French gerunds, called le gérondif, are equivalent of the English -ing ending. For example:
French
English
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.
French
English
Je lis en mangeant.
I'm reading while eating.
- It can also stand for a conditional sentence.
French
English
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.
French
English
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.
French
English
Je chante en me douchant.
I sing while I'm taking a shower.
- In a negation sentence, "en" comes first before the negation.
French
English
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.