Clauses of time, also called temporal clauses, establish a relation of time with the main clause. The action in the main clause may happen at the same time as the adverbial clause. The indicative mood is used. The following conjunctions may be used in such clauses:
quand (when),
lorsque (when), après que
(after), tant que (while), aussitôt
que (as soon as), dès que (as soon as),
or avant que (before). Quand tu n'es pas
là, je suis triste.
(When you are not here, I am sad.)
When the action in the main clause is completed after the action in the adverbial clause, the verb in the adverbial clause is in the indicative mood:
Dès qu'il fut parti, tout le monde pleura.
(As soon as he left, everybody cried.)
If the subject of the main clause and that of the temporal clause are the same, this type of adverbial clause can also be expressed as follows:
Après + perfect infinitive
Après avoir
acheté des bananes, nous les avons mangées.
(After we had bought the bananas, we ate them.)
When the action indicated in the main clause is completed before the one indicated in the temporal clause, the verb in the temporal clause is expressed in the subjunctive mood and is preceded by the conjunction avant que (before):
Je suis
arrivé avant qu'il parte.
(I arrived before he left.)
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