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Conjugation
Objective: Conjugate valoir across all tenses and apply its cost-benefit idioms in comparative and evaluative prose.
| Expression | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| il vaut mieux | it is better | neutral to formal |
| ça vaut le coup | it is worth it | colloquial to neutral |
| cela vaut la peine | it is worth the effort | formal |
| valoir cher | to be expensive | neutral |
| ne pas valoir grand-chose |
Il vaut mieux que is a subjunctive trigger, so the subordinate verb must take the subjunctive form regardless of the main clause tense.
Il vaut mieux is followed directly by an infinitive when no subject is named, without the preposition de.
A bare present-tense fragment showing the irregular first-person form of valoir.
A conditional fragment of the impersonal expression, ready to be attached to an infinitive or a subjunctive clause.
The expression is followed directly by an infinitive when no subject is named.
The named subject triggers que and the subjunctive form partes.
The colloquial expression uses the indefinite demonstrative and an elided d' before the vowel-initial infinitive.
7 exercises · about 11 minutes
| to be worth little |
| neutral |
| faire valoir | to assert, to highlight | formal |
Valoir means to be worth, while vouloir means to want, and the two verbs carry no shared meaning.
De elides to d' before a vowel-initial infinitive, so the apostrophe is mandatory in this expression.
The impersonal expression of preference is il vaut mieux que, and il vaut que alone does not carry this sense.
The formal variant carries the passive infinitive and the full demonstrative cela.
The expression valoir cher means to be expensive rather than to have financial worth.
The conditional softens the recommendation in a professional register.