{"id":452,"date":"2023-07-24T17:32:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T15:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/?p=452"},"modified":"2024-09-12T13:56:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T11:56:27","slug":"all-the-secrets-of-the-french-gerund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/all-the-secrets-of-the-french-gerund\/","title":{"rendered":"All the secrets of the French gerund!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The French gerund is a verb form that is unique to the French language and is used quite differently than in English. There are many different rules that govern its use. In this article, we will explore all the secrets of the French gerund!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The French gerund can be used in <strong>all levels of language<\/strong> (supported or vulgar).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The gerund in French is <strong>easy to construct<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The gerund <strong>does not change<\/strong>, regardless of the tense of the sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In French, the gerund allows you to express <strong>4 different ideas<\/strong> (<strong>temporal<\/strong>, <strong>cause\/manner<\/strong>, <strong>condition<\/strong>, <strong>opposition<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Using the gerund in your <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-are-french-delf-b2-students-graded\/\" target=\"_blank\">DELF B2 oral exam<\/a> is a <strong>very good strategy<\/strong>: not many students do it, so it will be <strong>very positive for you<\/strong>, and it&rsquo;s a lot <strong>less difficult<\/strong> than you might think! It&rsquo;s like using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-indirect-pronouns-lui-leur\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indirect French pronouns (lui, leur&#8230;)<\/a> correctly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today I&rsquo;m going to teach you all about the French gerund. You may not think it&rsquo;s important, but trust me, this little verb form can be tricky! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So pay close attention, and by the end of this post you&rsquo;ll be able to use the gerund like a pro! And you&rsquo;ll see that <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-best-tips-for-passing-your-next-french-writing-exam\/\" target=\"_blank\">when you&rsquo;re writing French (for exam&#8230;)<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/12-top-tips-for-better-french-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">simply when you write French<\/a>, it&rsquo;s very practical, because it makes sentences less \u00ab\u00a0heavy\u00a0\u00bb while still conveying complex ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1 uagb-toc__collapse uagb-block-ec6d0e75     \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Table of contents<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 384 512\"><path d=\"M192 384c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-160-160c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0L192 306.8l137.4-137.4c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0s12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C208.4 380.9 200.2 384 192 384z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class='uagb-toc__separator'><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#the-french-gerund-can-be-used-in-all-levels-of-language-supported-or-vulgar\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">The French gerund can be used in all levels of language (supported or vulgar).<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#french-gerund-in-sustained-level\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">French gerund in sustained level<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#french-gerund-in-vulgar-level\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">French gerund in vulgar level<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#the-gerund-in-french-is-easy-to-construct\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">The gerund in French is easy to construct<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#finir-in-french-gerund\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">&quot;Finir&quot; in French gerund<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#boire-in-french-gerund\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">&quot;Boire&quot; in French gerund<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#faire-in-french-gerund\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">&quot;Faire&quot; in French gerund<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#voir-in-french-gerund\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">&quot;Voir&quot; in French gerund<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#3-exceptions-in-french-gerund\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">3 exceptions in French gerund<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#the-gerund-does-not-change-regardless-of-the-tense-of-the-sentence\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">The gerund does not change, regardless of the tense of the sentence<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#in-french-the-gerund-allows-you-to-express-4-different-ideas-temporal-causemanner-condition-opposition\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">In French, the gerund allows you to express 4 different ideas (temporal, cause\/manner, condition, opposition)<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#in-the-1st-sentence-gerund-for-manner\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">In the 1st sentence: Gerund for manner<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#in-the-2nd-sentence-gerund-for-condition\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">In the 2nd sentence: Gerund for condition<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#in-the-3rd-sentence-gerund-for-opposition\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">In the 3rd sentence: Gerund for opposition<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#and-finally-in-the-4th-sentence-gerund-for-temporal-idea\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">And finally, in the 4th sentence: Gerund for temporal idea<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#there-is-only-one-condition-for-using-the-gerund-in-french\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">There is only one condition for using the gerund in French<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#articles-that-might-interest-you\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Articles that might interest you:<\/a><\/ul><\/ul><\/ul><\/ul><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"G\u00e9rondif en fran\u00e7ais : sa composition et son utilisation. Tous les secrets du g\u00e9rondif !