Today we’ll look at a highly useful preposition: afin. Translations for afin are “so that” and “in order to”. There are some grammatical structures involved here today and we’ll try to explain them in a very succinct way.
afin
so that, in order to
Afin Meaning & Translation
Word origin
The French word afin is a combination of the preposition à (to, at) and fin (end). Hence, a literal translation of afin is “to the end”. These words in turn come from the Latin ad (to) and finis (end).
Example sentences
Afin que + subjunctive
Our first example sentence uses the grammatical stucture afin que + subject + subjunctive (so that + person). Translations also include “in order that + person”. Je vais + infinitive (I’m going to) is an example of the futur proche, a French future tense.
Afin que + subject + verb in subjunctive mood
Afin que vous puissiez comprendre, je vais écrire les instructions.
I’m going to write down the instructions so that you can understand.
Afin de + infinitive
The next two example sentences use the grammatical structure afin de + infinitive (in order to). Translations also include “to + verb” and “so as to + verb”. Je me suis levé (I got up) is an example of a reflexive verb written in the passé composé.
Afin de + infinitive
Je me suis levé à six heures du matin afin d’arriver à l’heure.
I got up at 6am in order to arrive on time.
This next example sentence uses the reflexive verb se débrouiller (to manage, to get by).
Afin de pouvoir me débrouiller en France, j’apprends le français.
I’m learning French in order to be able to get by in France.
Conclusion
Et voilà ! You now know how to use afin in French! Now check our lesson coving the word ainsi. Ainsi translates to “like this” and ainsi que translates to “as well as”.
References
