French Impersonal Expressions

French Impersonal Expressions Impersonal expressions are those which do not have a specific subject. In grammatical terms, impersonal does not mean cold, but rather invariable by grammatical person. There are a few things you need to know about French impersonal expressions: The French impersonal subject is either il or ce, whereas the English impersonal subject is it.All of the French impersonal expressions can begin with il est or cest with no difference in meaning; however, cest is less formal than il est. Therefore, cest is more common in spoken French, while il est is more common in written French. (Note: this applies to il  est and cest only in impersonal expressions; in other constructions, there is a difference: cest vs il est) There are essentially two different types of constructions with impersonal expressions - either they are followed by que and a subordinate clause, or they are followed by a preposition and infinitive. With Que When using il est or cest adjective followed by que, the verb in the subordinate clause may need to be in the indicative or subjunctive, depending on the meaning of the impersonal expression:Il est probable que David le fait / Cest probable que David le fait.Its probable that David is doing it.Il est possible que David le fasse / Cest possible que David le fasse.Its possible that David is doing it. Without Que In expressions with il est or cest adjective followed by a preposition and infinitive, the choice of preposition depends on the type of subject:a) When the impersonal subject is a dummy subject, you need the preposition de, and there are two possible constructions:impersonal expression de intransitive infinitiveIl est difficile de parler / Cest difficile de parler.Its hard to speak. (Speaking is hard)orimpersonal expression de transitive infinitive direct objectIl est important de dire la và ©rità © / Cest important de dire la và ©rità ©.Its important to tell the truth.b) When the impersonal subject is a real subject and the infinitive is used intransitively as a passive infinitive, you must use the preposition :Il est bon savoir / Cest bon savoir.Thats good to know.Il est difficile faire / Cest difficile faire.Thats hard to do. Learn the Most Common French Impersonal Expressions Many impersonal expressions require the subjunctive. To find out which ones, check  The Subjunctivator!Il est bizarre / Cest bizarreIts oddIl est  bon  / Cest  bonIts goodIl est certain / Cest certainIts certainIl est clair / Cest clairIts clear/obviousIl est convenable / Cest convenableIts proper/fittingIl est difficile / Cest difficileIts difficultIl est  dommage  / Cest  dommageIts too badIl est douteux / Cest douteuxIts doubtfulIl est essentiel / Cest essentielIts essentialIl est à ©tonnant / Cest à ©tonnantIts amazingIl est à ©trange / Cest à ©trangeIts strangeIl est à ©vident  / Cest à ©videntIts obviousIl est facile / Cest facileIts easyIl est faux / Cest fauxIts falseIl est heureux / Cest heureuxIts fortunateIl est honteux / Cest honteuxIts shamefulIl est important / Cest importantIts importantIl est impossible / Cest impossibleIts impossibleIl est improbable / Cest improbableIts improbableIl est indispensable  / Cest indispensableIts essentialIl est i njuste / Cest injusteIts unfairIl est inutile / Cest inutileIts uselessIl est  juste  / Cest  justeIts right/fairIl est naturel / Cest naturelIts naturalIl est nà ©cessaire / Cest nà ©cessaireIts necessaryIl est normal / Cest normalIts normalIl est obligatoire / Cest obligatoireIts necessaryIl est  peu  probable / Cest  peu  probableIts not likelyIl est possible / Cest possibleIts possibleIl est probable / Cest probableIts probableIl est rare / Cest rareIts rareIl est regrettable / Cest regrettableIts regrettableIl est sà »r / Cest sà »rIts sure/certainIl est surprenant / Cest surprenantIts surprisingIl est temps / Cest tempsIts timeIl est triste / Cest tristeIts sadIl est urgent / Cest urgentIts urgentIl est utile / Cest utileIts usefulIl est  vrai  / Cest  vraiIts true