\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DpMhnP_H7Nk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-436028c2 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-cc129e95\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-31becc7f\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>PDF Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have prepared a <strong>free PDF<\/strong> to help you <strong>understand and master the gerund in French<\/strong>. <br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3KQnGBx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download it for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end, you will have <strong>exercises <\/strong>to practice with the <strong>correction<\/strong>. \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The French gerund can be used in all levels of language (supported or vulgar).<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Il \u00e9coute la radio en pr\u00e9parant le d\u00eener. <\/em><br><em>(<\/em>He listens to the radio while cooking dinner.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/french-gerund-example.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Wahoooo&#8230;Here&rsquo;s a human being who multitasks: he can do <strong>two things at the same time<\/strong>, isn&rsquo;t that great? He can make dinner <strong>and <\/strong>listen to the radio at the same time.&nbsp;\ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, it&rsquo;s not like it&rsquo;s death to be able to do these two things at the same time! But it was just a pretext to introduce my lesson of the day: the gerund. And you don&rsquo;t know how lucky you are because I love teaching the gerund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund is something you can use with all language levels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>you can speak in a very <strong>sustained level<\/strong> or in a <strong>very vulga<\/strong>r one by using the gerund. Here is a small demo with 2 examples:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">French gerund in sustained level<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Je vous prierai d&rsquo;avoir l&rsquo;obligeance de pr\u00eater l&rsquo;oreille \u00e0 mes propos tout <strong>en gardan<\/strong>t bouche close. <\/em><br><em>(<\/em>I would like to ask you to be so kind as to listen to what I have to say while keeping your mouth shut).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/french-gerund-sustained-level.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">French gerund in vulgar level<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>T&rsquo;as qu&rsquo;un truc \u00e0 faire, putain, fermer ta grande gueule <strong>en \u00e9coutant<\/strong> c&rsquo;que j&rsquo;ai \u00e0 t&rsquo;dire. <\/em><br><em>(<\/em>You&rsquo;ve only got one thing to do, shut your big mouth and listen to what I have to say).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/french-gerund-vulgar-level.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, in standard language, in these 2 examples, I ask the person to listen to me in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#60bceb\"><strong>Do you like learning French with videos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Receive <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">our free video newsletter<\/a> every Friday in your e-mail box. You will get <strong>3 \u00ab\u00a0Tips &amp; Tricks\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> on <strong>grammar<\/strong>, <strong>vocabulary<\/strong>, <strong>phonetics <\/strong>or <strong>French culture<\/strong>.<br>\ud83d\udc49\ud83d\udc49 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"Every Friday afternoon, a French-language video delivered straight to your inbox, with three tips and tricks on the French language.\" class=\"wp-image-1882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The gerund in French is easy to construct<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund always has 2 parts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color\" style=\"color:#a75881\">the preposition <strong>en<\/strong> + the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the example at the beginning : <em>Il \u00e9coute la radio <\/em><em>en pr\u00e9parant<\/em><em> le d\u00eener. (<\/em>He listens to the radio while cooking dinner), it&rsquo;s easy: the gerund of the verb \u00ab\u00a0<strong>pr\u00e9parer<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb is \u00ab\u00a0<strong>en pr\u00e9parant<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0. Life is good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For other verbs, it sometimes takes a little more work, but there is&#8230; <strong>a rule to form the French gerund<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>you start from <strong>we <\/strong>in the <strong>present <\/strong>tense,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you <strong>cut <\/strong>the final<strong> -ons<\/strong> of the present tense<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and instead, you <strong>stick -ant<\/strong> of the gerund.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and don&rsquo;t forget the preposition \u00ab\u00a0<strong>en<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb before.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&rsquo;t panic&#8230; I&rsquo;ll give you some examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s take for example, well let&rsquo;s take&#8230; the verb \u00ab\u00a0<strong>prendre<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb (to take):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the present tense, with \u00ab\u00a0nous\u00a0\u00bb (we), the verb is : <strong>prenons<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I <strong>cut<\/strong> <em>-ons<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and I <strong>paste <\/strong><em>-ant<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And here it is, the gerund of \u00ab\u00a0<strong>prendre<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb is \u00ab\u00a0<strong>en prenant<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb (don&rsquo;t forget the preposition <em>en<\/em>)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Now it&rsquo;s your turn. I give you 4 verbs and you have to find the gerund. Are you ready? So what is the gerund of the verbs <strong>finir <\/strong>(to finish), <strong>boire <\/strong>(to drink), <strong>faire <\/strong>(to do) and <strong>voir<\/strong> (to see)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tictac tictac, you have 30 seconds&#8230; Countdown \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shall we correct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00ab\u00a0Finir\u00a0\u00bb in French gerund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For the verb\u201dfinir\u201d (to finish):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You start from the present tense: <strong>nous finissons<\/strong>, and the gerund will be: <strong>en finissant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/finir-gerund.