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### Impersonal Expressions with "Il est"

When you want to give general advice, evaluate an action, or state a fact without directing it at a specific person, use an **impersonal expression**. In French, you form these by combining **il est**, an adjective, the preposition **de**, and an infinitive verb:

**il est** + adjective + **de** + infinitive

Even though **il** usually means "he", in this structure it simply means "it". 

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### Using "C'est"

In everyday spoken French, you will often hear **c'est** used instead of **il est**. The structure stays exactly the same. 

Remember that **de** changes to **d'** when the following infinitive verb begins with a vowel.

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### Making Impersonal Expressions Negative

To express that something is *not* normal, easy, or necessary, simply place **ne** (or **n'**) and **pas** around the verb **est**.

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Impersonal expressions (il est important de)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
normal	normal
to feel (oneself)	se sentir
It is normal to feel sad sometimes.	Il est normal de se sentir triste parfois.
necessary	nécessaire
to consult	consulter
the psychologist	le psychologue
Sometimes, it is necessary to consult a psychologist.	Parfois, il est nécessaire de consulter un psychologue.
essential	essentiel
the therapy	la thérapie
It is essential to follow a therapy to feel better.	Il est essentiel de suivre une thérapie pour se sentir mieux.
to express	exprimer
the emotion (f)	l'émotion
It is important to express this emotion.	C'est important d'exprimer cette émotion.
It is useful to consult a psychologist who listens well.	C'est utile de consulter un psychologue qui écoute bien.
It is difficult to hide a strong emotion.	Il est difficile de cacher une émotion forte.
It is not normal to always feel sad.	Il n'est pas normal de se sentir toujours triste.
It is necessary to talk about this problem.	Il est nécessaire de parler de ce problème.
It is essential to tell the truth to feel free.	Il est essentiel de dire la vérité pour se sentir libre.
It is difficult to find a good psychologist.	C'est difficile de trouver un bon psychologue.
It is useful to analyze this problem with a psychologist.	C'est utile d'analyser ce problème avec un psychologue.
the feeling	le sentiment
It is important to express a feeling during a therapy.	Il est important d'exprimer un sentiment pendant une thérapie.
It is difficult to hide a sad feeling.	Il est difficile de cacher un sentiment triste.
instead of	au lieu de
Instead of leaving, he stays.	Au lieu de partir, il reste.
She drinks tea instead of coffee.	Elle boit du thé au lieu du café.
the point	le point
That is an essential point.	C'est un point essentiel.
This point is very important.	Ce point est très important.

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