"Elle est grande, alors que je suis petit."
Translation:She is tall, whereas I am short.
31 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Can "alors que" mean both "even though" and "wheras"? In English those are different. "She is tall, wheras I am short" is just contrasting the two facts, but "She is tall, even though I am short" implies that this is somehow surprising - perhaps she is my daughter so that I expect her to share my height. Which of these sentences does "Elle est grand, alors que je suis petit" mean? Both?
Hi Sitesurf, wonderful French angel come to help us out, can you tell me if alors que also indicates things happening at the same time, instead of only contrast? E.g., "While I was eating, the dog took my shoes." Alors que je mangais, le chien prennait mes chaussures."? Or maybe I would use lors que for this?
Yes, "alors que" can express simultaneity (while) or contrast/contradiction (whereas/even though), according to context.
-
while I was eating, the dog took my shoes = alors que (pendant que, tandis que) je déjeunais, le chien mangeait/a mangé mes chaussures (passé composé sounds better).
-
I have blue eyes whereas my twin brother has black eyes = j'ai les yeux bleus, alors que (tandis que) mon frère jumeau a les yeux noirs.
According to GT and most of other excellent posts by yourself, here "as, while" would be more like "alors que, pendant que, tandis que", and "alors" on its own maybe more like "then, so" (but not "so" in a sense of a consequence, like "therefore" - that could only be "donc")...
Would that be a correct interpretation?