Lesson 5 - Grammar 4 - Impersonal Verbs
Weather phenomena are expressed by verbs having as subjects the impersonal subject pronoun il.
There are three such verb patterns:
1. il fait, followed by :
a. certain adjectives
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Il fait froid. | It's cold weather. |
Il fait chaud. | It's hot weather. |
Il fait sec. | It's dry weather. |
Il fait beau (temps). | It's nice weather. |
Il fait mauvais (temps). | It's bad weather. |
Il fait frais. | It's cool weather. |
b. du + Noun
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Il fait du soleil. | It's sunny weather. |
Il fait du vent. | It's windy weather |
2. Il y a, followed by du/de la + Noun
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Il y a du soleil. | It's sunny weather. |
Il y a du vent. | It's windy weather |
3. Special verbs (1. pleuvoir = to rain, 2. geler = to freeze, 3. neiger = to snow)
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Il pleut. | It’s raining. |
Il gèle. | It's freezing. |
Il neige. | It's snowing. |
Besides those verbs which express weather phenomena, there are other impersonal verbs:
Infinitive / Infinitif | French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|---|
falloir | C'est exactement ce qu'il me faut. | It's exactly what I need. |
y avoir | Il y a un bon café près d'ici. | There's a good café near here. |
Note that some verbs can be occasionally impersonal:
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Il reste plusieurs chemises. | There are several shirts left. |
but: Nous restons ici. | We're staying here. |
Il fait du vent. | It’s windy weather. |
but: Nous faisons des courses. | We’re shopping. |