The formation of the gérondif is the easiest piece of French verbal morphology to learn. There is one rule, three irregulars, and two spelling adjustments — and once you have those, you can produce the gérondif of any French verb. This page lays out the formation paradigm in full, drills the nous-stem step, and walks through the irregulars and spelling cases. By the end you should be able to take any French verb you have ever met and convert it into a gérondif on the fly.
The core rule, in four steps
To form the gérondif of any verb:
- Take the first-person plural present indicative form: nous
- verb.
- Drop the -ons ending to get the participe présent stem.
- Add -ant. This gives you the participe présent.
- Prefix en.
That is the entire rule. The same procedure works for every verb in the language except three — être, avoir, and savoir — which take their stems from the subjunctive instead.
| Verb | Nous form | Stem (drop -ons) | Participe présent | Gérondif |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parler (to speak) | nous parlons | parl- | parlant | en parlant |
| finir (to finish) | nous finissons | finiss- | finissant | en finissant |
| vendre (to sell) | nous vendons | vend- | vendant | en vendant |
| prendre (to take) | nous prenons | pren- | prenant | en prenant |
| faire (to do/make) | nous faisons | fais- | faisant | en faisant |
| boire (to drink) | nous buvons | buv- | buvant | en buvant |
| écrire (to write) | nous écrivons | écriv- | écrivant | en écrivant |
| voir (to see) | nous voyons | voy- | voyant | en voyant |
| venir (to come) | nous venons | ven- | venant | en venant |
| aller (to go) | nous allons | all- | allant | en allant |
| dire (to say) | nous disons | dis- | disant | en disant |
| lire (to read) | nous lisons | lis- | lisant | en lisant |
| connaître (to know) | nous connaissons | connaiss- | connaissant | en connaissant |
| pouvoir (to be able) | nous pouvons | pouv- | pouvant | en pouvant |
Notice how this rule sweeps in all the irregularities of the nous form for free. Faire has the irregular nous faisons (with that signature schwa pronunciation /fəzɔ̃/, not /fɛzɔ̃/); the gérondif inherits it as en faisant (pronounced /ɑ̃ fəzɑ̃/). Boire shifts stem to buv- in nous buvons; the gérondif takes the same stem as en buvant. Voir shows up as voy- in nous voyons; the gérondif is en voyant. The 1pl form is doing all the heavy lifting.
En faisant attention, on évite les accidents.
By paying attention, one avoids accidents.
Elle a appris l'italien en lisant des romans.
She learned Italian by reading novels.
En venant ici, j'ai rencontré ton frère.
On the way here, I ran into your brother.
On peut tout faire en y croyant assez fort.
You can do anything by believing in it strongly enough.
The three irregulars
Three high-frequency verbs do not follow the rule above. Their gérondif stems come from the subjunctive instead.
| Verb | What the rule would predict | Actual form |
|---|---|---|
| être (to be) | en sommant (from nous sommes) — wrong | en étant |
| avoir (to have) | en ayant (from nous avons) — accidentally close | en ayant |
| savoir (to know) | en savant (from nous savons) — wrong | en sachant |
These are the same three verbs that take subjunctive-style stems for the imperative (sois, aie, sache), and the same logic is at work: the -ant form is built off the subjunctive root rather than the indicative root. If you know the subjunctive of être (que je sois, que nous soyons), of avoir (que j'aie, que nous ayons), and of savoir (que je sache, que nous sachions), you have the right stems already; étant, ayant, sachant fall out of those forms.
These three verbs are extremely frequent in the gérondif because they tend to set scenes — being patient, having confidence, knowing something — that lead naturally to a main-clause action.
En étant patient, tu réussiras à le convaincre.
By being patient, you'll manage to convince him.
En ayant confiance en toi-même, tu peux tout accomplir.
By having confidence in yourself, you can accomplish anything.
En sachant la réponse, il a gagné le concours.
Knowing the answer, he won the competition.
Tout en étant fatigué, il a continué à travailler.
Even though he was tired, he kept working. (tout en + étant — concessive)
En n'ayant pas étudié, elle a quand même réussi l'examen.
Even though she hadn't studied, she still passed the exam.
These three are worth drilling individually until they come out automatically. Most learner errors with the gérondif involve one of these three verbs.
Spelling adjustments — manger and commencer
Two orthographic patterns from the present indicative carry over into the gérondif. Both involve preserving the soft pronunciation of g and c before a.
Manger-type verbs: keep the e before -ant
Verbs ending in -ger (manger, changer, voyager, partager, nager, bouger, plonger, songer) preserve the e of the stem before -ant to keep the g soft (/ʒ/, not /g/). The nous form already shows this: nous mangeons (note the e), and the same e survives into the gérondif.
| Infinitive | Nous form | Gérondif |
|---|---|---|
| manger | nous mangeons | en mangeant |
| changer | nous changeons | en changeant |
| voyager | nous voyageons | en voyageant |
| partager | nous partageons | en partageant |
| nager | nous nageons | en nageant |
| bouger | nous bougeons | en bougeant |
Without the preserved e, the spelling en mangant would be pronounced /ɑ̃ mɑ̃gɑ̃/ — with a hard g. The e keeps the pronunciation /ʒ/ that the verb has everywhere else.
