C’EST VS IL EST
The first thing to know about c’est vs il est is that they are not interchangeable. They are very often synonymous, but the grammatical structure is more important than the meaning. Scroll down for a video lesson on c’est vs. il est, and you can get a PDF of this lesson guide in my private French Grammar Library.
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Cette table te plaît? |
Do you like this table? |
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Oui, elle est jolie. |
Yes, it is pretty. |
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Oui, c’est une jolie table. |
Yes, it is a pretty table. |
RULE #1
IS THERE A DETERMINER WORD RIGHT AFTER ÊTRE? USE C’EST (SINGULAR) OR CE SONT (PLURAL).
There are several rules to know about c’est vs il est, and one of the most important rules is “the determiner word rule”.
A determiner is a word that allows us to know more about particular nouns.
Determiners vary according to the number and gender of the noun they precede.
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Is it specific? |
la pomme |
definite article |
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Is it non-specific? |
une pomme |
indefinite article |
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Is it part of something? |
de la pomme |
partitive article |
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Is it possessive? |
ma pomme |
possessive article |
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Is it in front of you? |
cette pomme |
demonstrative adjective |
In the following examples, we have pairs of sentences in which one requires c’est because être is followed by a determiner word.
The other one requires elle est because the verb être is followed by an adjective or a preposition.
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C’est la banane d’Anne. |
That is / It is Anne’s banana. |
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Elle est jaune. |
It is yellow. |
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C’est une banane jaune. |
That is / It is a yellow banana. |
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Elle est jaune. |
It is yellow. |
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C’est quoi? C’est de la banane. |
What is that? That is (some) banana. |
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Elle est trop mûre. |
It is too ripe. |
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C’est ma banane! |
That’s my banana! |
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C’est la mienne! |
It is mine! |
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Elle est à moi! |
It belongs to me! |
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C’est cette banane dont je parlais! |
That’s the banana I was talking about! |
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C’est celle-là! |
That’s the one! |
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Elle est par terre! |
It is on the ground! |
RULE #2
IS THERE AN ADJECTIVE REFERRING TO A SPECIFIC NOUN RIGHT AFTER ÊTRE? USE IL EST – ELLE EST – ILS SONT – ELLES SONT.
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Specific Statement |
Les montagnes couvertes de neige sont belles. |
The snow covered mountains are beautiful. |
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Elles sont belles. |
They are beautiful. |
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Specific Statement |
Ces règles sont utiles. |
These rules are useful. |
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Elles sont utiles. |
They are useful. |
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Specific Statement |
Cette pizza est délicieuse. |
This pizza is delicious.. |
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Elle est délicieuse. |
It is delicious. |
RULE #3
IS THERE AN ADJECTIVE REFERRING TO A GENERAL IDEA RIGHT AFTER ÊTRE? USE C’EST – CE SONT.
“C’est” can be used before a standalone statement which includes an adjective. This will be an adjective that describes the general sense of something unspecific, like a situation, an opinion or even a feeling.
Important: In this situation, the adjective will always be in the masculine and singular form.
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General Statement |
Le poulet, c’est bon. |
Chicken is good. (in general) |
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C’est bon. |
It is good. |
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General Statement |
On a gagné! C’est génial! |
We won! It’s fantastic! (general reaction to a situation) |
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C’est génial!. |
It is fantastic! |
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General Statement |
Tu as eu le poste? C’est impressionnant! |
You got the job? That’s impressive! (a general opinion) |
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C’est impressionant! |
That’s impressive! |
RULE #4
ARE YOU DEFINING SOMEONE BY HIS OR HER PROFESSION? USE IL EST – ELLE EST.
The indefinite articles UN / UNE are not required when defining a person by his or her profession.
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Il est professeur. |
He is a teacher. |
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Elle est médecin. |
She is a doctor. |
RULE #5
ARE YOU SIMPLY STATING THAT SOMEONE IS “A” + PROFESSION? USE C’EST, BECAUSE THERE IS A DETERMINER.
In this case, we are simply stating the person’s profession, not defining him or her as such.
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C’est un professeur. |
He is a teacher. |
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C’est un médecin. |
She is a doctor. |
It is possible to add adjectives to say how a person performs his or her profession.
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C’est un bon professeur. |
He is a good teacher. |
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C’est un mauvais médecin. |
She is a bad doctor. |
RULE #6
ARE YOU TELLING TIME? USE IL EST.
Always use “il est” when telling time, never use c’est!
