The difference between c’est meaning it is, this is and il est meaning it is, he is in French is:
Use c’est to present someone or something.
C’est mon vélo.Translation: This is my bicycle.Use il est only to describe someone or something that is masculine singular. Now that you’ve presented the bicycle above, you could say something like:
Il est rouge. 🚲Translation: It is red.
But do you know which form of “it is” you would use to give your opinion on a situation? Or what its plural form is in French? In this post, we’ll answer all these questions and explore a lot more fun facts about c’est and il est. By the time you’re done, you’ll know exactly when to use c’est and when to use il est instead! Read on!
When to use ‘c’est’ in French?
Use c’est meaning it is, this is to present or describe something or someone in French. C’est is used in the following cases:
To present or identify a noun
C’est mon gâteau aux pommes. 🍎Translation: It’s my apple cake.To give a general description or an opinion with c’est + adjective
C’est bon !Translation: It’s tasty!To present or describe something in other cases
C’est le meilleur gâteau !Translation: It’s the best cake!
When to use ‘c’est’ with a noun?
Use c’est with a noun to present and identify a thing, a person, or an animal. When c’est is used with a noun it can be translated as “it is ___,” “he is ___,” or “this is ___” in English.
← a thing
← a person
← an animal
Did you notice what always precedes the noun in all the examples above? A French possessive adjective! Usually the expression c’est will be followed by a possessive adjective or some other kind of determiner, such as:
- C’est la reine du Danemark.Translation: This is the queen of Denmark.
an indefinite article
C’est un tube à essai.Translation: It’s a test tube.- C’est cet immeuble !Translation: It’s this building!
But c’est can sometimes be used without a determiner:
when you introduce someone by a first name or family name:
C’est Gaële. C’est M. Verne.Translation: It’s Gaëlle. It’s Mr. Verne.when you present a city:
C’est Athènes.Translation: It’s Athens.Now you know that “This is my mug” 🍵 would be C’est ma tasse. But what about the plural form of the noun: “These are my mugs”? There are two solutions:
You can still use c’est: ✅ C’est mes tasses.
You can use its plural form: ✅ Ce sont mes tasses.
Ce sont is more commonly used in writing and formal speech. You will hear most French natives using c’est followed by a plural noun when they are speaking. Although it’s not grammatically correct, this is perfectly acceptable!
To form more complex sentences with nouns, you may add adjectives in front of the noun in the c’est + noun phrase:
C’est mon nouvel entraîneur de tennis.Translation: It’s/He is my new tennis coach.C’est une super idée !Translation: It’s a great idea!Or, you can use an adjective on its own, as is explained in our next part.
Using ‘c’est’ with just an adjective
You can use c’est with an adjective when you want to give a general description of something (but not someone). If you would like to know how to describe a person, head to when to use il est!
You can also use the structure c’est + adjective to give your opinion about a fact, a situation, or an idea.
Other ways to use ‘c’est’
C’est can also be used in other circumstances, such as with questions, the date, adverbs, stressed pronouns, possessives, superlatives, and infinitives. Let’s look at some common ways to use c’est:
to start a question
In this use, c’est is followed by a “WH” question word, like: quand meaning when, où meaning where , pourquoi meaning why , comment meaning how , qui meaning who, quoi meaning what .
C’est où, le musée ?Translation: Where is the museum?C’est quand ton rendez-vous ?Translation: When is your appointment?C’était* comment ?Translation: How was it ?(Note that this is an informal way of asking questions in French!)
- C’est jeudi la conférence ?Translation: Is the conference on Thursday?C’est au printemps ou en hiver ?Translation: Is it in spring or winter?
with a modified adverb
If you add an adverb (trop, assez) in front of the main adverb (près, loin), you can introduce it with c’est:
C’est trop près !Translation: It’s too close.C’est assez loin !Translation: It’s quite far!before a stressed pronoun
Qui a pris ma gomme ?Translation: Who took my eraser?C’est moi !Translation: It’s me!before a possessive adjective
C’est quoi ?Translation: What is it?C’est mon attrape-araignée !Translation: It’s my spider catcher!before a possessive pronoun
C’est mon taille-crayon.Translation: It’s my pencil sharpener.Non, c’est le mien !Translation: No, it’s mine!with a superlative
C’est le meilleur joueur de pétanque.Translation: This is the best petanque player.with an infinitive verb
Ce que ma grand-mère préférait, c’était* chanter!Translation: What my grand-mother preferred was to sing.
Voilà meaning Here you go ! You know all about the uses of c’est. Now let me introduce you to il est!
When to use ‘il est’ in French?
Use il est to express either “he is” or “it is,” using adjectives, adverbs of time, and more.
How to use ‘il est’ with an adjective?
Use il est with an adjective to give a specific description of a thing, a person, or an animal when what you are describing is masculine singular.
If what you are describing is feminine or plural, you would use the other forms of il est:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | il est | elle est |
| Plural | ils sont | elles sont |
What are other ways to use ‘il est’?
Il est can also be used for time, location, and other expressions! Let’s take a look:
Il est is very handy to give information about the time.
