C’est introduces someone or something with a noun; il est and elle est describe what has already been named. C’est goes with an article or a possessive; il est goes with a job or an adjective alone: C’est un médecin. Il est médecin.
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing | c’est before a first name, a stressed pronoun, or a noun with an article or a possessive | C’est Léa. / C’est un livre. | It's Léa. / It's a book. | |
| Question | qu’est-ce que c’est? for a thing, qui est-ce? for a person | Qu’est-ce que c’est ? — C’est un stylo. | What is it? — It's a pen. | |
| Plural | ce sont + des / les / mes + plural noun | Ce sont mes amis. | They are my friends. | |
| Job | il est / elle est + job, with no article | Elle est avocate. | She is a lawyer. | |
| Description | il est / elle est + agreeing adjective | Elle est française. | She is French. | |
| Choice | un / une / mon + noun: c’est; job or adjective alone: il est | C’est un médecin. / Il est médecin. | He is a doctor. / He is a doctor. | |
| General remark | c’est + masculine adjective, with no specific noun | Le français ? C’est facile. | French? It's easy. | |
| Place, time, price | c’est + place, time or price | C’est demain. / C’est dix euros. | It's tomorrow. / It's ten euros. | |
| Negation | ce n’est pas; ce ne sont pas in the plural | Ce n’est pas Paul. | It's not Paul. | |
| With de | c’est + adjective + de + infinitive | C’est facile de répondre. | It's easy to answer. | |
| Trap | to introduce, c’est; never il est before a first name | C’est Paul, mon frère. | This is Paul, my brother. | |
| Trap | no article after il est / elle est before a job alone | Il est infirmier. | He is a nurse. |
Overview
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- C’est introduces someone or something: a first name, or a noun with an article. C’est Léa. / C’est un livre.It's Léa. / It's a book.
- Il est and elle est speak of someone or something already named: they describe it. Mon frère ? Il est grand. / Ma sœur ? Elle est médecin.My brother? He is tall. / My sister? She is a doctor.
- The choice depends on the next word: an article, a possessive or a demonstrative calls for c’est; a job or an adjective alone calls for il est. C’est ma sœur. / Elle est médecin.This is my sister. / She is a doctor.
- For the forms of être, see Être and avoir; for c’est moi and c’est toi, see Stressed Pronouns.
- For the agreement of adjectives, see Adjectives; to say that something exists somewhere, see There Is: il y a.
Form: c’est and ce sont
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| Form | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| c’est + person | C’est Paul. / C’est Marie. | It's Paul. / It's Marie. | |
| c’est + moi / toi / lui / elle | C’est moi. / C’est elle. | It's me. / It's her. | |
| c’est + un / une / le / la / l’ + singular noun | C’est un livre. / C’est la directrice. | It's a book. / She is the headteacher. | |
| c’est + mon / ma / ton / ta / son / sa + singular noun | C’est mon frère. / C’est ma voiture. | It's my brother. / It's my car. | |
| ce sont + des / les / mes / ses + plural noun | Ce sont des étudiants. / Ce sont mes amis. | They are students. / They are my friends. | |
| il/elle est + adjective | Il est grand. / Elle est petite. | He is tall. / She is small. | |
| il/elle est + noun | Il est professeur. / Elle est infirmière. | He is a teacher. / She is a nurse. |
- Il est and elle est follow the gender of the noun; c’est never changes. Ma voiture ? Elle est rouge. / Mon sac ? Il est noir. / C’est ma voiture.My car? It is red. / My bag? It is black. / It's my car.
- In speech, c’est often replaces ce sont: c’est mes amis. C’est mes amis, Paul et Léa.These are my friends, Paul and Léa.
- For the subject pronouns, see Subject Pronouns.
