I used "Alors" instead of puis or one of the other possibilities ?

Melody S.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

I used "Alors" instead of puis or one of the other possibilities ?

Puis vers vingt-deux heures trente,...

I used "Alors" instead of puis or one of the other possibilities.  

Why not alors?


Asked 3 weeks ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Melody,

Generally, "alors" and "puis" are not synonymous. 

The adverb "alors" is closer in meaning to "so" as it often implies a result, reaction or consequence. In contrast, "puis" means "then" and is more neutral. It will be typically used to list events in chronological order especially in writing, which is the case in this instance.

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Melody S.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Merci Céline.  It makes perfect sense in the way you have explained it.  

(I remember Arsène Lupin saying "Et alors?")

btw, in my experience (American) I had next to no education in grammar, parts of speech, etc.  So I've been going through a book I printed out from an online source and seeing if I could identify the adverbs, and say which category they fell into.  (https://beq.ebooksgratuits.com/contemporain/Boucher-moulin.pdf) (categories via Lawless)

Melody S. asked:

I used "Alors" instead of puis or one of the other possibilities ?

Puis vers vingt-deux heures trente,...

I used "Alors" instead of puis or one of the other possibilities.  

Why not alors?


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