B1 · Verb + infinitive
The gérondif: en parlant
English -ing does five jobs; en plus -ant does one.
At a glance
- Remember
- One doer for both halves, and no progressive here.
- Form
- il lit en mangeantat the same time
- Signal words
- en marchant
- en lisant
- tout en
- en attendant
- en arrivant
- en sortant
- Trap
- Wrong:En entrant dans la pièce, la lampe était allumée.Right:Quand je suis entré dans la pièce, la lampe était allumée.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker
| at the same time | il lit en mangeant |
| how | on apprend en pratiquant |
| a condition | en partant tôt, tu éviteras les bouchons |
| a contrast | tout en sachant la vérité, il s’est tu |
| irregular | en étant, en ayant, en sachant |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Built from the we-form: -ons becomes -ant.
Nous finissons → en finissant.we finish → finishing
Both actions need the same doer.
En sortant, j’ai vu Paul.As I was going out, I saw Paul.
It can also say how, or set a condition.
En partant tôt, tu éviteras les bouchons.If you leave early, you will avoid the traffic.
tout en sets up a contrast.
Tout en travaillant, elle a fini ses études.Although she was working, she finished her studies.
Example sentences
Il écoute la radio en conduisant.He listens to the radio while driving.
En arrivant, nous avons compris.When we arrived, we understood.
On apprend une langue en la parlant.You learn a language by speaking it.
En attendant, prenez un café.In the meantime, have a coffee.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The commonest mistake is not the form but the doer, and English is what lets it through. Walking into the room, the lamp was on is something English prescribes against and tolerates in practice; French does not tolerate it at all, because en entrant dans la pièce attaches to the subject of the main clause and says the lamp came in.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The gérondif is en plus the present participle: en marchant, en lisant, en faisant. It says that two things happen at the same time, or how something happens.
It is built from the we-form of the present, with -ons replaced by -ant: nous parlons gives en parlant. Three are irregular: en étant, en ayant, en sachant.
The English -ing form is the reason this looks easier than it is, because it does five different jobs: the progressive (I am reading), a noun (reading is useful), a reduced relative (the people living here), a participle clause (walking home, I saw Paul) and the object of a verb (I stopped reading). Only the fourth of those is the gérondif. There is no French progressive at all, and en lisant can never mean I am reading.
One rule carries everything: *both actions must have the same doer.* En sortant, j'ai vu Paul means that I went out. And tout en plus the gérondif sets up a contrast: tout en sachant la vérité, il s'est tu — although he knew the truth.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: avoir · finir · arriver · prendre · voir · parler · travailler · attendre