French Grammar from RapideFrench.com

Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunction

These are words that are used to join clauses with equal value.

French	English	Example
car	because	il dort car* il est fatigué* = he sleeps because* he is tired*
donc	so, therefore	il est fatigué donc* il dort* = he is tired so he sleeps
et	and	je suis heureux et tu es triste = I am happy and* you are sad*
mais	but	je suis heureux mais* tu es triste* = I am happy but* you are sad*
ni	neither…nor	Il ne veut ni de moi ou de toi = he doesn't want neither* me nor you*
parce que	because	il dort parce qu'il est fatigué = he sleeps because* he is tired*
or	now, yet, however	tout le monde croit qu'il est gentil, or il a agi particulièrement mal. = everybody believes he is kind, yet* he behaved particularly badly.*
ou	or	voudrais-tu du thé ou du café ? = would you like tea or coffee?

French students learn a handy mnemonic (which doesn't contain parce que or et): "Mais où est donc Ornicar ?", in Quebec they vary it slightly to "Mais où est donc Carnior ?"

Subordinating conjunction

These join a subordinating clause (dependent clause) to a main clause.

French	English	Example
comme	as, since	comme je suis grand, c'est facile de jouer au basket = as I am tall, it is easy to play basketball
lorsque	when	il retenait son souffle lorsque* il nageait* = he held his breath when* he swam*
puisque	as, since	tu peux venir puisque* tu n'as rien à faire* = you can come as you have nothing to do
quand	when	il retenait son souffle quand* il nageait* = he held his breath when* he swam* quand je nagerai, je retiendrai mon souffle = when I swim I will hold my breath
que	that	il est évident que* vous êtes un espion !* = it is obvious that* you are a spy!*
quoique	even though	quoique nous soyons en automne, il fait très chaud = although it is Autumn, it is very warm.
si	if	si j'étais riche, j'achèterais un château = if I were rich, I would buy a castle
ainsi que	(just) as	ainsi que je t'ai déjà dit = just as I've already told you.
alors que	while	il est arrivé alors que* nous partions* = he arrived as we were leaving

Notes:

Si has other meanings in different contexts, for example 'so', 'as', 'yes'.

Quand and lorsque both mean ‘when’. 'Quand' is used more frequently when speaking. Note that only 'quand' can be used to frame a question.

Notice the second example for quand. In English one says 'when I swim' which is the present tense even though we are talking about the future in this case. In France one specifies the future. The same applies to lorsque.