S’agir de is a French impersonal verb with a wide range of meanings including to be about, concerning, a matter of, must and to be necessary.
S’agir de
to be about, to be a matter of, necessary
S’agir de explained
In the non-reflexive form, the regular IR verb agir means “to act”. In the reflexive from, s’agir takes on several different meanings. It’s an impersonal verb because the subject is il (it). Hence, il s’agit de means “it’s about” or “it’s a matter of”.
Example sentences
S’agir de is used to describe what books, movies and other works are “about”. For this sentence, a synonym is être au sujet de (to be about).
Ce livre s’agit de l’histoire de France.
This book is about the history of France.
For this example, s’agir de can translate to “to be a quesiton or matter of”.
Il s’agit d’une question de vie ou de mort.
It’s a matter of life and death.
For this last sentence, the literal translation of the reflexive verb se taire is “to shut up”. Il faut is an other impersonal verb meaing “it’s necessary” or “you have to”.
Il s’agit de savoir quand il faut répondre et quand il faut se taire.
It is necessary to know when to reply and when to keep your mouth shut.
Related lessons
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