Advanced Impersonal Constructions in French

Overview

French uses impersonal constructions extensively — sentences where the subject il does not refer to any specific person or thing but serves as a grammatical placeholder. While you learned basic impersonal expressions like il faut and il y a at earlier levels, the C1 level introduces formal and administrative impersonal constructions that are essential for understanding official documents, legal texts, and academic writing.

These advanced constructions include expressions like il appert que (it appears that), il incombe à (it falls to), il ressort que (it emerges that), and il échoit à (it falls to/devolves upon). They belong to a formal register and appear regularly in contracts, government communications, court rulings, and policy documents.

Mastering these expressions is not about using them in casual conversation — it is about being able to read and understand the formal French that governs professional, legal, and institutional life in francophone countries.

How It Works

Common Advanced Impersonal Expressions

Expression	Meaning	Register	Typical context
il appert que	it appears/is evident that	Legal, very formal	Court rulings, legal opinions
il incombe à (qqn) de	it falls to (someone) to	Administrative	Regulations, contracts
il échoit à (qqn) de	it falls to / devolves upon	Legal, very formal	Legal texts, wills
il ressort de... que	it emerges from... that	Administrative, academic	Reports, investigations
il est à noter que	it should be noted that	Formal writing	Reports, memos
il convient de	it is appropriate to	Administrative	Official guidelines
il y a lieu de	there is reason to	Administrative, legal	Official decisions
il est porté à la connaissance de	it is brought to the attention of	Administrative	Public notices
il est fait état de	mention is made of	Formal reports	Investigations, audits
il n'en demeure pas moins que	the fact remains that	Formal argumentation	Essays, editorials

Structure Patterns

Pattern	Example	Note
il + verb + que + indicative	Il ressort que le contrat est valide.	Factual conclusion
il + verb + que + subjunctive	Il convient que chacun soit informé.	Desired outcome
il + verb + à + person + de + infinitive	Il incombe au directeur de décider.	Obligation assigned to someone
il + être + à + infinitive	Il est à noter que...	Passive-like instruction
il + être + past participle + que	Il est établi que...	Established fact

Indicative vs Subjunctive

Takes indicative	Takes subjunctive
il appert que	il convient que
il ressort que	il importe que
il est à noter que	il y a lieu que
il est établi que	il est nécessaire que

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Il appert que le contrat est valide.	It appears that the contract is valid.	Legal finding
Il incombe au président de convoquer l'assemblée.	It falls to the president to convene the assembly.	Obligation
Il ressort de l'enquête que les faits sont avérés.	It emerges from the investigation that the facts are confirmed.	Report conclusion
Il est à noter que les délais ont été respectés.	It should be noted that the deadlines were met.	Formal observation
Il convient de rappeler les règles en vigueur.	It is appropriate to recall the rules in force.	Administrative guidance
Il y a lieu de s'interroger sur cette décision.	There is reason to question this decision.	Formal doubt
Il échoit au tuteur de gérer les biens du mineur.	It falls to the guardian to manage the minor's assets.	Legal responsibility
Il est fait état de nombreuses irrégularités.	Mention is made of numerous irregularities.	Audit report
Il n'en demeure pas moins que le problème persiste.	The fact remains that the problem persists.	Concessive argument
Il est porté à votre connaissance que le service sera fermé.	It is brought to your attention that the service will be closed.	Public notice

Common Mistakes

Using these expressions in casual speech

• Wrong: Using il appert que in a conversation with friends
• Right: Reserve these for legal, administrative, or academic writing
• Why: These expressions belong to a very high register. Using them in casual contexts sounds absurd and pretentious.

Confusing il convient de with il faut

• Wrong: Treating il convient de as identical to il faut
• Right: Il convient de means "it is appropriate/advisable to" (softer), while il faut means "it is necessary to" (stronger)
• Why: Il convient de is a recommendation or convention; il faut expresses obligation or necessity. The nuance matters in official texts.

Using the wrong mood after these expressions

• Wrong: Il convient que chacun est informé.
• Right: Il convient que chacun soit informé.
• Why: Il convient que expresses a desired state, so it requires the subjunctive. Expressions stating facts (il ressort que, il appert que) take the indicative.

Usage Notes

These impersonal constructions are the backbone of French administrative language (langue administrative). France has a long tradition of formal bureaucratic writing, and these expressions appear in everything from tax notices to university regulations.

Il appert que is extremely formal and largely confined to legal judgments. In everyday formal writing, il ressort que or il apparaît que (a less archaic synonym) are more common.

Il convient de is perhaps the most versatile of these expressions. You will see it in corporate emails, official memos, and academic papers. It strikes a balance between formality and accessibility.

Il y a lieu de is common in administrative decisions and implies that action is warranted — it is stronger than il convient de but softer than il faut.

In Quebec administrative French, you may encounter slightly different expressions or preferences, but the core constructions are shared across all francophone administrations.

Practice Tips

1. Read a French government decree or official notice (available on legifrance.gouv.fr) and highlight every impersonal construction. Note which ones take the indicative and which take the subjunctive.
2. Rewrite informal statements using formal impersonal constructions: On devrait noter que... becomes Il est à noter que...; Le directeur doit décider becomes Il incombe au directeur de décider.
3. Create a glossary of the ten most useful administrative impersonal expressions with their English equivalents and one example sentence each.

Related Concepts

• Impersonal Expressions — the parent concept covering basic impersonal structures