Il me reste

Question

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?

Accepted 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://french.kwiziq.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

Answer

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/