This article provides a comparative typological analysis of subordinate clauses in French and Uzbek, examining their classification, syntactic and semantic roles, and modes of expression in each language. French, an Indo-European language, primarily uses subordinating conjunctions (e.g. que, si, parce que, bien que) and relative pronouns (e.g. qui, que) to introduce subordinate clauses, including complement clauses, relative clauses, and various adverbial clauses. Uzbek, a Turkic language, employs markedly different strategies: instead of a generalized complementizer like que, it relies on non-finite verb forms (participles, converbs, and nominalized verbs) and a set of subordinating elements (e.g. agar ‘if’, chunki ‘because’, garchi ‘although’) to convey subordinate relationships. The syntactic behavior and semantic functions of these structures are analyzed with illustrative examples. We discuss how certain French subordinators arose via grammaticalization of prepositional phrases, and how Uzbek connective strategies have been influenced by morphological processes and contact (e.g. Persian loans like agar, chunki. Cross-linguistic comparison reveals substantial differences that pose challenges for translation: for instance, a French clause introduced by que (“that”) may correspond to an Uzbek nominalized clause or participial phrase. By drawing on linguistic literature and examples, the article highlights how each language’s typological profile shapes its system of subordination and discusses implications for linguistic theory and translation practice.

text, author's speech, morphological device, syntactic device, narrative indirect speech.

Haßler, G. (2008). Les conjonctions de causalité et leur grammaticalisation en français. Linx, 59, 95–114.

Gribanova, V. (2013). Copular clauses, clefts, and putative sluicing in Uzbek. Language, 89(4), 798–833.

Turkolog.ist (n.d.). “Factive” Subordination in Uzbek. Retrieved from Turkolog.ist/uzbek. (A pedagogical grammar note explaining how Uzbek expresses English “that”-clauses with nominalized verb forms and possessive suffixes, providing clear examples.)

Lawless, L. (2023). French Subordinating Conjunctions. In Lawless French (online grammar resource). (Lists common French subordinating conjunctions and their uses, highlighting types like time, cause, and condition conjunctions.)

TheLanguages.com (2025). Uzbek Conjunctions. (Overview of Uzbek coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, with examples of usage in sentences; useful for basic reference on agar, chunki, garchi, etc.)

WordReference Forums (2012). Discussion on “chunki” (Persian/Uzbek). (User greatbear notes that Uzbek chunki and Turkish çünkü are Persian loans meaning “because”, illustrating cross-linguistic influence in subordinators.)

Lingolia French Grammar (2023). Complex Sentences: Subordinate, Relative, and Adverbial Clauses. (Provides definitions and examples of French subordinate clause types and how to recognize them, helpful for contrasting with Uzbek structures.)

Universal Dependencies (2022). Uzbek Grammar Overview. (Notes the categories of Uzbek conjunctions and the use of suffixes in complex sentences; mentions that Uzbek subordinate clauses are often nominalized or marked by particles like agar, chunki.)

Nedjalkov, V. P., & Nedjalkov, I. V. (1987). On the typological characteristics of converbs. In Symposium on Language Universals (Tallinn). (While not specific to Uzbek and French, this work provides a typological backdrop for understanding Uzbek converbs in contrast to languages like French which lack them.)

Sodikova, F. M. (2005). Syntax of the Uzbek Language. Tashkent: O‘qituvchi. (In Uzbek, provides a comprehensive description of Uzbek sentence structure, including subordinate clauses formed by participles and verbal nouns. Useful for in-depth reference on native terminology and analysis of Uzbek subordination.)