Le-g233rondif

Le gérondif
Le participe présent
The French present participle can never be used to talk
about what someone is doing.
The construction "je suis mangeant" (the literal translation of "I am eating") simply does
not exist in French - you must use the present tense: Je mange.
Je mange.
=
I eat.
I do eat.
I am eating.
To emphasize the ongoing nature of an activity, you can use the French expression être
en train de: je suis en train de manger - "I'm eating (right now).
The French present participle cannot be used
after another verb.
"J'aime lisant" does not exist.
To say "I like reading," you must use the infinitive: J'aime lire.
The present participle as a noun indicating an activity:
"Seeing is believing," is another case in which the French translation requires
the infinitive: Voir, c'est croire.
Sometimes you can just use a noun; to translate "Reading is fun," you have two options:
Lire est un plaisir, La lecture est un plaisir.
Formation
The French present participle is formed by dropping -ons from the nous form of the present
tense and adding -ant.
The three exceptions are avoir, être, and savoir*.
French present participles
verb
parler
finir
rendre
voir
avoir
être
savoir
nous
form
parlons
finissons
rendons
voyons
avons
sommes
savons
present
participle
parlant
finissant
rendant
voyant
ayant
étant
sachant*
*irregular: savoir -- sachant (verb) -- savant (adjective or noun)
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Remember that for pronominal verbs, you must keep the appropriate reflexive pronoun in
front of the present participle:
me coiffant (doing my hair), en nous levant (upon [us] getting up), etc.
As a verb or gerund, the present participle is invariable.
NO Agreement!!!
Describes “what” is being done not describing the subject!!
When used as a verb, the French present participle expresses an
action that is simultaneous with, but not necessarily related to,
the action of the main verb.
There are two possible uses for this in French:
1. Modify a noun:
Sachant le danger, je n'y suis pas allé.
Knowing the danger, I didn't go.
2. Express an action that is related to the main verb. This present
participle, called le gérondif, or "gerund," nearly always follows the
preposition en or tout en.
It can serve three purposes:
a) Describe an action that is related to and simultaneous with the action of the
main verb, usually translated as "while" , “`by" or "upon":
Elle lisait en mangeant.
She read while eating.
b) Explain how or why something happens, usually translated by "by":
C'est en pratiquant que vous le faites bien.
It's by practicing that you do it well.
c) Replace a relative clause:
les étudiants venant de l'Afrique (qui viennent de l'Afrique)
students who come from Africa
Quel est la différence?
J'ai vu Lucie sortant de l'école.
I saw Lucy leaving the school (I saw her as she was leaving)
> The noun Lucy is modified NO agreement!!!
J'ai vu Lucie en sortant de l'école.
I saw Lucy upon leaving the school (I saw her when I was leaving)
> The verb saw is modified -- 2 actions happening simultaneously
What was she doing versus who she is…
The French present participle is sometimes used as an adjective.
Like other adjectives, the present participle used in this way usually follows the nouns it
modifies and agrees with the noun in gender and number, following the normal rules of
adjective agreement:
un film amusant
an amusing movie (ms)
de l'eau courante
running water (fs)
les numéros gagnants
the winning numbers (mp)
des maisons intéressantes
interesting houses (fp)
Adjectif, Nom, Verbe, ou Gérondif?
1. La fille,
doucement, se promenait dans le parc. (chanter)
2. C'est
que l'on réussit aux examens. (étudier)
3. Je ne connais aucun
4.
5. Les films
. (savoir)
malade, elle n'est pas venue. (se sentir)
sont assez rares. (fasciner)
6. Il ne faut pas manger
. (courir)
7. Il n'y a pas de fleurs
. (intéresser)
8. Les étudiants
9.
10. Le
leurs livres peuvent commencer. (avoir)
, je suis tombé. (s'asseoir)
est très sympa. (commercer)
Adjectif, Nom, Verbe, ou Gérondif?
1. La fille, chantant doucement, se promenait dans le parc.
Verbe
2. C'est en étudiant que l'on réussit aux examens.
Gérondif
3. Je ne connais aucun savant.
Nom
4. Se sentant malade, elle n'est pas venue.
Verbe
5. Les films fascinants sont assez rares.
Adjectif
6. Il ne faut pas manger en courant.
Gérondif
7. Il n'y a pas de fleurs intéressantes.
Adjectif
8. Les étudiants ayant leurs livres peuvent commencer.
Verbe
9. En m'asseyant, je suis tombé.
Gérondif
10. Le commerçant est très sympa.
Nom