Language/French/Grammar/How-to-use-«-il-s'agit-de-»-in-French

Mastering the Usage of « il s'agit de » in French

In the diverse landscape of French grammar, the expression « il s'agit de » holds a unique place. This lesson aims to demystify the usage of this distinctively impersonal phrase, crucial for conveying notions about subjects, activities, or concepts in French. Whether you're a beginner or advancing your skills, understanding « il s'agit de » is key to enhancing your fluency in French. We'll explore its definition, proper usage, common mistakes, and provide practical examples to solidify your understanding.

Let's dive into the nuances of this expression and how it elegantly encapsulates the essence of a subject or action in French discourse.

Definition: Impersonal Form

In French, an impersonal sentence is characterized by its use of the impersonal pronoun "il." This form is used to make general statements or to talk about the weather, time, and other situations where the subject is not a specific person or thing. Here are the key features of an impersonal sentence in French:

1. **Use of "il" as the Subject**: The subject of the sentence is always the impersonal pronoun "il." Unlike its use as a personal pronoun, here "il" does not refer to a male person or an animate object but is used in a general sense.

2. **Subject Represents a General Idea or Situation**: In an impersonal sentence, "il" does not represent a specific person, place, or thing. Instead, it is used to express a general idea, condition, or situation. For example, "Il pleut" (It's raining) uses "il" to refer to the general condition of weather.

3. **Common in Expressions About Time and Weather**: Impersonal forms are frequently used to talk about the weather ("Il fait chaud"), time ("Il est tard"), and other situations where the subject is non-specific.

4. **Use in Expressions of Necessity or Possibility**: The impersonal form is also used in expressions of necessity or possibility, such as "Il faut" (one must, it is necessary) and "Il se peut" (it may be).

5. **"Il s'agit de" as an Impersonal Expression**: The phrase "il s'agit de" is a classic example of an impersonal form in French. It is used to indicate the subject matter or to talk about what something involves or is about. The phrase can introduce a noun, an infinitive verb, or a clause but always retains its impersonal nature.

Only Used Impersonally

The phrase “il s'agit de” is exclusively used in an impersonal context in French, which is a key aspect of its proper usage.

1. **Followed by Different Elements**: "Il s'agit de" can be followed by various elements depending on the context:

- **Noun**: Often, it introduces a noun or noun phrase, indicating the subject or topic of discussion. For example, "Il s'agit d'une erreur" (It's about a mistake).

- **Infinitive Verb**: The phrase can also introduce an infinitive verb, describing an action or objective. For instance, "Il s'agit de comprendre" (It's about understanding).

- **Clause**: Though less common, it can introduce a clause that expands on the subject or action being discussed.

2. **Misuse by English Speakers**: English speakers sometimes mistakenly try to use "il s'agit de" with a personal subject, akin to the English construction "it's about." For example, they might incorrectly say "ce livre s'agit de...," expecting it to mean "this book is about...". However, in French, this construction is not valid. The correct way to express "this book is about..." would be "ce livre parle de..." or "ce livre traite de...".

3. **Impersonality as a Key Feature**: The impersonal nature of "il s'agit de" is what defines its use in French. It does not refer to a specific person or entity but addresses a general subject or matter. This impersonality is a crucial characteristic that learners must grasp to use the phrase correctly.

Examples

"Il s'agit de" is a versatile phrase in French, used in various contexts to describe the subject, purpose, or essence of something. Here are some examples to illustrate its usage:

1. **Introducing the Subject or Topic**:

• Il s'agit de votre mère

It's about your mother

This phrase is often used to specify the topic of discussion or the main subject of a text or conversation.

2. **Expressing Purpose or Objective**:

• Il s'agit de faire ce qui vous plaît dans la vie

You have to do what pleases you / It's about doing what pleases you in life

Here, the phrase is used to emphasize the purpose or objective of an action or behavior.

3. **Describing a Task or Action**:

• Il s'agit de persuader votre sœur

It is a matter of persuading your sister / It's about persuading your sister

The phrase can introduce a specific task, action, or goal that needs to be accomplished.

4. **In Past Contexts**:

• Il s'agissait de vous faire voir les choses de manière plus objective

It was an attempt to make you see things more objectively / It was about making you see things more objectively

When used in the past tense, "il s'agissait de" reflects on the main point or purpose of past actions or situations.

5. **Describing the Essence of a Process or Project**:

• Tout au long du déroulement de ce projet, il s'est agi de travailler de manière acharnée

Throughout the course of this project, it was about working hard

Here, it's used to describe the core essence or main focus of a prolonged effort or project.

6. **Negating a Misconception or Incorrect Assumption**:

• Il ne s'agit pas que vous preniez l'entière responsabilité sur vous et votre famille

It's not about you taking full responsibility for yourself and your family

• Il ne s'agit pas de prendre du retard sur la journée

We'd better not get behind schedule today / It's not about falling behind today

In negative form, it's often used to correct a misconception or clarify that something is not about a particular assumption.

7. **Additional Examples**:

• Il s'agit de respecter les règles.

It's about respecting the rules.

• Il s'agira de choisir la meilleure option.

It will be about choosing the best option.

These additional examples show the flexibility of "il s'agit de" in expressing the main point or crucial aspect of various situations.

Each of these examples demonstrates how "il s'agit de" is used to provide clarity, focus, or emphasis on the subject matter, purpose, or main idea in both spoken and written French.

