By the end of this lesson you'll be able to choose between c'est and il est or elle est. It's a choice that English doesn't make, since "he's a doctor" and "he's tall" both start the same way.
Look at what comes next
The choice depends almost entirely on the word that follows. You know both forms from the lesson on être, and the jobs come from the lesson on jobs and the workplace.
C'est before a noun with a small word
Use c'est when you have a noun with a determiner in front of it: un, une, le, la, or mon, ma, as in the lesson on mon, ma and mes. That's true even if there's an adjective too. Use it before a name as well.
C'est un médecin.
He's a doctor.
C'est ma sœur.
She's my sister.
C'est une bonne dentiste.
She's a good dentist.
C'est Karim.
It's Karim.
Il est and elle est
Use il est or elle est in two cases, when you're talking about a person.
Before a job with no article:
Il est médecin.
He's a doctor.
Elle est vendeuse.
She's a shop assistant.
And before an adjective that describes the person, which agrees as you learned in the lesson on adjective agreement:
Elle est grande et sportive.
She's tall and sporty.
Il est timide.
He's shy.
Notice that Il est médecin and C'est un médecin mean the same thing. What changes is the structure.
C'est with an adjective
To comment on a thing or a situation, rather than a person, use c'est with an adjective. The adjective stays masculine singular, whatever you're talking about.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| important / importante | an-por-TAHN / an-por-TAHNT | important (masculine / feminine) |
| difficile | dee-fee-SEEL | difficult |
| facile | fah-SEEL | easy |
C'est difficile.
It's difficult.
C'est important !
It's important!
C'est facile.
It's easy.
The plural
In the plural, c'est becomes ce sont, which you met in the lesson on un, une and des, and il est becomes ils sont or elles sont.
Ce sont des boulangers.
They're bakers.
Ce sont mes parents.
They're my parents.
Elles sont actrices.
They're actresses.
Summary
| What comes next | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| article or mon / ma + noun | c'est / ce sont | C'est un serveur. (He's a waiter.) |
| a name | c'est | C'est Léa. (It's Léa.) |
| job with no article | il est / elle est | Il est serveur. (He's a waiter.) |
| adjective, about a person | il est / elle est | Elle est drôle. (She's funny.) |
| adjective, about a thing or situation | c'est | C'est super. (It's great.) |
En français
- C'est qui ? (Who is it?)
- C'est Madame Roche. Elle est professeure. (It's Mrs Roche. She's a teacher.)
- Elle est sympa ? (Is she nice?)
- Oui, c'est une très bonne professeure. (Yes, she's a very good teacher.)
- Et le travail ? (And the work?)
- C'est difficile, mais c'est super ! (It's hard, but it's great!)
What's next
Next, the lesson on savoir and connaître looks at two verbs that both mean "to know". You'll use c'est and il est again in the review of this unit.