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00ab\u00a0Boire\u00a0\u00bb in French gerund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To drink, the present tense is: <strong>nous buvons<\/strong>, the gerund is: <strong>en buvant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/boire-gerund.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00ab\u00a0Faire\u00a0\u00bb in French gerund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To do, be careful with the pronunciation of the present tense: we say \u00ab\u00a0<strong>je fais, tu fais, il fait&#8230;<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb and we pronounce \u00ab\u00a0<strong>nous faisons<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0. And the gerund respects the pronunciation of the present tense with we. Therefore I pronounce: \u00ab\u00a0<strong>en faisant<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/faire-gerund.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00ab\u00a0Voir\u00a0\u00bb in French gerund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For the last verb, <strong>voir <\/strong>(to see), the present tense: <strong>nous voyons<\/strong>, becomes: <strong>en voyant<\/strong> in the French gerund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/voir-gerund.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/50verbes\/encart-the-50-verbs-most-used-by-the-french.php\" style=\"width:100%; height: 700px;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3 exceptions in French gerund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are just 3 exceptions, 3 verbs that do not form in the present tense. These ones, sorry buddy, you have to learn them! They are the verbs :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00ab\u00a0<strong>\u00eatre<\/strong>\u201d (to be) \u2192<strong> en \u00e9tant<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00ab\u00a0<strong>avoir<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb (to have) \u2192 <strong>en ayant<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and \u00ab\u00a0<strong>savoir<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb (to know) \u2192 <strong>en sachant<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>in the French gerund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/etre-avoir-savoir-french-gerund.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The gerund does not change, regardless of the tense of the sentence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, and another cool feature of the French gerund (I forgot about that one) is that the gerund doesn&rsquo;t change, regardless of the tense of the sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen carefully, I&rsquo;m going to give you 4 examples of sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1st in the <strong>present tense<\/strong>: <br>Anne gagne bien sa vie <strong>en faisant<\/strong> des traductions. <br><em>(Anne makes a good living doing translations)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/gerund-present.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2nd in the <strong>future tense<\/strong>: <br>Gis\u00e8le ira plus vite <strong>en prenant<\/strong> le tramway. <br><em>(Giselle will go faster by taking the streetcar)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/gerund-futur.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The 3rd in the <strong>imperfect tense<\/strong>: <br>Rina perdait du poids <strong>tout en mangeant<\/strong> comme 4. <br><em>(Rina lost weight while eating like 4)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/gerund-imparfait.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The 4th in the <strong>past tense (pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9)<\/strong>: <br>Christian a couru <strong>en voyant<\/strong> le train arriver. <br><em>(Christian ran when he saw the train coming)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/gerund-passe-compose.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You see, the gerund doesn&rsquo;t change. OK, it&rsquo;s true that sometimes you can find a special form for the past tense, you could say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Christian a couru <\/em><strong><em>en ayant vu<\/em><\/strong><em> le train arriver.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That might be grammatically correct, but frankly, it&rsquo;s really not often used and <em>Christian a couru <\/em><strong><em>en voyant<\/em><\/strong><em> le train arriver<\/em>, that works very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In French, the gerund allows you to express 4 different ideas (temporal, cause\/manner, condition, opposition)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s move on to the ideas that the gerund can express. I told you earlier that there were four of them. Remember?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>temporal <\/strong>idea,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a <strong>cause <\/strong>or <strong>manner <\/strong>idea,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a <strong>condition <\/strong>idea<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and, an <strong>opposition <\/strong>idea.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>And now it&rsquo;s your turn to do a little work&#8230; I&rsquo;m not going to do everything! So, can you find which idea is expressed by the gerund in the 4 sentences I gave you before? I&rsquo;ll give them back to you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Anne gagne bien sa vie en faisant des traductions.<\/strong> (Anne makes a good living doing translations)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gis\u00e8le ira plus vite en prenant le tramway.<\/strong> (Giselle will go faster by taking the streetcar)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rina perdait du poids tout en mangeant comme 4.<\/strong> (Rina lost weight while eating like 4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Christian a couru en voyant le train arriver.<\/strong> (Christian ran when he saw the train coming)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the 1st sentence: Gerund for manner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund expresses an idea of <strong>manner<\/strong>. It answers the question <strong>How?<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does Anne earn her living? <strong>Answer<\/strong>: by doing translations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the 2nd sentence: Gerund for condition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund expresses an idea of <strong>condition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could rephrase the sentence with the word \u00ab\u00a0<strong>si<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb (if):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gis\u00e8le ira plus vite <\/strong><strong>si<\/strong><strong> elle prend le tramway<\/strong>. (Giselle will go faster if she takes the streetcar.