Video - How to use "il s'agit de..."

In this French lesson, you will learn how to use the expression "il s'agit de" in French.

Other Chapters

Table of Contents

Nouns

• Types
• Gender
• Plural

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Determiners

• Articles
• Typical use of the definite article
• Typical use of the indefinite article
• The partitive article: du, de l', de la, des
• Use of indefinite and partitive articles after the negative forms ne... pas, ne... jamais, ne... plus, ne... guère
• Omission of the article
• Demonstrative determiners
• Possessive determiners

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Personal and impersonal pronouns

• Subject pronouns
• Object pronouns
• Stressed pronouns
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Possessive pronouns

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Adjectives

• Adjectives modifying the noun
• Adjectives which follow verbs or verbal expressions
• Adjectives with complements
• Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
• Adjectives used as nouns
• Adjectives used as adverbs
• Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives
• Plural forms of adjectives
• Adjective agreement with nouns
• Invariable adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
• Subjunctive versus indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective
• Absolute use of the superlative

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Adverbs

• Function of adverbs
• Formation of adverbs with the ending -ment
• Adjectives used as adverbs without addition of -ment
• Phrases used as adverbs
• English and French adverb formation
• Types of adverbs
• Location of adverbs

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Numbers, measurements, time and quantifiers

• Cardinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers
• Fractions
• Some differences in the use of cardinal and ordinal numbers in French and English
• Measurements and comparisons
• Dates, days, years
• Clock time
• Money
• Quantifiers

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Verb forms

• Conjugations
• Easy ways of generating some parts of the paradigms
• Changes in the stem form of some -er conjugation verbs
• Verbs whose stems end in c- or g-
• Verb paradigms

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Verb constructions

• Relations between verbs and their complements
• Intransitive constructions
• Directly transitive verbs
• Indirectly transitive verbs
• Ditransitive verbs
• The passive
• Pronominal verbs
• Impersonal verbs
• Verbs which take noun + adjective or noun + noun complements

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Verb and participle agreement

• Subject-verb agreement
• Agreement of the past participle with the subject of être
• Agreement of the past participle of verbs conjugated with avoir with a preceding direct object
• Agreement of the past participle of pronominal verbs in compound tenses

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Tense

• The present
• The past
• The future
• Other tenses indicating the time at which events occur relative to other events
• Combining tenses
• Tenses in direct and reported descriptions of events
• Tenses with si

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The subjunctive, modal verbs, exclamatives and imperatives

• The attitude of the subject to events: the subjunctive
• The use of devoir, pouvoir, savoir, falloir
• The French equivalents of the English modal verbs: 'would', 'should', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'ought to', and 'must'
• Exclamatives
• Imperatives

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The infinitive

• Introduction: what are infinitives?
• Infinitives as complements to other verbs
• Verbs which take infinitive complements without a linking preposition
• Verbs which take infinitive complements preceded by the preposition à
• Verbs which take an infinitive complement preceded by de
• Omission of objects before infinitives
• Infinitives as complements to adjectives
• Infinitives as complements to nouns
• Infinitives in subordinate clauses
• Infinitives as polite commands
• Quick-reference index to verbs taking infinitive complements

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Prepositions

• Introduction
• Prepositions listed alphabetically from à to vers
• French translations for common English prepositions

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Question formation

• Introduction
• Yes/no questions
• Information questions
• Order of object pronouns in questions involving inversion
• Order of negative particles in questions involving inversion
• Use of question words and phrases: qui?, que?, quoi?, quel?, de qui?, avec combien de? etc.
• Indirect questions

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Relative clauses

• Introduction
• Use of relative qui
• Use of relative que
• Preposition plus qui
• Use of lequel in relative clauses
• Use of dont, de qui, duquel/de laquelle/desquels/desquelles
• The use of où as a relative pronoun
• Use of relative quoi
• Free relative clauses and the use of ce qui, ce que, ce dont, ce à quoi, ce sur quoi, etc.
• Translating 'whoever', 'whatever', 'wherever', 'whenever', 'however'
• Indicative and subjunctive in relative clauses

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Negation

• Introduction
• Location of sentence negators
• Order of negators in multiple negation
• Omission of ne in sentence negation
• Order of negative elements in questions and imperatives
• ne... pas
• ne... que
• ne... aucun(e), ne... nul(le)
• ne... jamais
• ne... plus
• ne... guère
• ne... rien
• ne... personne
• ne... ni... ni
• sans used with other negators
• ne used alone

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Conjunctions and other linking constructions

• Introduction
• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Conjunctions sometimes confused by English speakers
• Repeated subordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions used with infinitive clauses
• après avoir/ être + past participle linking an infinitive clause to a main clause
• Past participle phrases used as linkers
• Present participles and gerunds

Other Lessons

• Difference between Nombre, Chiffre and Numéro
• tard versus en retard
• Past participles used as adjectives with the verb être
• Position of subject pronouns
• Ordinal numbers as fractions
• Relative Clause
• Intransitive verbs and auxiliary “être”
• Location of adverbs modifying sentences
• Easy future
• How to use “et” in cardinal numbers
• Well Better Worse
• Adverbs ending in —(é)ment derived from past participles
• Gender
• « d'autres » VS « des autres »
• Adjectives