Today we’ll have a look at the advanced French conjunction pourvu que, which translates to both “provided that” and “as long as”. Another meaning is “let’s hope”. This conjunction requires the use of the subjunctive mood.
pourvu que
provided that, as long as, let’s hope
Pourvu que
Podcast narration (by David!)
Quick explanation
Pourvu in French is the past participle of the verb pourvoir, which means to provide, equipe or endow. For these first two example sentences the grammatical structure is as follows:
Clause A in futur simple tense + pourvu que + Clause B in subjunctive mood.
Nous irons à la plage demain pourvu qu’il fasse beau.
We’ll go to the beach tomorrow as long as it’s nice out.
Je ferai la salade pourvu que tu fasses la pizza.
I’ll make the salad provided that you make the pizza.
As mentioned, pourvu que can also mean “let’s hope”. These sentences also require that the verb following que be conjugated in the subjunctive. For example, “Pourvu qu’il fasse” (let’s hope he does).
Pourvu qu’il neige ce week-end !
Let’s hope it snows this weekend!
Related lessons
- Cependant – However, yet, nevertheless
- Malgré – Despite, in spite of
- Ainsi – Like this, in this way
- Pourtant – Yet, however
- Weather vocabulary
- Food vocabulary
References