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the 3rd sentence: Gerund for opposition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund expresses an idea of <strong>opposition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&rsquo;s not logical, no, to lose weight when you eat a lot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you could rephrase the sentence with \u00ab\u00a0<strong>m\u00eame si<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb (even if) or \u00ab\u00a0bien que\u00a0\u00bb (although):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>M\u00eame si<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> elle mangeait comme 4<\/em><\/strong>, <em>Rina perdait du poids (<\/em>even if she ate like 4, Rina lost weight)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>ou: <\/em><strong><em>Bien qu&rsquo;<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>elle mange comme 4<\/em><\/strong><em>, Rina perdait du poids.<\/em><br>Note: With <em>although<\/em>, don&rsquo;t forget that you have to use the <strong>subjunctive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And finally, in the 4th sentence: Gerund for temporal idea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund expresses a <strong>temporal idea<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could rephrase the sentence as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Christian a couru <\/em><strong><em>quand<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> il a vu<\/em><\/strong><em> le train arriver. (<\/em>Christian ran when he saw the train coming.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gerund could also express a <strong>causal idea:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Christian a couru <\/em><strong><em>parce qu<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>&lsquo;il a vu<\/em><\/strong><em> le train arriver. (<\/em>Christian ran because he saw the train coming.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">There is only one condition for using the gerund in French<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>And that&rsquo;s it&#8230; Oh no, I forgot one little detail. There is one condition to use the gerund in a sentence : <strong>the subjects of the 2 parts of the sentence <\/strong><strong>must always be the same<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you take the last example, you can see that Christian is the subject of both verbs: it&rsquo;s Christian who sees the train coming and it&rsquo;s Christian who runs to catch it&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another multi-task human being!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, there you have it! The French gerund is a unique verb form that can be used to express a variety of different ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to understand all the different rules governing its use, but once you do, this handy little verb will add an extra layer of nuance and sophistication to your French language skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have fun using the gerund in all sorts of creative ways \u2013 just make sure you know what you\u2019re doing before you try using it <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-can-i-talk-to-french-native\/\" target=\"_blank\">in a conversation with a native speaker<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/learnfrenchfun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Articles that might interest you: <\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"lcp_catlist\" id=\"lcp_instance_0\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-imperative-in-french-how-to-conjugate-verbs-in-imperative-when-do-you-have-to-use-the-imperative\/\">The Imperative in French: How to Conjugate Verbs in Imperative? When do You Have to Use the Imperative?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-10-irregular-verbs-in-the-french-subjunctive-mood\/\">The 10 Irregular Verbs in the French Subjunctive Mood<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/depuis-pendant-en-ilya-dans\/\">Depuis, pendant, en, il y a, dans<\/a><\/li><li class=\"current\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/all-the-secrets-of-the-french-gerund\/\">All the secrets of the French gerund!<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-verb-moods\/\">French verb moods<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-use-the-tonic-pronouns-in-french\/\">How to use the tonic pronouns in French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-use-en-and-y-pronoun-in-french\/\">How to use \u00ab\u00a0en\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0y\u00a0\u00bb pronoun in French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/difference-between-dont-and-duquel-in-french\/\">Difference between DONT and DUQUEL in French<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/10-dangerous-french-verbs\/\"><strong>10 common French verbs conjugated in the present tense. Beware of traps!<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-direct-object-complement-in-french-c-o-d-and-direct-complement-pronouns-le-la-les\/\">The Direct Object Complement in French (C.O.D.) and direct complement pronouns (le, la, les\u2026)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a French teacher, I have heard all sorts of questions about the French gerund. Some people seem to think it&rsquo;s a really complicated thing, but it&rsquo;s actually not that difficult to understand!<br \/>\nIn this blog post, I&rsquo;ll explain everything you need to know about the French gerund. So read on if you want to learn all the secrets of this handy verb form!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french-grammar"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"hd_qu_size2":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman.jpg",400,267,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/french-gerund-multitasking-woman.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Christian","author_link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/author\/christian\/"},"uagb_comment_info":37,"uagb_excerpt":"As a French teacher, I have heard all sorts of questions about the French gerund. Some people seem to think it's a really complicated thing, but it's actually not that difficult to understand! In this blog post, I'll explain everything you need to know about the French gerund. So read on if you want to\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2360,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions\/2360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}