Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Framework
- 2 Verbs
- 3 Determiners and prepositions
- 4 Nouns, pronouns and modifiers
- 27 Nouns
- 28 Qualifying adjectives
- 29 Adverbs
- 30 Comparatives and superlatives
- 31 Personal pronouns
- 32 Relative pronouns
- 33 Possessive pronouns
- 34 Demonstrative pronouns
- 35 c'est/il est
- 36 Indefinite words: adjectives, pronouns, adverbs
- 37 Numbers
- 5 Sentences and text
- Appendixes
- Bibliography
- Index
35 - c'est/il est
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Framework
- 2 Verbs
- 3 Determiners and prepositions
- 4 Nouns, pronouns and modifiers
- 27 Nouns
- 28 Qualifying adjectives
- 29 Adverbs
- 30 Comparatives and superlatives
- 31 Personal pronouns
- 32 Relative pronouns
- 33 Possessive pronouns
- 34 Demonstrative pronouns
- 35 c'est/il est
- 36 Indefinite words: adjectives, pronouns, adverbs
- 37 Numbers
- 5 Sentences and text
- Appendixes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The choice between c'est and il est has always been problematic for English students of French. Indeed:
– ‘it is’ can be il est, elle est or c'est
– ‘he is’ can be il est or c'est
– ‘she is’ can be elle est or c'est
– ‘they are’ can be ce sont, ils sont or elles sont
There are two things to consider before making a choice:
– the referent
– the complement
The referent (what c'est/il est refers to) can be placed before or after c'est/il est.
It can take the following forms:
– animate (human or non-human)
– inanimate (things, ideas, etc.)
– indefinite (demonstrative pronouns ce/cela/ça)
– unspecified
– a whole clause
The complement can take the following forms:
– adjective
– preposition + infinitive
– adverb
– noun
– pronoun
It should be noted that this discussion only applies to 3rd person subject pronouns, i.e. not noun phrases. Hence:
Proust est un écrivain.
but:
*Il est un écrivain.
See section 6 below.
Adjective complement on its own
Animate or inanimate referent
(i) If – as in the most common case – the adjective refers specifically to the referent, il est or elle est are used according to the gender of the person, animal or thing; ils sont/elles sont are used in the plural form.
Ex: Catherine? Elle est très intelligente.
Catherine? She is very intelligent.
J'ai vu votre chat. Il est très gros.
I saw your cat. He/It is very big.
Voulez-vous du Bordeaux? Il est très bon.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Advanced French Grammar , pp. 550 - 558Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999