28.23: Part 3: 22 THE DYNAMIC DUO: "IL EST" AND "C'EST"

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22 THE DYNAMIC DUO: "IL EST" AND "C'EST"

22.1 General Comments

It is an unfortunate fact in the history of the teaching of French in the United States that the use of "il est" as opposed to "c'est" has always been considered a problem. The truth is that the question of choosing to say "il est" versus "c'est" in various contexts is rather easily internalized—that is, the unspoken rules can be acquired via repeated meaningful use. However, it is admittedly difficult to provide an explanation that covers all the uses of these constructions and satisfies all learners and all teachers. That is partially due to the inadequacies of all grammatical theory.

Our approach will be to make some general comments, then take up each function-type separately, with examples. First, the comments:

a. We honestly believe that if you will simply use these expressions as they are presented in class and in the materials in this text, you'll acquire the ability to use them yourself correctly and smoothly. Please give it time.

b. There are two major kinds of constructions that involve the use of c'est/il est: one in which they are followed by a simple predicate complement (pronoun, noun alone, noun with modifiers, or a predicate adjective), and one in which they are followed by a more complex complement (adjective + à or de + infinitive). We treat each kind separately, the first in 22.2 through 22.4, the second in 22.5.

c. Also, there are two "meanings" or uses of the pronoun il in expressions that are usually included in "c'est/il est" discussions: One obvious use of the word il is as a personal pronoun that replaces a masculine noun, as in "Jean n'est pas américain; il est français." Obviously, in such cases, we can also include elle in the discussion: "Marie n'est pas américaine; elle est française." The other use of il (and only il, never elle) is as an impersonal pronoun/particle, as in "Il est difficile de piloter un avion." It will help immensely if you understand the concept of personal versus impersonal use of the pronoun il.

d. The pronoun ce (c'), in addition to being "indefinite," that is, not having an explicit definite antecedent, can be used impersonally in the same way that il is sometimes used, and can often be substituted for il/elle in colloquial usage.

22.2 "Il/Elle/C'est" + Rellgion/Nationality/Professlon

For this use of c'est vs. il/elle est you can apply a very simple formal rule: If you use c'est you must use some kind of modifier—at least a determiner—with the following noun. If you use il/elle you MAY NOT use anything with the following word—no determiner, no adjective.

Il est médecin.	He's a doctor.
C'est un médecin.	He's a doctor.
Elle est professeur.	She's a professor.
Tu connais Madame Pouche?	Do you know Madame Pouche?
C'est un très bon professeur.	She's a very good professor.

(context, the previous sentence, told us this was "she"; the word professeur is masculine, therefore we say bon, not bonne)

Il est canadien.	He's Canadian.
C'est un Canadien¹⁸.	He's (a) Canadian.
Elle est juive.	She's Jewish.
C'est une juive.	She's Jewish/She is a Jew(ess).

¹⁸ Note that we have capitalized the names of nationalities after c'est + indefinite article: that is because, in this construction, the nationality is a noun, whereas in "Il est canadien," it is an adjective. Remember that French tends to avoid capitalization in general.

Note that any definite subject (proper noun, full common noun phrase, any personal pronoun) followed by être, followed by the name of a profession, religion or nationality, MUST delete the article with the profession/religion/nationality, UNLESS there are other modifiers.

Je suis catholique.	I'm (a) Catholic.
Je suis un catholique pratiquant.	I'm a practicing Catholic.
Jean-Paul est infirmier.	Jean-Paul is a (male) nurse.
Jean-Paul est un infirmier très capable.	Jean-Paul is a very competent nurse.
Mon père est suisse.	My father is Swiss.
Mon père est un Suisse qui ne parle qu'une langue!	My father is a Swiss who speaks only one language!

22.3 The Uses of "C'est"

(NOTE: we're focusing on c'est as opposed to il est or elle est, followed by a simple complement, not followed by the infinitive construction; for that, see Section 22.5.)

a. C'est must be used when the predicate complement is a personal pronoun, a proper noun, or any modified noun ("modified" means any modifier, including just the indefinite article).

