To express (just) in case in French, you use the expression (juste) au cas où.
Look at the following examples:
J'en ai racheté, juste au cas où.
I bought some more, just in case.
Nous avons acheté de la crème solaire, au cas où.
We bought some suntan lotion, just in case.
Au cas où vous vous demanderiez où elle est, elle est allée au marché.
In case you're wondering where she is, she went to the market.
Je te le dis au cas où tu ne serais pas au courant.
I'm telling you in case you weren't aware of it.
The delicate point here is the question of the mood following au cas où. Indeed, as it expresses an uncertain state or an hypothesis, you could be tempted to use Le Subjonctif. That would be a mistake!
With the expression (juste) au cas où, you can only use Le Conditionnel.
Je te le dis au cas où tu ne le saurais pas.
I'm telling you in case you don't know.
Au cas où vous auriez faim, je vous ai fait un sandwich.
In case you get hungry, I made you a sandwich.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Au cas où vous vous demanderiez où elle est, elle est allée au marché.
In case you're wondering where she is, she went to the market.
Je te le dis au cas où tu ne le saurais pas.
I'm telling you in case you don't know.
Nous avons acheté de la crème solaire, au cas où.
We bought some suntan lotion, just in case.
Au cas où vous auriez faim, je vous ai fait un sandwich.
In case you get hungry, I made you a sandwich.
J'en ai racheté, juste au cas où.
I bought some more, just in case.
Je te le dis au cas où tu ne serais pas au courant.
I'm telling you in case you weren't aware of it.
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
31/07/18
The past tense occurs in the main clause, the conditional is always used in the subordinate clause started by au cas où.
I'm not sure if that answers your question.
-- Chris.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
11/06/18
Bonjour Tina !
The brackets in the lesson mean that you can use either "juste au cas où" or "au cas où" interchangeably, however when giving an answer, you simply have to pick one of these two options :)
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
Tina
Kwiziq community member
12/06/18
Paul
Kwiziq community member
5 June 2018
2 replies
juste au cas où and au cas où
Hello, In the examples given juste au cas où and au cas où both translate as just in case when at the end of a sentence. Is there a way to know when to add juste, or is it entirely optional? Thanks.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
6/06/18
I believe it is entirely optional, just like in English
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Paul
Kwiziq community member
6/06/18
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
16/01/18
"Jusqu'au cas où" doesn't exist at all, you're probably thinking of "juste au cas où", which is indeed an alternate option :)
Bonne journée !
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
9/05/17
No, you could also use "il y a du soleil", simply with "avoir" in Le Conditionnel as such:
Anthony apporte ses lunettes de soleil au cas où il y aurait du soleil.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Tom
Kwiziq community member
17/07/17
Kari
Kwiziq community member
25/07/18
Would "Anthony apporte ses lunettes de soleil au cas où il ferait du soleil." also be acceptable?
Merci!
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/08/18
Bonjour Tom and Karl !
"Faire du soleil" is not the correct expression in French :)
Please have a look at our explanation in the related lesson:
Mel
Kwiziq community member
16/02/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
12 September 2016
1 reply
David asked: "Why does "au cas où" take the conditional rather than the subjunctive?"
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
12/09/16
Bonjour David !
Unfortunately, I have to admit I have no explanation for you :(
I must even admit that as a native speaker, I actually used to make that mistake regularly before looking into it for the site...
All I can say is that Le Conditionnel is also a mode that expresses hypotheses and theoretical cases, hence it's logical that it'd be used in such a context.
I hope that's helpful!
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
30/08/16
Literally, it's "you would be wondering," which we'd never say in English. Both "you were wondering" and "you are wondering" are acceptable.
Pauline
Kwiziq community member
31/08/16
John
Kwiziq community member
3 August 2018
1 reply
.....in case it's sunny
The answer given is '....au cas où il fesait beau'. Couldn't you say as an alternative '....au cas où il y aurait du soleil'?
Chris
Kwiziq community member
4 August 2018
4/08/18
Hi John,
...au cas où il ferait beau or ...au cas où il y aurait du soleil both are ok.
-- Chris.