Have you ever noticed that some French verbs don’t change depending on who is speaking? They stay the same no matter the subject. These are called les formes non personnelles — the non-personal forms of the verb. They are verb forms that have no subject and do not agree with a person (I, you, he, she…). Understanding them is a big step toward fluency in French.
Simple Examples First
Before diving into the details, look at these everyday French sentences:
- Parler français, c’est utile. — Speaking French is useful.
- J’ai mangé une pomme. — I ate an apple.
- Elle est sortie en courant. — She left running.
The words parler, mangé, and courant are all non-personal verb forms. They don’t tell us who is doing the action directly. They simply describe an action or a state.
Les Éléments des Formes Non Personnelles en Français
In French, there are three main non-personal verb forms. Each one has a different role in the sentence.
1. L’infinitif (The Infinitive)
The infinitif is the base form of the verb — the form you find in a dictionary. It is used very often in French, especially after another verb or a preposition.
- Je veux manger. — I want to eat.
- Il est important de comprendre. — It is important to understand.
- Elle apprend à nager. — She is learning to swim.
French infinitives end in -er, -ir, or -re. For example: parler, finir, prendre.
2. Le Participe (The Participle)
French has two participles: the participe passé (past participle) and the participe présent (present participle).
The participe passé is used to form compound tenses like le passé composé:
- J’ai parlé. — I spoke.
- Nous avons fini. — We finished.
- Il est parti. — He left.
The participe présent ends in -ant and describes an action happening at the same time as another:
- Elle chante en travaillant. — She sings while working.
- Il est tombé en courant. — He fell while running.
3. Le Gérondif (The Gerund)
The gérondif is formed with en + participe présent. It shows that two actions happen at the same time, or explains how something is done.
- Il apprend le français en regardant des films. — He learns French by watching movies.
- Elle s’est blessée en tombant. — She hurt herself by falling.
Pourquoi les Formes Non Personnelles sont Importantes
Why should you care about non-personal forms? Simply because they appear everywhere in French — in conversations, in writing, in instructions, in songs. If you don’t recognize them, you will miss the meaning of many sentences.
They also help you speak more naturally. Instead of saying two short sentences, you can combine ideas in one smooth sentence using a non-personal form. This is how French speakers actually talk.
Finally, these forms are used in many useful structures: giving instructions, expressing purpose, describing simultaneous actions, and more.
Comparaison avec D’autres Langues
Let’s see how French compares to English and Spanish on this topic:
| Form | French | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | parler (to speak) | to speak | hablar |
| Past Participle | parlé | spoken | hablado |
| Present Participle | parlant | speaking | hablando |
| Gerund | en parlant | by speaking / while speaking | hablando |
One key difference: in English, the gerund and the present participle look the same (-ing). In French, the gérondif always starts with en, which makes it easier to identify.
Exemple Complet
Let’s look at a short paragraph using all three non-personal forms:
Apprendre une nouvelle langue demande du temps. En pratiquant chaque jour, on fait des progrès. J’ai commencé à parler français il y a six mois. Maintenant, je comprends mieux en écoutant des podcasts.
- Apprendre — infinitif, used as the subject of the sentence
- En pratiquant — gérondif, explains how you make progress
- commencé — participe passé, used in passé composé
- en écoutant — gérondif, explains how understanding improves
Points à Retenir
- Non-personal verb forms have no subject — they don’t change with I, you, he, she, etc.
- There are three main forms: l’infinitif, le participe, and le gérondif.
- The infinitive is the base form of the verb (ends in -er, -ir, -re).
- The past participle is used in compound tenses like passé composé.
- The present participle ends in -ant.
- The gérondif = en + present participle, and shows two simultaneous actions.
- These forms appear very frequently — learning them will improve your French quickly.
Sources
- Grevisse, M. & Goosse, A. (2011). Le Bon Usage. De Boeck Supérieur.
- Riegel, M., Pellat, J.-C., & Rioul, R. (2009). Grammaire méthodique du français. Presses Universitaires de France.
- Conseil de l’Europe (2001). Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues. Didier. Available at www.coe.int.