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French Grammar

Advanced Argumentative Connectors: Structural Alignment (certes, néanmoins)

Q: What level is Advanced Argumentative Connectors: Structural Alignment (certes, néanmoins)?

This lesson is designed for B2 learners and can still help a learner revising the topic at another level.

Deploying rhetorical transitions to make strategic concessions before delivering a decisive counter‑argument.

Level B2 Category Grammar

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Lesson Summary

Deploying rhetorical transitions to make strategic concessions before delivering a decisive counter‑argument.

Grammar

Concession Followed by Refutation

The concessive conjunctions bien que and quoique, which require the subjunctive, are studied in subjunctive after conjunctions of concession. In formal argumentation, a point is often conceded explicitly before being refuted by a stronger counter‑argument. The classic pair for this rhetorical move is certes (admittedly, it is true that) followed by mais or néanmoins (nevertheless).

Certes – The Strategic Concession

Connector	Meaning	Example
certes	admittedly / it is true that	Certes, l’œuvre est ambitieuse. Mais elle manque de cohérence.
il est vrai que + indicative	it is true that	Il est vrai que le style est élégant. Néanmoins, le fond reste superficiel.

Néanmoins – The Strong Counter‑Argument

Connector	Meaning	Position
néanmoins	nevertheless / nonetheless	Beginning or middle of a sentence; formal.
toutefois	however / yet	Similar to néanmoins, slightly more literary.
cependant	however	Widely used, formal and semi‑formal. See logical connectors of opposition.
pourtant	yet	Often expresses surprise or contradiction. See logical connectors of opposition.

Building a Balanced Paragraph

The concession–refutation structure follows a three‑step pattern:

State the concession: Certes, il est vrai que + argument.
Introduce the counter‑argument: Mais / néanmoins / cependant / pourtant.
Conclude with the main thesis.

Example: Certes, la pièce est bien interprétée. Néanmoins, la mise en scène est trop statique, et l’ensemble manque de souffle.

This structure is extremely common in literary criticism, academic essays, and professional reports.

Examples

Certes, le roman est bien documenté. Néanmoins, l'intrigue reste prévisible et les personnages manquent de profondeur.
The adverb certes concedes a point, and néanmoins introduces the refutation.
Il est vrai que l'exposition est très originale. Cependant, certaines oeuvres sont mal éclairées.
The expression il est vrai que is followed by the indicative and serves as a concession.

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These are the main phrases this lesson covers:

Advanced Argumentative Connectors: Structural Alignment (certes, néanmoins)Deploying rhetorical transitions to make strategic concessions before delivering a decisive counter‑argument.Structure formal arguments that balance opposing viewpoints before landing on a primary thesis.GrammarB2grammarLearn French GrammarFrench GrammarConcession Followed by RefutationThe concessive conjunctions bien que and quoique, which require the subjunctive, are studied in subjunctive after conjunctions of concession. In formal argumentation, a point is often conceded explicitly before being refuted by a stronger counter‑argument. The classic pair for this rhetorical move is certes (admittedly, it is true that) followed by mais or néanmoins (nevertheless).