
Dès son retour, il a appelé.As soon as he was back, he called.
The nouns of action mostly end in -tion, -ment, -age and -ure.
La fermeture du magasin est prévue en juin.The shop is due to close in June.
Whoever acts disappears — deliberate in the press, out of place in speech.
L’augmentation des tarifs a surpris.The increase in fares came as a surprise.
In conversation the clause stays: après qu'il est parti.
Après qu’il est parti, tout a changé.After he had left, everything changed.
Woran man es erkennt
- après
- dès
- lors de
- en cas de
- malgré
- -tion
- -ment
Beispielsätze
À la lecture du rapport, il a changé d’avis.On reading the report, he changed his mind.
En cas de non-paiement, le contrat est résilié.In the event of non-payment, the contract is terminated.
Malgré le refus de la banque, ils ont continué.Despite the bank's refusal, they carried on.
Dès la mise en service, des problèmes sont apparus.Problems appeared as soon as it went into service.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The nominal style in conversation sounds like a minute being read out. À mon arrivée, j'ai vu que… is right in a letter; on the telephone you say quand je suis arrivé. English speakers tend to under-use the form in writing and then over-use it once they have learnt it, which produces prose nobody would say aloud.
A noun instead of a clause lifts the sentence into writing — and takes the doer out.
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