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Verbes impersonnels
Most verbs are personal: they must be conjugated for different grammatical persons, such as aller (to go): je vais (I go), tu vas (you go), etc. But some verbs are used impersonally, meaning they have only one conjugation, the third person singular. This is usually the impersonal subject pronoun il, meaning "it," but may also be an interrogative pronoun or indefinite demonstrative pronoun.
Most impersonal verbs also have personal meanings, which may or may not be related.
French weather verbs
| Personal meaning | ||||
| faire Il fait beau. | to be It’s nice out. | faire – to do, make | ||
| geler Il gèle. | to freeze It’s freezing. | geler – to freeze | ||
| neiger Il neige. | to snow It’s snowing. | n/a | ||
| pleuvoir Il pleut. | to rain It’s raining. | n/a |
Click any verb for the conjugation tables.
More impersonal French verbs
| Personal meaning | |||
| advenir S’il advient que … | to happen that If it happens that … | n/a | |
| s’agir de Il s’agit de grammaire. | to be a question of, have to do with It’s a question of grammar. | agir – to act, behave | |
| arriver Qu’est-ce qui est arrivé ? | to happen, to be possible What happened? | arriver – to arrive | |
| il y a Il y a deux choses à faire. | there is, there are There are two things to do. | avoir – to have | |
| convenir Il convient de le faire. | to be advisable, to be agreed It’s advisable to do it. | convenir – to suit | |
| c’est C’est une bonne idée. | it is, that is That’s a good idea. | être – to be | |
| se faire Il peut se faire que … | to be, to happen It may be that … | faire – to do, make | |
| falloir Il faut que tu comprennes. | to be necessary You have to understand. | n/a | |
| importer Il importe que tu le fasses. | to matter, to be important It’s important that you do it. | importer – to import | |
| manquer Il manque un bouton à cette chemise. | to be missing This shirt is missing a button. | manquer – to miss | |
| parątre Il parąt que tu aies raison. | to appear, seem It appears that you are right. | parątre Рto appear | |
| se passer Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? | to happen What’s happening? | passer – to pass, to spend time | |
| se pouvoir Il se peut que tu aies raison. | to be possible You might be right. | pouvoir – can, to be able to | |
| rester Il me reste peu de temps. | to have left I have little time left. | rester – to stay, remain | |
| sembler Il semble que tu aies raison. | to seem It seems that you are right. | sembler – to seem | |
| suffire Ça suffit ! | to suffice, to be enough That’s enough! | suffire – to suffice | |
| tenir à Ça ne tient pas qu’à toi. | to depend on, to be up to It doesn’t depend on you alone. | tenir – to hold, keep | |
| se trouver Il se trouve que tu as raison. | to be, to happen to be You happen to be right. | trouver – to find | |
| valoir le coup Il vaut le coup que tu le lises. | to be worth it It’s worth reading. | valoir – to be worth | |
| valoir mieux Il vaut mieux que tu partes. | to be better It’s better that you leave. | ||
| venir Il vient un moment quand… | to come There comes a time when… | venir – to come |
Related lessons
- Impersonal expressions
- Indefinite demonstrative pronouns
- Interrogative pronouns
- Subject pronouns
- Introduction to verbs
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