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Grammar
Objective: Build gerund clauses with en plus the present participle, and match the gerund subject to the subject of the main clause.
| Function | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| simultaneity | En marchant, il réfléchit à sa journée. | While walking, he thinks about his day. |
| manner or means | Il a convaincu son public en parlant avec calme. | He convinced his audience by speaking calmly. |
| condition | En partant maintenant, tu arriveras à l'heure. | By leaving now, you will arrive on time. |
| cause | En tombant, il s'est cassé le bras. | By falling, he broke his arm. |
The gerund uses the present participle, not the past participle. The form finissant comes from the present nous finissons, while fini is the past participle.
The gerund subject must be the same as the subject of the main clause. The form en arrivant refers to the speaker, so the main clause must also have the speaker as its subject.
The gerund en marchant marks a simultaneous action. Both the walking and the thinking are performed by the same subject.
The gerund expresses the means by which the public was convinced. The form en parlant is invariable.
The gerund introduces a condition whose consequence appears in the main clause. The future in the main clause is standard for this meaning.
The gerund expresses the cause of the injury. The same form could express manner in a different context.
The two actions are simultaneous. The gerund is masculine singular in form even though the subject elle is feminine.
7 exercises · about 11 minutes
The gerund is invariable. It never agrees with the subject, so the feminine ending in allée is wrong even when the subject is feminine.
The gerund always uses the present participle form travaillant, not the conjugated verb. The conjugated form travaille cannot follow en.
The gerund en finissant comes from the present nous finissons and keeps the double s before the -ant ending.
The compound participle ayant fini combines the present participle of avoir with the past participle fini. It marks the work as completed before the departure, unlike the gerund en finissant, which would present the two actions as simultaneous.
The gerund expresses a condition rather than simultaneity. The en is mandatory, and the participle stays in the -ant form.