Il ne faut pas parler en mangeant.
You shouldn't talk while eating.
J'ai beaucoup appris en voyageant en Asie.
I learned a lot by traveling in Asia.
En partageant, on multiplie le plaisir.
By sharing, you multiply the pleasure.
Commencer-type verbs: cedilla on the c before -ant
Verbs ending in -cer (commencer, avancer, placer, prononcer, menacer, renoncer) take a cedilla on the c before -ant to keep the soft pronunciation /s/ rather than the hard /k/. Again, the nous form already shows this: nous commençons (with cedilla), and the cedilla carries over.
| Infinitive | Nous form | Gérondif |
|---|---|---|
| commencer | nous commençons | en commençant |
| avancer | nous avançons | en avançant |
| placer | nous plaçons | en plaçant |
| prononcer | nous prononçons | en prononçant |
| renoncer | nous renonçons | en renonçant |
| menacer | nous menaçons | en menaçant |
En commençant tôt, on finit tôt.
By starting early, you finish early.
On apprend une langue en la prononçant à voix haute.
You learn a language by pronouncing it out loud.
Il a accepté le défi en avançant qu'il pouvait gagner.
He accepted the challenge, claiming he could win.
These two spelling rules — preserving e before -ger roots, adding cedilla to -cer roots — are not exceptions to the formation rule but consequences of standard French orthography. They apply automatically as soon as you derive the form from the nous indicative, where the same adjustments already appear.
Reflexive verbs in the gérondif
A reflexive verb (also called pronominal — se laver, se lever, s'habiller, se promener) keeps its reflexive pronoun in the gérondif. The pronoun goes between en and the participe présent, and it must agree with the implicit subject of the gérondif — which is, by the same-subject rule, the subject of the main clause.
| Subject of main clause | Reflexive pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | me | en me levant |
| tu | te | en te levant |
| il / elle / on | se | en se levant |
| nous | nous | en nous levant |
| vous | vous | en vous levant |
| ils / elles | se | en se levant |
Je chante en me rasant tous les matins.
I sing while shaving every morning. (me agrees with je)
Tu apprendras beaucoup en te trompant.
You'll learn a lot by making mistakes. (te agrees with tu)
Elle a glissé en se promenant dans le parc.
She slipped while walking in the park. (se agrees with elle)
Nous avons rencontré nos voisins en nous installant dans le quartier.
We met our neighbors when settling into the neighborhood.
On apprend beaucoup en se posant des questions.
One learns a lot by asking oneself questions.
A common error: using se for first or second person ("en se levant" when the speaker means I). The reflexive must shift with the subject — en me levant for first person, en te levant for second person, never the third-person se unless the subject is third person.
Object pronouns in the gérondif
Direct, indirect, and adverbial pronouns (le, la, les, lui, leur, y, en) sit between en and the participe présent, just like reflexive pronouns.
Il l'a regardée en lui parlant.
He looked at her while speaking to her. (lui = indirect object pronoun, between en and parlant)
J'ai compris en y réfléchissant un peu.
I understood after thinking about it a bit. (y refers to a previously mentioned matter)
On apprend une chanson en la chantant souvent.
You learn a song by singing it often. (la = direct object referring to the song)
Il a réussi en se concentrant et en n'abandonnant pas.
He succeeded by concentrating and by not giving up.
The pronoun chain order is the standard French clitic order: me/te/se/nous/vous before le/la/les before lui/leur before y before en. So en me le donnant (while giving it to me), en le lui disant (while telling it to him).
Negation in the gérondif
To negate a gérondif, place ne immediately after en and pas (or another negative element) immediately after the participe présent.
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| en ne ... pas | en ne disant pas la vérité | by not telling the truth |
| en ne ... rien | en ne disant rien | by saying nothing |
| en ne ... jamais | en ne sortant jamais | by never going out |
| en ne ... plus | en ne fumant plus | by no longer smoking |
En ne disant rien, il a évité de se compromettre.
By saying nothing, he avoided compromising himself.
On ne progresse pas en n'essayant jamais.
One doesn't make progress by never trying.
Tu te porteras mieux en ne fumant plus.
You'll feel better by not smoking anymore.
Elle a maigri en ne mangeant pas trop le soir.
She lost weight by not eating too much in the evening.
The negative gérondif is somewhat formal; in casual speech, French speakers often paraphrase with sans + infinitive (sans rien dire, sans jamais essayer). Both are correct.
A note on gérondif passé (compound gérondif)
There exists a compound form — the gérondif passé — built with en ayant or en étant + past participle: en ayant mangé, en étant parti. This form expresses anteriority — an action completed before the main-clause action. It is rare in spoken French and largely literary; for most purposes, the simple gérondif suffices.
En ayant beaucoup voyagé, il parle plusieurs langues.
Having traveled a lot, he speaks several languages. (gérondif passé — formal)
En étant arrivé tôt, j'ai eu le temps de me préparer.
