How to use ‘alors’ like a french native speaker

USING THIS WORD CAN HELP BOOST YOUR PROFICIENCY IN THE LANGUAGE AND MAKE YOU SOUND LIKE A TRUE FRANCOPHONE Anyone who has experience with the French language is likely to have heard the word

_alors_, a perennial favourite amongst native speakers. It is a word that you can drop into conversation in a variety of contexts, and you will hear it used dozens of times per day. It acts

as a filler or a connection word, can be used to express surprise or shock or even to change the direction of a conversation. Once you know when and where to use it, you can employ in many

conversations, and it will help you sound like a fluent speaker. _ALORS_ AS SO The most common use of _alors_ is as a direct equivalent of ‘so’ in English. With this meaning, it can come at

the beginning, middle or the end of a sentence. ‘_Alors, qu’est ce que tu fais de beau ?_’ (So have you been up to anything interesting?) ‘_J’étais fatigué alors finalement je ne suis pas

sorti hier soir_.’ (I was tired so in the end I did not go out last night.) In the same vein, it can be used as a way of engaging someone in conversation. For example, if someone new arrives

in the group you can use _alors_ to direct conversation towards them and include them. ‘_Alors Céline, ça fait longtemps, comment tu vas ?_’ (So Céline, it has been ages, how are you

doing?) _ALORS_ AS WELL _Alors_ can be translated as well, in the filler form of the word. A filler word is something speakers use to fill the gaps in a sentence. Common other filler words

in English include ‘like’ and ‘you know’, and in French _tu sais _and _genre_. ‘_Alors dis-moi qu’est-ce que t’en penses__._’ (Well tell me what you think of it). ‘_Alors là_’ is also used

like this and translates as ‘well!’ or ‘well then!’ READ ALSO: 12 DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS ANGER AND FRUSTRATION IN FRENCH _ET ALORS ?_ AS SO WHAT? _Et alors_ gives the sense of ‘so what’,

or ‘what does that change’. It can also be interpreted as ‘who cares?’ ‘_Il ne veut pas venir, et alors ?_’ (He doesn’t want to come, so what?) French R&B singer Shy’m released a song

called ‘Et alors !’ that became a summer hit song in 2012. [embedded content] _ALORS QUE_ AS WHILE, WHEN OR EVEN THOUGH _Alors que _is a conjunction that can mean ‘while’, ‘when’ or ‘even

though’. It is followed by the indicative. ‘_Le livreur est arrivé alors que nous étions à table._’ (The delivery person arrived while we were at the table.) ‘_Elle a reçu des bonnes notes

alors qu’elle n’a pas du tout révisé._' (She received good marks even though she hadn’t revised at all.) _ÇA ALORS_ BEING USED TO EXPRESS SHOCK _Ça alors_ is used to express shock,

similar to how we might say ‘goodness me’ or ‘good God’ in English. Meanwhile, ‘_merde alors_’ can be used to express exasperation, in the same way in English you may say for ‘goodness

sake!’. Remember that _merde_ is a swear word, however, so it might be best to not use this expression around younger children. RELATED ARTICLES FIVE TIPS FOR LEARNING TO SPEAK FRENCH LATER

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