Breakdown of Il est prohibé de secouer le paillasson dans le couloir.
être
to be
dans
in, inside
il
it (impersonal subject)
le couloir
the hallway / the corridor
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
secouer
to shake
prohiber
to prohibit
le paillasson
the doormat
Questions & Answers about Il est prohibé de secouer le paillasson dans le couloir.
Why does this sentence start with Il est rather than C'est?
Il acts as an impersonal or dummy subject here (like 'It' in 'It is prohibited'). For formal, written rules using the impersonal passive, Il est... is the standard structure. While you might hear C'est prohibé de... in casual speech, Il est prohibé de... is grammatically correct and expected in formal contexts like building regulations.
Why do we need the preposition de before secouer?
When an impersonal passive construction is followed by an infinitive verb, it must be connected with the preposition de. The pattern is Il est + [past participle] + de + [infinitive]. This rule applies to similar structures as well, such as Il est interdit de... or Il est permis de....
Could I just use interdit instead of prohibé?
How would you express this same rule without using the passive voice?
You could use an active construction with the indefinite pronoun on (meaning 'one' or 'people in general'). The direct active equivalent would be On prohibe de secouer le paillasson... or On interdit de secouer le paillasson..., though the impersonal passive used in the original sentence is much more natural for written rules.
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