Having arrived early, I had time to get ready. (gérondif passé — formal)
In casual French, both of these would more naturally be paraphrased: Comme il a beaucoup voyagé, Comme je suis arrivé tôt. The compound gérondif is a recognition-only form for most learners.
Drill paradigm
Before moving on to the function pages, drill these forms aloud until they are automatic. The list spans every conjugation class and every irregular pattern.
| Verb | Nous form | Gérondif |
|---|---|---|
| parler | nous parlons | en parlant |
| finir | nous finissons | en finissant |
| vendre | nous vendons | en vendant |
| prendre | nous prenons | en prenant |
| faire | nous faisons | en faisant |
| dire | nous disons | en disant |
| écrire | nous écrivons | en écrivant |
| lire | nous lisons | en lisant |
| voir | nous voyons | en voyant |
| boire | nous buvons | en buvant |
| venir | nous venons | en venant |
| aller | nous allons | en allant |
| pouvoir | nous pouvons | en pouvant |
| vouloir | nous voulons | en voulant |
| devoir | nous devons | en devant |
| connaître | nous connaissons | en connaissant |
| manger | nous mangeons | en mangeant |
| commencer | nous commençons | en commençant |
| nager | nous nageons | en nageant |
| placer | nous plaçons | en plaçant |
| être | — | en étant (irregular) |
| avoir | — | en ayant (irregular) |
| savoir | — | en sachant (irregular) |
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using en savant instead of en sachant.
❌ En savant la réponse, il a gagné.
Wrong: savoir is irregular — its gérondif is en sachant, not en savant.
✅ En sachant la réponse, il a gagné.
Knowing the answer, he won.
Mistake 2: Forgetting the e in manger-type verbs.
❌ En mangant, il a parlé tout le temps.
Wrong: -ger verbs preserve the e before -ant — en mangeant — to keep the soft g.
✅ En mangeant, il a parlé tout le temps.
While eating, he talked the whole time.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the cedilla in commencer-type verbs.
❌ En commencant la réunion, il s'est excusé.
Wrong: -cer verbs need the cedilla before -ant to keep the soft c — en commençant.
✅ En commençant la réunion, il s'est excusé.
When starting the meeting, he apologized.
Mistake 4: Building the gérondif from a stem other than the nous form.
❌ En prendant le métro, je suis arrivé tôt.
Wrong: prendre's nous form is prenons (with one consonant), so the gérondif is en prenant, not en prendant.
✅ En prenant le métro, je suis arrivé tôt.
By taking the metro, I arrived early.
Mistake 5: Misplacing the negation, putting pas between en and the participe.
❌ En pas disant la vérité, il a aggravé la situation.
Wrong: ne goes between en and the participe; pas goes after the participe — en ne disant pas.
✅ En ne disant pas la vérité, il a aggravé la situation.
By not telling the truth, he made the situation worse.
Key takeaways
- Formation rule: take the nous form of the present indicative, drop -ons, add -ant, prefix en. Universally applies except to three irregulars.
- Three irregulars: en étant (être), en ayant (avoir), en sachant (savoir). All from subjunctive stems, like other irregular -ant paradigms.
- Spelling adjustments: -ger verbs preserve e (en mangeant, en voyageant); -cer verbs add cedilla (en commençant, en avançant). Both inherited from the nous form.
- Reflexive and object pronouns sit between en and the participe (en me levant, en lui parlant, en y réfléchissant).
- Negation: ne between en and the participe, pas/rien/jamais after the participe (en ne disant pas, en ne disant rien).
- The compound gérondif passé (en ayant mangé) exists for anterior actions but is largely literary.
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- Le Gérondif: Overview of the French GerundA2 — The French gérondif — *en* + the *-ant* form of the verb — packs three jobs into one tidy construction: simultaneity ('while doing X'), means ('by doing X'), and condition ('if you do X'). It is everywhere in spoken French, and English speakers need it to break free of clumsy *pendant que* paraphrases.
- Le Gérondif: SimultaneityA2 — The most common job of the gérondif is to express simultaneity — two actions of the same subject happening at the same time. *En mangeant*, *en travaillant*, *en chantant*: 'while doing X.' The English speaker's reflex is to reach for *pendant que*, but for same-subject simultaneity, the gérondif is the natural choice.
- Le Gérondif: Means and MannerB1 — When the gérondif answers the question 'how?' — how something is done, what method achieves a result — it carries the meaning *by doing X*. *On apprend en pratiquant*: one learns by practicing. This is the second of the gérondif's three productive readings, and the one that most directly maps onto English 'by + V-ing.'
- Le Gérondif: ConditionB1 — The third reading of the gérondif: condition. *En partant tôt, on évitera la circulation* — by leaving early (= if we leave early), we'll avoid traffic. The gérondif sets the condition; the main clause states the consequence. Triggered by future or conditional in the main clause, paraphrasable with *si* + indicative.
- Participe Présent vs GérondifB2 — The participe présent and the gérondif look identical (both end in -ant) but behave like two completely different parts of speech. The participe présent is adjectival; the gérondif is adverbial. Mixing them up is one of the most common B2-level errors.