The French language is full of beautiful expressions that can add a touch of elegance to your everyday conversation. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the French expression “au fur et à mesure de/que“. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, we hope you’ll find these useful and fun to use!
Definition & Meaning
Français: Au fur et à mesure de/que.
English: As one goes along, as, while, in the course of, during.
Définition: Une très vieille expression datée du XVIe siècle qui implique qu’une activité se déroule progressivement avec une autre – un événement qui se produit en meme temps et proportionnellement avec un autre.
Definition: A useful expression that’s commonly used to imply that two actions take place both at the same time and at the same rate with one another. It’s important to note that the expression can only be used with two progressive actions (e.g. running, doing the laundry) rather than passive actions (e.g. taking a shower, reading a book). Has to be a verb that is CONSTANTLY CHANGING throughout the course of another event. If you’re reading a book, that’s considered a passive event because the action in itself is incapable of inducing any change and can be neither measured nor quantified.
Example
Exemple: Kevin mange au fur et à mesure que sa mère cuisine (Il mange aussi vite qu’elle cuisine ; dès qu’elle pose un plat sur la table, sa bouche l’engloutit rapidement).
Example: Kevin is eating while his mother is cooking (He is eating as fast as she cooks; as soon as she places a dish on the table, his mouth quickly engulfs it).
Exemple: Mon intelligence a diminué au fur et à mesure de cette discussion avec le maire.
Example: My intelligence dropped during this conversation with the mayor; as he was talking to me, my intelligence declined progressively throughout our talk.
