Il écoute de la musique en travaillant. J'ai appris le français en regardant des films. En arrivant à Paris, elle a appelé sa mère. On apprend en pratiquant.
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GrammarB1gérondifverbs
Le gérondif (en + -ant)
Le gérondif
B1fr23 min
What you'll learn
- Express simultaneous actions
- Express manner and condition
- Respect the same-subject rule
Tips for this lesson
- Form: take the nous-form of the present, drop -ons, add -ant, and put en in front.
- The gérondif requires BOTH verbs to have the same subject.
- Not every English '-ing' becomes a gérondif — French often uses an infinitive instead.
Step 1 of 6
1Reading
In context
Read. Notice en + -ant links two actions done by the same person at the same time.
Step 2 of 6
2The pattern
The pattern — en + present participle
Take the nous-stem, add -ant, put en in front. Both actions must share the same subject.
The gérondif links two actions performed by the same person at the same time. To form it, take the nous form of the present tense, drop -ons, add -ant, and put en in front: nous travaillons → en travaillant. It expresses three things: simultaneity ("il écoute de la musique en travaillant" — while working), manner/means ("j'ai appris le français en regardant des films" — by watching), and condition/timing ("en arrivant, elle a appelé" — on arriving). The critical constraint: both verbs must share the same subject. If the subjects differ, you cannot use the gérondif — use pendant que or quand instead.
| Verb | nous form | Gérondif |
|---|---|---|
| travailler | nous travaillons | en travaillant |
| regarder | nous regardons | en regardant |
| finir | nous finissons | en finissant |
| prendre | nous prenons | en prenant |
| Meaning | Example |
|---|---|
| simultaneity (while) | il chante en cuisinant |
| manner (by) | on apprend en pratiquant |
| timing (on/upon) | en arrivant, il a téléphoné |
Il écoute de la musique en travaillant.
He listens to music while working.
Same subject (il) does both actions simultaneously.
J'ai appris le français en regardant des films.
I learned French by watching films.
Manner/means — how the learning happened.
En arrivant, elle a appelé sa mère.
On arriving, she called her mother.
Timing — one action right after/at the moment of the other.
Pendant que je travaillais, il dormait.
While I was working, he was sleeping.
Different subjects → gérondif is impossible; use pendant que instead.
Erreurs fréquentes
- En travaillant, mon frère m'a appelé. (meaning: while I was working)Pendant que je travaillais, mon frère m'a appelé.
The gérondif's subject must match the main clause — as written, this wrongly means the BROTHER was working.
- J'aime en lisant.J'aime lire.
Not every English '-ing' is a gérondif — after verbs like aimer, French uses the plain infinitive.
- Il travaille écoutant de la musique.Il travaille en écoutant de la musique.
The gérondif always needs en in front — the bare -ant form is a different structure (participe présent).
Exceptions & à retenir
Three irregular present participles
être → en étant, avoir → en ayant, savoir → en sachant. These don't come from the nous-stem rule — memorise them.
tout en adds contrast or concession
Tout en travaillant, il a réussi ses études (While working / even though he worked, he succeeded in his studies) — adding tout emphasises simultaneity or introduces a 'despite' nuance.
Gérondif vs participe présent
Without en, the -ant form is a participe présent with a different job (often cause or a relative-clause replacement): Étant fatigué, il est parti (Being tired, he left). Full contrast comes at B2.
Astuces & mémo
- The stem is the same one you use for the imparfait (nous-form minus -ons) — one stem, two structures.
- Before using a gérondif, check: is the SAME person doing both actions? If not, switch to pendant que or quand.
- Three uses to remember: while (simultaneity), by (manner), on/upon (timing) — all with the same en + -ant form.
Step 3 of 6
3Q&A drill
Match the gérondif
Match each verb to its gérondif form.
- Q1travaillerA____________
- Q2finirA____________
- Q3prendreA____________
- Q4être (irregular)A____________
Step 4 of 6
4Fill the blanks
Guided practice — form the gérondif
Complete with the gérondif of the verb shown.
Example
Il écoute de la musique (1) (travailler).
→ Il écoute de la musique en travaillant.
Exercice
J'ai appris le français (1) (regarder) des films.
Exercice
(2) (Arriver) à Paris, elle a appelé sa mère.
Answer pool — drag onto a blank (or tap to fill the next one)
Next empty blank: 1
Step 5 of 6
5Word order
Build the sentence
Put the words in the correct order.
Example
eniltravaillantécoutedelamusique→Il écoute de la musique en travaillant.
- Sentence 1Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 2Tap the words below to build the sentence.
Step 6 of 6
6Speak freely
Produce it
Say three things you do at the same time as something else, or explain how you learned something, using the gérondif.
Ex.J'écoute des podcasts en faisant la cuisine. J'ai appris beaucoup de vocabulaire en lisant des articles. En arrivant au travail, je prends toujours un café.
- 1.Que faites-vous en même temps qu'autre chose ?
- 2.Comment avez-vous appris le français ? (utilisez le gérondif)
- 3.Que faites-vous en arrivant chez vous le soir ?