Il me reste

Siobhán G.A2Kwiziq community member

Il me reste

Hi all,

Why would one say "il me reste des croissants" when "croissants" is a plural word and "il me reste" is a singular phrase? Is this just an expression?

Asked 4 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Siobhán, 

Il --- reste = to have something left is an impersonal verb like il faut so you can conjugate it across tenses but it only has one form the impersonal 'il'.

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/how-to-express-necessity-or-obligation-with-the-expression-il-faut

Il lui reste €100 He has €100 left 

Il me faut 3 oignons = I need 3 onions 

Il vous reste du pain dans le placard You have bread left in the cupboard

Il leur faut des choux de Bruxelles = They need Brussels sprouts 

Il me reste beaucoup à faire avant de me coucher I have a lot left to do / I still have a lot to do before I go to bed 

C'est tout ce qu'il me reste !  = That's all I have left!

 

Hope this helps 

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The impersonal pronoun "il' is always in the 3rd person singular - the verb agreement within the expression - ‘reste’ - is with the subject of the expression itself which is  ‘il’. 

The impersonal pronoun is used in many expressions and 'impersonal verbs' as used here in 'il me reste' - the verb is always conjugated in the 3rd person singular.  

See https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/impersonal-verbs/ 

Il me reste

Hi all,

Why would one say "il me reste des croissants" when "croissants" is a plural word and "il me reste" is a singular phrase? Is this just an expression?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...