The gerundive in French is a verb form that indicates an action occurring simultaneously with or as the cause of another action.
Formation of the Gerundive
The formation is simple: en + present participle. The present participle is formed by replacing the ending -ons of the first person plural in the present indicative with -ant.
- Parler → nous parlons : en parlant
- Finir → nous finissons : en finissant
- Prendre → nous prenons : en prenant
Usage of the Gerundive
The gerundive can have several functions in a sentence:
Indicating simultaneous actions
- Il a téléphoné en conduisant. (He phoned while driving.)
- Elle répond aux emails en écoutant de la musique. (She answers emails while listening to music.)
Expressing manner or means
- Elle apprend le français en regardant des films. (She learns French by watching movies.)
- Il améliore sa prononciation en chantant des chansons françaises. (He improves his pronunciation by singing French songs.)
Expressing cause
- En travaillant tard, il s'est fatigué. (By working late, he got tired.)
- En disant cela, elle s'est fâchée avec sa mère. (By saying that, she got angry with her mother.)