In French, some verbs and expressions are referred to as "impersonal". This means that they do not refer to a specific person or noun, but rather describe general actions, conditions, or situations.
These verbs and expressions use the subject pronoun "il", which in this case is neutral and sometimes called a "dummy subject". It is always masculine and singular, even when the situation it describes is feminine or plural. In English, it is often translated as 'it'.
Impersonal verbs and expressions are very common in French. You will hear them often in both formal and informal contexts.
1. Impersonal Verbs
Below is a list of the most common impersonal verbs and their translation
il y a (there is/ there are)
il fait + weather (it is + weather)
il est + time (it is + time)
il reste (there remains/ there is ... left)
il manque (there is ... missing)
Examples:
Il y a beaucoup de restaurants dans cette ville. There are a lot of restaurants in this town.
Il ne fait jamais de soleil dans cette région. It is never sunny in this region.
Il est trop tard pour faire du bruit. It is too late to make some noise.
il pleut (it is raining)
il neige (it is snowing)
il gèle (it is freezing)
il vente (it is windy)
il tonne (it is thundering)
Examples:
Il a plu tous les jours. It has rained every day.
Il neigeait l'hiver. It used to snow in the winter.
Il tonne depuis 2 heures. It has been thundering for 2 hours.
il faut + inf. (it is necessary/ one must)
il arrive de + inf. (it happens/ occurs)
il convient de + inf. ( it is appropriate to/ fitting to)
il importe de + inf. (it is important to/ it matters to)
il s'agit de + inf. (it is a matter of)
il suffit de + inf (it is enough/ all it takes is)
il vaut mieux + inf. (it is better to)
Examples:
Il ne faut pas se coucher trop tard. One must not got to bed too late.
Il ne suffit pas d'avoir de l'argent pour être heureux. It is not enough to have money to be happy.
Il vaut mieux manger des légumes tous les jours. It is better to eat vegetables every day.
2. Impersonal expressions
Impersonal expressions often follow the structure:
Below is a list of the most common impersonal expressions:
il est nécessaire de + inf. (it is necessary to)
il est important de + inf. (it is important to)
il est essentiel de + inf. (it is essential to)
il est primordial de +inf. (it is crucial to)
il est impératif de + inf. (it is imperative to)
il est possible de + inf. (it is possible to)
il est impossible de + inf. (it is impossible to)
il est facile de + inf. (it is easy to)
il est difficile de + inf. (it is difficult to)
il est préférable de +inf. (it is preferable to)
il est obligatoire de + inf (it is compulsory to)
il est interdit de + inf. (it is forbidden to)
il est permis de + inf. (it is allowed to)
il est indispensable de + inf. (it is crucial to)
il est inadmissible de +inf (it is unacceptable to)
il est rare de + inf. (it is rare to)
il est bizarre de + inf. (it is odd to)
il est normal de + inf. (it is normal to)
il est urgent de + inf. (it is urgent to)
il est regrettable de + inf. (it is regrettable to)
il est utile de + inf. (it is useful to)
il est inutile de + inf. (it is useless to)
il est bon de + inf. (it is good to)
il est mauvais de + inf. (it is bad to)
il est dommage de + inf. (it is a shame to)
il est honteux de +inf. (it is shameful to)
il est étonnant de + inf. (it is surprising to)
il est juste de + inf. (it is fair to)
il est injuste de + inf. (it is unfair to)
Examples:
Il n'est pas facile d'apprendre une langue. It is not easy to learn a language.
Il est important de faire de l'exercice. It is important to exercise.
Il est normal de stresser quand on a un examen. It is normal to stress when we have an exam.
Some impersonal verbs and expressions can be followed by the subjunctive too.
To know more about impersonal verbs/ expressions + subjunctive: see this post
You can watch this video for a summary:
Recommendation:
For Students of GCSE:
For Students of A Level:
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