Il est trois heures moins le quart.Translation: It’s a quarter to three.Il est tard!Translation: It’s late!You can also use it to give locations.
Always make sure to use the form of il est that matches the location you are referring back to (the location)! So you’ll use il only when the location is masculine, singular!
Où est le musée, s’il vous plaît ?Translation: Where is the museum please?Il est au bout de cette rue, puis sur votre droite.Translation: It is at the end of this street, then on your right.Finally, if you like writing stories, I have a handy expression for you. Do you know how to say, “Once upon a time” in French? The answer is Il était une fois. As you can see, il est, just like c’est, can be used in other tenses:
Il sera protecteur envers ses enfants.Translation: He will be protective towards his children.Il n’était pas souriant.Translation: He wasn’t smiley.
Before we review what we have covered so far, I have a little gift for you! A handy printable c’est vs il est chart to help you choose between the two!
‘C’est’ vs ‘il est’: Common points of confusion
Let’s compare c’est and il est side by side, now that we’ve covered the uses of each individually!
When to use ‘c’est’ and ‘il est’ with professions, religions, and nationalities?
A common point of confusion is using c’est and il est with professions, religions, and nationalities. I often hear students say, ❌ Il est un photographe meaning He is a photographer . This is an easy mistake to make, as it is a literal translation from English. And I’m sure you have heard teachers repeat several times that you should have an article in front of a noun!
Professions, however, are the exception to the rule: you don’t need an article to describe someone’s job, so the correct way to say “He is a photographer” is ✅ Il est photographe.
Like professions, religions, and nationalities are also used with il estand without an article.
However, if you wanted to give your opinion about what kind of photographer someone is, for example, you would use c’est with a determiner:
When to use ‘c’est’ and ‘il est’ with the adverbs ‘tôt’ (early) and ‘tard’ (late)?
Look at the examples below. Can you work out why in the first sentence I use il est and why in the second I use c’est?
In the second example, I have modified the adverb tôt meaning early with another adverb: si meaning so .
When to use ‘il est tard’ vs ‘c’est tard’?
With the adverb tard, you will sometimes hear c’est tard, without a modifying adverb. Useil est tard when you are speaking about now (the moment you are speaking), but when you refer to the future, you should use c’est tard (on its own or with an adverb).
And what about the past tense “it was late”? You would use the imperfect tense, and you can add an adverb too!
When to use ‘c’est’ and ‘il est’ for giving descriptions?
You can also use both c’est and il est to give descriptions. Here is a text in which Michael is describing his grandad. The comments box explains why we use c’est and il est:
| Example | Comments |
|---|---|
C’est mon grand-père. Translation: It’s my grandad. | Introduction of a person + determiner (mon) |
Il est âgé. Translation: He is elderly. | Specific description of a person using an adjective |
Il est toujours souriant. Translation: He is always smiley. | Specific description of a person using an adjective |
C’est le plus généreux des hommes. Translation: He is the most generous of men. | Use of a superlative with a determiner (le) |
How to form adjective agreements with ‘c’est’ vs ‘il est’?
The need for adjective agreement is also different between c’est and il est. Check out this dialogue:
| French | English |
|---|---|
Charlotte: Goûtez cette tarte aux prunes ! | Try this plum tart! |
Guillaume: Hum, c’est bon ! C’est toi qui l’a faite ? | Hum, it’s nice! Did you make it? |
Charlotte: Oui, c'est moi ! | Yes, I did! |
Nolwenn: Oh, elle est vraiment bonne. Tu me donneras la recette ? | Oh, it’s really nice. Will you give me the recipe? |
Charlotte: Ça marche ! | Sure! |
Lucas: C’est une excellente tarte ! Moi aussi je veux la recette ! | It's an excellent tart! I want the recipe too! |
Let’s look at some of the individual lines in that dialogue!
- Hum, c’est bon ! C’est toi qui l’a faite ?Translation: Hum, it’s nice! Did you make it?
- Oh, elle est vraiment bonne. Tu me donneras la recette ?Translation: Oh, it’s really nice. Will you give me the recipe?
- C’est une excellente tarte ! Moi aussi je veux la recette !Translation: It's an excellent tart! I want the recipe too!
If you are interested in knowing common expressions using c’est and il est, head to our list of common c’est and il est expressions in French!
Let’s wrap up!
Keep these tips in mind when deciding whether to use c’est or il est:
C’est is for presenting or introducing anything! (an object, a person, or an animal)
C’est is also used when making a general description or to give a general opinion of a thing (not a person!).
Il est is used to make a specific description. It can be a physical or personality trait, a profession, religion, or country of origin.
C’est is used to start a question followed by a “WH” question word.
90 percent of the time you will use c’est because you are using a determiner (c’est la, c’est un…).
C’est precedes stressed pronouns, proper nouns, superlatives, possessive adjectives, and possessive pronouns.
C’est is used with dates and il est is used to give the time.
Modified adverbs are preceded by c’est, whereas unmodified adverbs are preceded by il est.
You are now all set to practice deciding between c’est and il est in French! ✍
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