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Il est une heure. |
It is 1 am. |
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Il est deux heures. |
It is 2 am. |
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Il est trois heures. |
It is 3 am. |
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Il est quatre heures. |
It is 4 am. |
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Il est cinq heures. |
It is 5 am. |
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Il est six heures. |
It is 6 am. |
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Il est sept heures. |
It is 7 am. |
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Il est huit heures. |
It is 8 am. |
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Il est neuf heures. |
It is 9 am. |
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Il est dix heures. |
It is 10 am. |
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Il est onze heures. |
It is 11 am. |
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Il est midi. |
It is noon. |
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Il est treize heures. |
It is 1 pm. |
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Il est quatorze heures. |
It is 2 pm. |
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Il est quinze heures. |
It is 3 pm. |
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Il est seize heures. |
It is 4 pm. |
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Il est dix-sept heures. |
It is 5 pm. |
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Il est dix-huit heures. |
It is 6 pm. |
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Il est dix-neuf heures. |
It is 7 pm. |
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Il est vingt heures. |
It is 8 pm. |
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Il est vingt-et-une heures. |
It is 9 pm. |
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Il est vingt-deux heures. |
It is 10 pm. |
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Il est vingt-trois heures. |
It is 11 pm. |
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Il est minuit. |
It is midnight. |
RULE #7
IS ÊTRE FOLLOWED BY A PROPER NOUN? USE C’EST.
Always use c’est with proper nouns, even if the noun is a person.
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C’est Madame Laurent. |
It is / She is Mrs. Laurent. |
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C’est la Tour Eiffel. |
It is / That is the Eiffel Tower. |
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C’est un croissant. |
It is / That is a croissant. |
RULE #8
USE C’EST WITH DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS.
Even though disjunctive pronouns refer to people, use c’est with them.
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C’est moi. |
It’s me. |
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C’est toi. |
It’s you. |
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C’est lui. |
It’s him. |
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C’est elle. |
It’s her. |
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C’est nous. |
It’s us. (c’est remains singular) |
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C’est vous. |
It’s you. (c’est remains singular) |
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Ce sont eux. |
It’s them. (masculine) |
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Ce sont elles. |
It’s them. (feminine) |
RULE #9
ARE YOU REFERRING TO A SPECIFIC DATE? USE C’EST.
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Mon anniversaire? C’est le 4 mars. |
My birthday? It’s March 4th. |
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Noël? C’est le 25 décembre. |
Christmas? It’s on December 25th. |
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La date du déménagement? C’est demain. |
Moving day? It’s tomorrow. |
ATTENTION:
Don’t use c’est when telling today’s date.
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Quelle est la date aujourd’hui? |
What is today’s date? |
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Aujourd’hui, nous sommes le 18 avril. |
Today is April 18th. |
RULE #1
IS THERE A DETERMINER WORD RIGHT AFTER ÊTRE? USE C’EST OR CE SONT.
RULE #2
IS THERE AN ADJECTIVE REFERRING TO A SPECIFIC NOUN RIGHT AFTER ÊTRE? USE IL EST – ELLE EST – ILS SONT – ELLES SONT.
RULE #3
IS THERE AN ADJECTIVE REFERRING TO A GENERAL IDEA RIGHT AFTER ÊTRE? USE C’EST – CE SONT.
RULE #4
ARE YOU DEFINING SOMEONE BY HIS OR HER PROFESSION? USE IL EST – ELLE EST.
RULE #5
ARE YOU SAYING THAT SOMEONE IS “A” + PROFESSION? USE C’EST, BECAUSE THERE IS A DETERMINER.
RULE #6
ARE YOU TELLING TIME? USE IL EST.
RULE #7
IS ÊTRE FOLLOWED BY A PROPER NOUN? USE C’EST.
RULE #8
USE C’EST WITH DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS.
RULE #9
ARE YOU REFERRING TO A DATE? USE C’EST.
A FEW LAST WORDS
When making a standalone statement that describes the general sense of something unspecific, use c’est with a masculine, singular adjective.
La ratatouille? C’est bon!
Ratatouille is good! (in general)
Even though the ratatouille is feminine, never say “C’est bonne”.
If you want to say that the ratatouille in your plate is good, that is no longer a general statement. It is specific, and you would say “Elle est bonne”. It is good!
Here’s another example. Let’s say you’re at the beach. Someone goes in the water, and when he/she comes out, people want to know the verdict. They want to know how the water feels!
So, how’s the water?
Alors, elle est bonne? (This means “So, does it feel good?”)
Alors, elle est comment ? (This means, “So, how is it?”)
Alors, elle est froide? (This means, “So, is it cold?”)
We use “elle est” and not “c’est” in this case, because direct reference is made to the water, which is feminine and singular.
We can also imagine you’re looking at a beautiful scene. You would make a general statement and say, “C’est beau!” It doesn’t matter if the thing you are looking at is masculine / feminine / singular / plural. It’s a general statement about the whole scene.
Finally, let’s imagine that you’re looking at an antique chair (une chaise) in a shop with your friend. You’re both looking at the chair, observing it. In this case, one of you might say “Elle est belle.” In this case, you’re making a specific statement about that chair, so you’ll say “elle est + feminine / singular adjective”.