C'est moi.	It's me.
C'est elle.	It's her.
C'est nous.	It's us.
Ce sont¹⁹ eux.	It's them (m.).
C'est Jacques.	It's James.
C'est Marie.	It's Mary.
Ce sont les Dupont.	It's the Duponts.
C'est un livre.	It's a book.
C'est une vieille dame.	It's an elderly lady.
C'est un petit garçon.	It's a little boy.
Ce sont des clés.	Those are keys.

¹⁹ This is the only plural that occurs with the tonic pronouns. The singular, est is used with first and second plural pronouns, as well as first and second singular pronouns.

b. C'est must be used when the predicate complement is the name of a nationality, religion, or profession, and it is modified—even with just an indefinite article. See 22.2 for examples.

c. C'est must be used when the referent (that is, the thing referred to, not the complement on the other side of est) is not a person or other explicit antecedent having gender and number—in other words, when the referent is indefinite (an idea, a concept, a whole statement). In such cases, ce (the c of c'est) is a weak form of cela.

C'est une bonne idée.	That's (it's) a good idea.
C'est vrai.	That's true.

(referring to a statement someone has just made)

C'était²⁰ le comble!

That was the last straw!

²⁰ We give a couple of examples in other tenses iust to point out that all the rules work for all tenses Obviously, the present tense is the most common one with these expressions.

(referring to some act/statement that occurred/was made in the past)

d. C'est must be used in giving a calendar date.

C'est le vingt-cinq octobre.	It's the 25th of October.
C'est lundi.	It's Monday.

(See also 22.5 in which we contrast c'est and il est followed by adjective + de or à + infinitive.)

22.4 The Uses of "Il est" (Impersonal) and "Il/Elle est" (Personal)

(Note: we're focusing on il est, elle est as opposed to c'est, followed by a simple complement, not followed by the infinitive construction; for that, see Section 22.5.)

a. Il/Elle est (personal) must be used when the complement is an adjective and the antecedent is clear, having gender and number.

—Comment est ton ami?	What's your friend like?
—Il est grand; il est sympa.	He's tall; he's nice.

(The antecedent is clear: it's ton ami, which is masculine singular, thus il.)

—Tu connais Marie?	Do you know Mary?
—Oui, elle est très intelligente.	Yes, she's very intelligent.

(The antecedent is clear: it's Marie, which is feminine singular, thus elle.)

b. Il/Elle est (personal) must be used when the complement is the name of a religion, nationality or profession and it is not modified at all (not even by an indefinite article). See 22.2.

c. Il/Elle est (personal) must be used when the complement is a prepositional phrase (usually of location) and the antecedent is a person. If the antecedent is an animal, plant or a definite inanimate object, one often uses il or elle, but ce may also be used in informal speech.

—Où est Jean?	Where's John?
—Il est devant la bibliothèque.	He's in front of the library.
—Je cherche mes clés.	I'm looking for my keys.
—Elles sont dans ton sac.	They're in your bag.
—Tu as vu le chat?	Have you seen the cat?
—Oui, il est dans la cuisine.	Yes, he's in the kitchen.
—Où est mon livre?	Where's my book?
—Il est sur la table.	It's on the table.
—C'est sur la table.

d. Il est (impersonal) must be used in giving clock time.

Il est six heures.	It's six o'clock.
Il est trois heures et demie.	It's three-thirty.

22.5 "Il est" and "C'est" Followed by Adjective + "à" or "de" + Infinitive

For these constructions, it is helpful to recall that ce is most often an indefinite pronoun, that is, it has a referent but an indefinite one (an idea, a concept, a notion, a whole previous statement—not a specific person or thing), and that il is impersonal, that is, it has no referent at all.

At this level, we urge you to follow these two rules:

a. Use C'est + à + infinitive when the infinitive stands alone. In such cases, it is usually a transitive verb (a verb that takes an object), but there is no explicit direct object given.

C'est facile à faire.	That's easy to do.
C'est bon à manger.	That's (It's) good to eat.
C'est difficile à trouver.	It's difficult to find (it).

b. Use Il est + de + infinitive when the infinitive has a complement, either a direct or indirect object or some prepositional phrase.

Il est facile de faire cela.	It's easy to do that.
Il est bon de manger lentement.	It's good to eat slowly.
Il est difficile de trouver un bon restaurant dans cette ville.	It's difficult to find a good restaurant in this city.
Il est agréable de marcher sous la pluie.	It's pleasant to walk in the rain.