Pronouns
c’est vs. il/elle est
To describe and introduce things or people in French, two common phrases are used: c’est and il/elle est. The plural forms are ce sont and ils/elles sont.
The choice between c’est and il / elle est is not always easy, but there are basic principles which can guide you in the choice. A rule of thumb is that c’est or ce sont are followed by a determined noun (‘le tatou’, ‘une Américaine’, ‘mes livres’). Remember that nouns in French are preceded by a determiner. Il/elle est and ils/elles sont are followed by an adjective (‘content’, ‘sympathique’).
c’est/ce sont
C’est and ce sont are followed by the following:
| + noun, including modified nouns | Tex? C’est un tatou. C’est un Américain. C’est un petit tatou bilingue.
Tammy et Tex? Non, ce ne sont pas des chats! Ce sont des tatous. |
Tex? He’s an armadillo. He is an American. He is a small bilingual armadillo.
Tammy and Tex? No they are not cats! They are armadillos. |
| + proper noun | C’est Tex. | It’s Tex. |
| + disjunctive pronoun | Tammy: Allô Tex? C’est moi.
Tex: Qui est-ce? Ah, c’est toi Tammy! |
Tammy: Hello Tex? It’s me.
Tex: Who is this? Oh, it’s you Tammy! |
| + dates | Tex: Mon anniversaire? C’est le quatorze juillet. C’est jeudi prochain! | Tex: My birthday? It’s July 14th. It’s next Thursday! |
| + an infinitive as subject | Tex: Vivre, c’est parler français. | Tex: To live is to speak French! |
| + adjective for non-specific referents | Tex: Ah c’est chouette! C’est incroyable! | Tex: Oh, that’s neat! That’s unbelievable. |
il/elle est/ils/elles sont
Use il/elle est or ils/elles sont to introduce the following:
| + adjective alone | Tex? Il est arrogant! Il n’est pas français. Il est américain.
Tammy? Elle est gentille. |
Tex? He is arrogant! He isn’t French. He is American.
Tammy? She is nice. |
| + nationality, occupation, religion (used as adjectives in French) | Tex? Il est poète.
Trey? Il est musicien. Tammy? Elle est étudiante |
Tex? He is a poet.
Trey? He is a musician. Tammy? She is a student. |
Remember that il(s) and elle(s) refer to a specific person or thing. Ce does not refer to a specific person or thing; it is usually translated as that.
| Il est stupide. (He‘s stupid.) | C’est stupide. (That‘s stupid.) |
