C’est vs il est
The short answer
Look at the word that follows. C’est comes before a noun with an article, a name, or a stressed pronoun: c’est un médecin, c’est Marie, c’est moi. Il est comes before a bare adjective or an unmodified profession: il est fatigué, elle est médecin. The next word decides it.
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At a glance
C’est or Il / elle est?
| Compare | C’estA noun with an article, a name, or a pronoun follows. | Il / elle estA bare adjective or an unmodified job follows. |
|---|---|---|
| What follows | un, une, le, la, mon, ce… or a name | An adjective or a job with no article |
| Professions | C’est un professeur | Il est professeur |
| Nationalities | C’est une Française: capital, noun | Elle est française: lower case, adjective |
| Referring back to a whole idea | C’est vrai, c’est difficile, c’est intéressant | Not used this way |
| Adjective about a specific person | Not used this way | Il est grand, elle est fatiguée |
| Plural | Ce sont des médecins | Ils sont médecins |
How to choose
Ask these, in order
- 1
Is the next word an article, un, une, le, la, des, mon, ce?
C’est. An article means a noun phrase is coming, and noun phrases take c’est.
C’est un très bon restaurant.
It’s a very good restaurant.
- 2
Is the next word a bare adjective describing a specific person or thing?
Il est or elle est, matching the gender of what you are describing.
Elle est vraiment patiente.
She’s really patient.
- 3
Are you commenting on a whole situation rather than on a thing?
C’est, with a masculine singular adjective, whatever the gender of anything nearby.
Apprendre le subjonctif, c’est difficile.
Learning the subjunctive is hard.
NBDifficile stays masculine, it refers to the situation, not to a noun.
- 4
Is it a job, and does it have an article or an adjective attached?
With an article, c’est. Bare, il est.
Il est avocat. C’est un avocat brillant.
He’s a lawyer. He’s a brilliant lawyer.
Side by side
Each one, in full
When to use c’est
A noun with an article, a name, or a pronoun follows.
C’est introduces a noun phrase. That covers names, pronouns and anything with an article in front of it, including professions once they pick up an article or an adjective: the presence of the article is what moves the sentence from one pattern to the other.
It is also what you use to comment on a situation rather than on an object. C’est difficile, c’est normal, c’est dommage: the adjective stays masculine singular because there is no noun for it to agree with.
C’est ma sœur.
That’s my sister.
NBMa is an article-like word, so c’est. Elle est ma sœur is not idiomatic French.
Qui a fait ça ? C’est moi.
Who did that? It was me.
C’est une bonne idée.
That’s a good idea.
When to use il est
A bare adjective or an unmodified job follows.
Il est and elle est attach an adjective directly to a specific person or thing that has already been identified. There is no article, and the adjective agrees in the ordinary way.
The same pattern covers jobs, religions and nationalities used as bare labels: il est ingénieur, elle est belge. French treats these as adjective-like when they stand alone, which is why the article is dropped: the sentence is describing rather than identifying.
Il est fatigué, il travaille depuis ce matin.
He’s tired, he’s been working since this morning.
Elle est ingénieure chez Renault.
She’s an engineer at Renault.
NBEnglish needs “an”; French drops it as long as the job stands bare.
Ils sont belges tous les deux.
They’re both Belgian.
Mistakes to avoid
What learners actually get wrong
Il est un médecin.
Il est médecin. / C’est un médecin.
A bare profession takes no article after il est. Adding un forces the other pattern, so both fixes are correct French, but the hybrid is not, and it is the single most common error with this pair.
Elle est ma collègue.
C’est ma collègue.
Ma is a determiner, so the sentence is identifying rather than describing, and identifying takes c’est. The same applies to le, la, un, une and ce.
Il est difficile, ce travail.
C’est difficile, ce travail.
Commenting on a situation takes c’est. Il est difficile is correct in two other patterns: with an infinitive after it (il est difficile d’apprendre le français) and describing a person as awkward (il est difficile). Three patterns, three meanings, and only one of them fits here.
Ce sont difficile.
C’est difficile.
When c’est comments on a situation it stays singular and masculine no matter what surrounds it. Ce sont is only used before a plural noun phrase: ce sont mes voisins.
Now use it
Articles définis, indéfinis, partitifs
le, un, du, de la, des, and when de replaces all of them. Reading a rule and being able to apply it are different skills, and only one of them shows up when you speak.
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Questions
Asked and answered
- Is c’est ever used with an adjective about a person?
- Yes, but it changes what the sentence is doing. Il est intelligent describes a particular person. C’est intelligent comments on something that was said or done. So c’est intelligent, ce que tu as fait is about the action, not about you, and getting them the wrong way round can sound unintentionally rude.
- Why is it c’est une Française with a capital but elle est française without?
- As a noun, a nationality is capitalised and takes an article, une Française, un Allemand. As an adjective it is lower case and takes none. The c’est / il est choice and the capital letter always move together, so one confirms the other.
- What about ce sont?
- Ce sont is the plural of c’est before a plural noun phrase: ce sont mes voisins. In everyday speech many French speakers say c’est mes voisins instead, and you will hear it constantly, but ce sont is what writing and exams expect.