8.3.7.1 Conjunctions of time


  Conjunctions of time can express the following situations
1) Two actions running in parallel.
  While he was sleeping, she was cooking.
  2) One action is finished, when the other starts.
  After he has come, he has eaten everything in our fridge.
  3) An action is not defined in it length.
  Until he has not stopped lying to me, I will not speak to him.

In the cases 1) and 2) things are well defined. These conjunctions of time are used with the indicatif. For 3), where we have an insecurity about the length of time, the subjonctiv is required.

1) indicatif
  actions in parallel: pendant que ,tandis que.
  Pendant qu' il dort, je fais la vaisselle.
    While he is sleeping, I do the dishes.
  Tandis qu' il n' est pas là, nous pouvons faire ce que nous voulons.
    As long as he is not here, we can do whatever we want.

2) indicatif
  one action is finished, when the other starts : après que, depuis que, dès que, aussitôt que
  Après qu' il m' a dit ce qui s' est passé, j' ai tout compris.
    After he has told me, what has happened, I understood everything.
  Depuis qu' il est là, il n' arrête de parler de ses projets.
    Since he has been here, he incessantly talks about his projects.
 
Aussitôt qu' il a commencé à chanter, les gens ont hurlé.
    He had hardly started to sing, when the people started to scream.

3) subjonctif
  an action is not defined regarding its length : avant que, en attendant que, jusqu'à ce que
  Nous ne pouvons pas partir avant qu´il ne soit là.
    Before he is not here, we cannot leave.
  En attendant qu' il vienne, ils fument une cigarette.
  Waiting for that he comes, they smoke a cigarette.
  Jusqu' a ce qu' il n' ait pas fait ses devoirs, il ne peut pas sortir.
    Until he has not done his homework, he cannot go out.





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