Impersonal verbs are verbs that have no specific person or thing as the subject. In French, they often use the neutral subject il (meaning 'it') or ça / cela (meaning 'that' or 'it'). Mastering these expressions will allow you to talk about weather, feelings, opinions, and situations naturally.
Below is a list of 26 common impersonal verbs and expressions in French, along with examples and usage notes.
Weather & Natural Phenomena
- Il pleut – It rains / It is raining
- Il neige – It snows / It is snowing
- Il fait froid / chaud – It is cold / hot
Appearance & Seeming
- Il semble (que...) – It appears (that...)
- On dirait que... / J’ai l’impression que... – It feels like... / I have the feeling that...
- Il se trouve justement (que...) – It just so happens (that...)
Importance & Necessity
- Il est important (de / que...) – It is important (to / that...)
- Il faudrait... – It ought to... / It would be necessary to...
- Cela compte / C’est important (que...) – It counts (that...) / It is important (that...)
Emotions & Personal Reactions
- Cela me dérange (que...) – It bothers me (that...)
- Ça ne manque jamais (de...) – It never fails (to...)
Occurrence & Frequency
- Il arrive (que...) – It happens (that...)
- Ça arrive généralement – It usually happens
- Il continue de pleuvoir – It keeps raining
Facts & Existence
- Cela existe – It exists
- Cela signifie (que...) – It means (that...)
- Cela est considéré comme... – It qualifies as... / It is considered as...
Time, Workings & Other
- Cela prend (du temps) – It takes (time)
- Ça marche / Ça fonctionne – It works
- Ça varie – It varies
- Ça n’a pas d’importance – It doesn’t matter
Important Grammar Notes
- Expressions followed by que often require the subjunctive mood (e.g., Il est important que tu viennes).
- Expressions followed by de + infinitive do not use the subjunctive (e.g., Il est important d’étudier).
- In everyday spoken French, ça and cela are often interchangeable, with ça being more common in conversation.
Practice Exercises
Try completing these sentences with the correct impersonal expression:
- __________ qu’il va pleuvoir demain. (It seems that...)
- __________ que tu arrives en retard. (It bothers me that...)
- __________ de finir tes devoirs. (It is important to...)
- __________ depuis trois heures. (It has been raining for three hours.)
Final Thoughts
Impersonal verbs are used constantly in everyday French. Learning them as fixed expressions – rather than trying to translate word‑for‑word from English – will make your French sound much more natural. Practice using a few each day, and soon they will become automatic.