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All about Comme

Learn about the common French word comme

By Laura K. Lawless, About.com


The French word comme can be a conjunction, adverb, or part of an adverbial phrase and is one of the most common French words.


Comme as a conjunction

Comme is a French subordinating conjunction meaning "as" or "since":
    Il est arrivé comme je commençais à manger
    He arrived as I was starting to eat

    Comme il n'est pas là, je vais le faire
    Since he's not here, I'm going to do it
Comme is commonly used in comparisons to mean "like" or "as":
    Pensent-ils comme nous ?
    Do they think like/as we do?

    C'est une excuse comme une autre
    It's as good an excuse as any

Comme as an exclamative adverb

As an exclamative adverb, comme means "how" or "so":
    Comme tu es grand !
    You're so tall!

    Comme il fait beau !
    How beautiful the weather is!

Comme + adjective

Comme plus an adjective means that something/someone seems to be that adjective:
    Il était comme fou
    He was acting crazy

    Elle est comme désorientée
    She seems bewildered

Comme tout

An adjective followed by comme tout means "so (adjective)" or "as (adjective) as can be":
    C'est facile comme tout
    It's as easy as can be

    Il est sympa comme tout
    He's so nice

Comme si

Comme si means "as if/though":
    Il m'a parlé comme si rien ne s'était passé
    He talked to me as if nothing had happened

    Ce n'est pas comme si je suis riche !
    It's not as though I'm rich!

Expressions with Comme

Comme is found in a number of common French expressions:
    comme cela/ça - (just) like that, that way; (informal) great, terrific

    comme ci, comme ça - so-so, fair

    comme il faut - properly

    comme il vous plaira - as you wish

    comme les autres - ordinary, everyday

    comme on dit - as they say

    comme par hasard - coincidentally

    comme qui dirait - (informal) as you might say, what you might think is/was

    comme quoi - to the effect that, which goes to show that

    comme tout le monde - normally, like everyone else

    juste comme - just/right as

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