Les marqueurs de position : certes… mais, franchement

Unité CO-03 · campagne 2 · la position se cache après le mais.

B2 speakers rarely announce je suis pour or je suis contre. They signal their stance with small markers, and the exam grades whether you caught them.

The master pattern is the concession pair: certes… mais. Whatever follows certes (or bien sûr, admettons, on veut bien l'admettre) is granted to the other side — it is not the speaker's position. The real position arrives with the pivot: mais, il n'empêche que, sauf que, pour autant. Rule of ear: when you hear a concession opening, wait — the sentence that matters is the next one.

Second family: sincerity markers. Franchement, à vrai dire, pour être honnête announce that the speaker is about to drop the polite register and give the actual verdict (Franchement, qui osait l'espérer ?). They often carry the answer to Quelle est la position du locuteur ? items.

Distractors here are literal: they quote the conceded half (le tramway a coûté cher) as if it were the conclusion. Your defence is structural, not lexical — note in your grid which clause sat before the pivot and which after. The practice set below trains exactly that reflex.

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