Gerund

CONTENT
  1. Usage of the Gerund
  2. Forming the Gerund
  3. Gerund with Pronouns and Negations

French gerunds, called le gérondif, are equivalent of the English -ing ending. For example:

Native

Translation

Il regardait la télé en mangeant.

He was watching TV while eating.

Usage of the Gerund

Rule 1: The gerund is often used to talk about two events that happen at the same time when the subject of both verbs is the same.

Native

Translation

Je lis en mangeant.

I'm reading while eating.

- It can also stand for a conditional sentence.

Native

Translation

En prenant son temps, il n’aura pas tout finir pour demain.

If he takes his time, he can't finish everything until tomorrow

- It can also stand for a modal sentence to express the manner in which something is done.

Native

Translation

On peut apprendre le français plus rapidement en le partiquant souvent.

You can learn French faster if you speak it often.

Rule 2: The gerund can be used with all tenses and doesn't change its form.

Forming the Gerund

Rule 3: The gerund is made up of the preposition "en" and the present participle of the respective verb. To build the present participle, the ending -ons from the first person plural present has to be replaced by -ant.

For example: Parler (to speak): nous parlons -> en parlant.

Rule 4: There are only three irregular forms in the gerund:

  • Être (to be): en étant
  • Avoir (to have): en ayant
  • Savoir (to know): en sachant

Gerund with Pronouns and Negations

Rule 5: If a reflexive or object pronoun is followed by the verb, the pronoun is placed between "en" and the present participle.

Native

Translation

Je chante en me douchant.

I sing while I'm taking a shower.

- In a negation sentence, "en" comes first before the negation.

Native

Translation

En ne travaillant pas, tu n’y arrivera pas.

If you don't work, you won't make it.

Quiz

1/4

Translate: You shouldn't talk while chewing.

0

correct answers.