Breakdown of Elle est très efficace en repassant et en pliant ses vêtements.
être
to be
elle
she
très
very
et
and
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
le vêtement
the piece of clothing
en
while / by (with gerund)
efficace
efficient
repasser
to iron
plier
to fold / to bend
Questions & Answers about Elle est très efficace en repassant et en pliant ses vêtements.
How do we form the gerunds en repassant and en pliant?
To form the gerund, you take the nous form of the present tense, drop the -ons, and add -ant. For example, nous repassons (we iron) becomes repassant, and nous plions (we fold) becomes pliant. Then, just add en in front!
Why are we using en plus the -ant form here?
Using en + the present participle (like en repassant) is called the gerund. Here, it expresses simultaneity or method. It tells us when or how she is being efficient: she is efficient while she is ironing and folding her clothes.
Why is en repeated before both repassant and pliant? Couldn't we just say 'en repassant et pliant'?
In French, it is a strict rule to repeat the preposition en before every verb in a list. Even though in English we just say 'while ironing and folding', in French you must say 'while ironing and while folding' (en repassant et en pliant).
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