C’EST and CE SONT are followed by determined nouns
Remember that nouns in French are preceded by a determiner. Most French nouns are preceded by determiners which indicate number and gender.
👉Scroll to the bottom of this post to watch my lesson on C’EST vs IL EST👈
Look for “determiners” like: un, une, de la, du, des, mon, ma, mes, ce, cette, etc.
| Le chien | The dog | C’est le chien de ma soeur. | It’s my sister’s dog. |
| Une Française | A French woman | C’est une Française qui chante cette chanson. | It’s a French woman who sings this song. |
| Mes affaires | My belongings | Ce sont mes affaires que tu vois sur la table. | It’s my belongings that you see on the table. |
Determiners: Definite, indefinite, and partitive articles
Determiners: Demonstrative adjectives
Determiners: Possessive adjectives
C’EST and CE SONT are followed by a proper noun or a disjunctive pronoun.
| Jennifer | C’est Jennifer. C’est elle. | It’s Jennifer. It’s her. |
| François | C’est François. C’est lui. | It’s François. It’s him. |
| Tristan et Charlotte | Ce sont Tristan et Charlotte. Ce sont eux. | It’s Tristan and Charlotte. It’s them. |
DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS
| JE | C’est MOI – It’s me |
| TE | C’est TOI – It’s you |
| IL | C’est LUI – It’s him |
| ELLE | C’est ELLE – It’s her |
| NOUS | C’est NOUS – It’s us |
| VOUS | C’est VOUS – It’s you |
| ILS | Ce sont EUX – It’s them |
| ELLES | Ce sont ELLES – It’s them |
C’EST and CE SONT are followed by dates
| Mon anniversaire? | My birthday? | C’est le 23 mars. | It’s March 23. |
| La fête? | The party? | C’est le week-end prochain. | It’s next weekend. |
C’EST and CE SONT are followed by adjectives for non-specific things, and the adjective will always be masculine and singular.
Comments in general, personal opinions, collective opinions
Descriptions of people and things in general
| Beau | beautiful | C’est beau! | It’s beautiful! |
| Chaud | hot | C’est chaud! | It’s hot. *Note that this is not in reference to the weather which would be Il fait chaud. |
IL / ELLE EST and ILS / ELLES SONT are followed by an adjective when you refer to a specific person or thing.
| sympa | nice | Elle est sympa. | She is nice. |
| triste | sad | Il est triste. | He is sad. |
| marrant | fun / funny | Ils sont marrants. | They are fun / funny. |
| Français | French | Il est Français. | He is French |
IL / ELLE EST and ILS / ELLES SONT are followed by professions
*Note that in French you don’t need UN or UNE before a profession in French.
| professeur | teacher | Elle est professeur. | She is a teacher. |
| médecin | doctor | Il est médecin. | He is a doctor. |
| musicien | musician | Ils sont musiciens. | They are musicians. |
Here’s what’s included in the full course:
⭐Video tutorial – 5 minutes
⭐Video support guide – PDF
⭐Practice exercise – 27 sentences – multiple choice
⭐Challenge exercise – 50 sentences – multiple choice
⭐Challenge cards for printing – the same sentences as in the exercise
⭐Challenge cards for online use – one per page – the same as in the exercise
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