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### The impersonal expression "il s'agit de"

Welcome to the newsroom! When presenting a story or summarizing a situation, French speakers frequently use the expression **il s'agit de** (it is about / it is a matter of).

Like **il pleut** (it is raining), this expression is impersonal: the **il** doesn't refer to a specific person or thing. Because the expression ends with the preposition **de**, remember to make mandatory contractions if the following noun uses the definite articles **le** or **les** (**de** + **le** = **du**, **de** + **les** = **des**).

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### Using "il s'agit de" with infinitives and "dont"

You can also use **il s'agit de** followed by an infinitive verb to mean "it is a matter of" doing something.

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Since this expression is built around the preposition **de**, it pairs perfectly with the relative pronoun **dont**. You can use **dont il s'agit** to refer back to a noun, meaning "in question" or "which it is about".

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### Live broadcasts and succeeding at an action

When breaking news on a live broadcast (**en direct**), you might talk about a journalist or presenter who manages to uncover a scoop. To say that someone "succeeds in" or "manages to" do something, use the verb **réussir** followed by the preposition **à** and an infinitive.

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The impersonal expression (il s'agit de)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and elision (le, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, une)

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
the presenter	le présentateur
to be about / to be a matter of	s'agir de
the information (f)	l'information
The presenter says that it is about an important piece of news.	Le présentateur dit qu'il s'agit d'une information importante.
live	en direct
the scoop	le scoop
We are live for a scoop because it is about the president.	Nous sommes en direct pour un scoop parce qu'il s'agit du président.
Since the program is live, we give the information immediately.	Puisque l'émission est en direct, nous donnons l'information tout de suite.
the economy (f)	l'économie
the viewer	le téléspectateur
The presenter, whose goal is to explain the economy, speaks to the viewers.	Le présentateur, dont le but est d'expliquer l'économie, parle aux téléspectateurs.
the news report	le reportage
In this news report, it is about the country's economy.	Dans ce reportage, il s'agit de l'économie du pays.
the politics	la politique
A lot of viewers are interested in politics.	Beaucoup de téléspectateurs s'intéressent à la politique.
to reveal	révéler
The minister is reportedly resigning since the journalist is revealing a scoop.	Le ministre démissionnerait puisque le journaliste révèle un scoop.
The news report in question reveals a big scandal.	Le reportage dont il s'agit révèle un grand scandale.
It is a matter of checking this information before publishing it.	Il s'agit de vérifier cette information avant de la publier.
The company is reportedly going bankrupt, but it is only a rumor.	L'entreprise ferait faillite, mais il ne s'agit que d'une rumeur.
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)	à
The presenter succeeds in explaining politics live.	Le présentateur réussit à expliquer la politique en direct.
The journalist reportedly manages to reveal this scoop about the economy.	Le journaliste réussirait à révéler ce scoop sur l'économie.
It is about a scoop on the economy.	Il s'agit d'un scoop sur l'économie.
In this report, it is about politics.	Dans ce reportage, il s'agit de la politique.
Now, it is about a new live report.	Maintenant, il s'agit d'un nouveau reportage en direct.
Today, it is about important news.	Aujourd'hui, il s'agit d'une information importante.
it is about, it is a matter of	il s'agit de
It is about a difficult problem.	Il s'agit d'un problème difficile.
This book is about the war.	Dans ce livre, il s'agit de la guerre.
the subject, the topic	le sujet
The subject of this book is interesting.	Le sujet de ce livre est intéressant.
He always talks about the same subject.	Il parle toujours du même sujet.

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