# C’est and Il est

https://langs123.com/en/french/etre-avoir/c-est-il-est/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> **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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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

- **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

| Form | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **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

| Form | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **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

- **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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| c’est | il est |
| --- | --- |
| 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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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** |