Form: negation and questions
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| Form | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| c’est + noun + ↗ | C’est ton frère ? / C’est Marie ? | Is it your brother? / Is it Marie? | |
| qu’est-ce que c’est?: a thing | Qu’est-ce que c’est ? — C’est un stylo. | What is it? — It's a pen. | |
| qui est-ce?: a person | Qui est-ce ? — C’est ma sœur. | Who is it? — It's my sister. | |
| est-ce que + c’est + noun | Est-ce que c’est loin ? / Est-ce que c’est ton sac ? | Is it far? / Is it your bag? | |
| ce n’est pas + noun | Ce n’est pas un chat, c’est un chien. / Ce n’est pas Paul. | It's not a cat, it's a dog. / It's not Paul. | |
| ce ne sont pas + des / les / mes + plural noun | Ce ne sont pas mes clés. | They are not my keys. |
- Ce becomes c’ before est; it stays ce before sont and ne. C’est Paul. / Ce sont mes amis. / Ce n’est pas Paul.It's Paul. / They are my friends. / It's not Paul.
- For other questions, see Questions.
- For the other negations, see Negation.
- Canada: In Québec speech, the particle ‑tu also makes a question: c’est-tu. C’est-tu loin ?Is it far?
Pronunciation: c’est and ce sont
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- C’est is said /sɛ/ and ce sont is said /sə sɔ̃/. C’est Paul. / Ce sont mes amis.It's Paul. / They are my friends.
- Before a vowel, the t of c’est is pronounced: c’est un is said /sɛ tœ̃/. C’est un livre. / C’est elle.It's a book. / It's her.
- For all liaisons and elisions, see Liaison and Elision.
Use: c’est
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing someone or something | C’est Léa, ma voisine. / C’est un cadeau pour toi. | This is Léa, my neighbour. / It's a present for you. | |
| A job with an article or an adjective | C’est un bon médecin. / C’est une actrice célèbre. | He is a good doctor. / She is a famous actress. | |
| A general remark | Le français, c’est difficile. / C’est bon, ce gâteau ! | French is difficult. / This cake is good! | |
| Place, time, price | C’est à gauche. / C’est lundi. / C’est cinq euros. | It's on the left. / It's Monday. / It's five euros. | |
| A remark with an infinitive | C’est facile de répondre. / C’est agréable de marcher ici. | It's easy to answer. / It's pleasant to walk here. |
- For the time (il est trois heures), see Telling the Time.
Use: il est and elle est
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| A job, with no article | Il est professeur. / Elle est infirmière. | He is a teacher. / She is a nurse. | |
| Nationality | Il est canadien. / Elle est italienne. | He is Canadian. / She is Italian. | |
| A description | Mon frère ? Il est grand et drôle. / Ma sœur ? Elle est timide. | My brother? He is tall and funny. / My sister? She is shy. | |
| A thing or an animal already named | Mon sac ? Il est sous la chaise. / Ma voiture ? Elle est neuve. | My bag? It is under the chair. / My car? It is new. |
Compare: c’est and il est
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| c’est | il est | Level |
|---|---|---|
| introduces: it says who or what | describes: you already know who or what is meant | |
| Qui est-ce ? ‖ C’est Paul.Who is it? — It's Paul. | Paul ? Il est sympa.Paul? He is nice. | |
| a noun after an article, a possessive or a demonstrative | a job or a nationality with no article, or an adjective | |
| C’est un médecin. ¦ C’est mon voisin.He is a doctor. / He is my neighbour. | Il est médecin. ¦ Il est français.He is a doctor. / He is French. | |
| a masculine adjective for a general remark: it does not agree | an adjective agreeing with a specific noun | |
| La mer, c’est beau.The sea is beautiful. | La mer ? Elle est belle ce matin.The sea? It is beautiful this morning. |
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ce est Paul. | C’est Paul. | ce becomes c’ before est | |
| Il est Paul. | C’est Paul. | to introduce someone by name, say c’est | |
| Il est mon frère. | C’est mon frère. | before a possessive, an article or a demonstrative, say c’est | |
| Il est un médecin. | Il est médecin. | a job takes no article after il est: il est médecin, or c’est un médecin | |
| Elle est une bonne avocate. | C’est une bonne avocate. | with an article and an adjective before the job, say c’est |