FlexiLingoIn one line
c'estcomes before a noun with an article.il estcomes before an adjective, or a bare job title.
First: what these two actually are
| Form | Built from | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
c'est | ce (this) + est (is) | "this is …" · "it's" | /sɛ/ |
il est | il (he/it) + est (is) | "he is …" | /i.lɛ/ |
c'est is one syllable and the t is silent — unless the next word starts with a vowel, which wakes it up: C'est un livre. /sɛ.t‿œ̃ livʁ/
The apostrophe comes from elision: ce drops its e before a vowel, exactly like je ai → j'ai.
The same c'est, in four other shapes
| Job | French | Sound | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negative | Ce n'est pas moi. | /sə nɛ pa mwa/ | It's not me. |
| Question — what | C'est quoi ? | /sɛ kwa/ | What is it? |
| Question — whose | C'est la voiture de qui ? | /sɛ la vwa.tyʁ də ki/ | Whose car is this? |
| Past | C'était bien. | /se.tɛ bjɛ̃/ | It was good. |
In the negative,
c'opens back up intoce— because what follows isn', not a vowel. Soce n'est pas, never.c'n'est pas
The table — which one goes where
| What follows | Which one | Example |
|---|---|---|
| noun + article | c'est /sɛ/ | C'est un livre. /sɛ.t‿œ̃ livʁ/ |
| a proper name | c'est /sɛ/ | C'est Marie. /sɛ ma.ʁi/ |
| a stressed pronoun | c'est /sɛ/ | C'est moi. /sɛ mwa/ |
| an adjective | il est /il ɛ/ | Il est grand. /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃/ |
| a job or nationality — no article | il est /il ɛ/ | Il est professeur. /i.lɛ pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/ |
The three-second test
Is there an article after it? →
c'est. No article? →il est.
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
C'est un professeur. | there is an article | /sɛ.t‿œ̃ pʁo.fɛ.sœʁ/ |
Il est professeur. | there is not | /i.lɛ pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/ |
Both are correct and both mean "he is a teacher". Only the structure differs.
And the plural
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
C'est un livre. /sɛ.t‿œ̃ livʁ/ | Ce sont des livres. /sə sɔ̃ de livʁ/ |
Il est grand. /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃/ | Ils sont grands. /il sɔ̃ ɡʁɑ̃/ |
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
With an adjective followed by an explanation, use c'est /sɛ/ | C'est difficile de parler français. /sɛ di.fi.sil də paʁ.le fʁɑ̃.sɛ/ — not Il est difficile /il ɛ di.fi.sil/ |
Clock time takes il est /il ɛ/ | Il est trois heures. /il ɛ tʁwa.z‿œʁ/ |
Weather takes il fait /il fɛ/ | neither c'est /sɛ/ nor il est /il ɛ/ |
adjective + à /a/ + infinitive | C'est bon à savoir. /sɛ bɔ̃.n‿a sa.vwaʁ/ |
c'est /sɛ/ everywhere in speech | the French rarely say ce sont /sə sɔ̃/, and will say c'est des livres /sɛ de livʁ/ — but write ce sont /sə sɔ̃/ |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| It's a book | C'est un livre. | /sɛ.t‿œ̃ livʁ/ |
| These are books | Ce sont des livres. | /sə sɔ̃ de livʁ/ |
| He is tall | Il est grand. | /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃/ |
| He is a teacher | Il est professeur. | /i.lɛ pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/ |
| He is a good teacher | C'est un bon professeur. | /sɛ.tœ̃ bɔ̃ pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/ |
| It's me | C'est moi. | /sɛ mwa/ |
| She is French | Elle est française. | /ɛ.lɛ fʁɑ̃.sɛz/ |
| It's difficult | C'est difficile. | /sɛ di.fi.sil/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Il est un professeur. | Il est professeur. or C'est un professeur. | With il est the job goes bare |
C'est grand. (about a person) | Il est grand. | An adjective describing a specific person takes il est |
C'est sont des livres. | Ce sont des livres. | c'est already contains est |
C'est trois heures. (the time) | Il est trois heures. | Clock time always takes il est |
Il est difficile de parler. (spoken) | C'est difficile de parler. | With an explanation following, use c'est |
Why this is so confusing
because English uses "it is" and "he is" for both
English looks like it makes the same distinction, and that is the problem.
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| "It's a book" | C'est un livre. | /sɛ.t‿œ̃ livʁ/ |
| "He's tall" | Il est grand. | /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃/ |
| "He's a teacher" | Il est professeur. ← here the match breaks | /i.lɛ pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ/ |
The first two lines make you think c'est = "it's" and il est = "he's". The third line proves it is not. English uses "he's" and keeps the article — "he's a teacher". French makes you choose: keep il est and drop the article, or keep the article and switch to c'est.
So do not decide from the English pronoun. Decide from what comes next in French.
The reliable version: build the French, then look at what you put after the verb. Put an article? → c'est. No article? → il est.
One consequence worth knowing: C'est un professeur and Il est professeur are not stylistically identical. The bare form states a category, close to English "he teaches for a living"; the c'est form points at a person, and it is the one you must use as soon as you add an adjective — C'est un bon professeur, never Il est bon professeur
and why `c'est` has no gender
ce means "this" — it points at a thing, not at a masculine or feminine person. So it never changes:
C'est Marie.·C'est Paul.·C'est une maison.— all three takec'est
But il/elle do have gender:
Il est grand.·Elle est grande.