why in french do you use il instead of c'est?
I found that in some sentences uses of 'il' replaces 'c'est'. To me this is odd because c'est' means 'it is' and 'il' means'he' yet in some circumstances is used instead of c'est...
huhhh??? how why and when does c'est become il??
for example when someone is telling the time.... you'd say "il est une heure"
why not "c'est une heure"
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Answers · 3
2
Oriana-Marie!
Sometimes, with languages you just have to go with the flow! There's a lot in every language that is not quite logical. In French they sometimes call them "les caprices de langue".
You have already discovered that, when you want to tell someone the time, you use "il" - il est trois heures et demi. The "il" is an impersonal "il", meaning it and not he. Even when the "il" isn't impersonal, we might say it. As in....
Où est le stylo? Il est sur la table. It is on the table.
Some phrases can take "il" or "ce" ("Oh, no!!") like:
Il est important/c'est important.
So, I would get more practice and go with the flow. After a while, you will never say, "C'est trois heures et demi." And you will start to just know that stylo is masculine. And you will get the idea that "c'est important" is more casual than "il est important".
C'est bien?
David
1
il = he
- il est grand = he is big ( here I mentioned a person)
- il fait froid = it is cold (when we mention the time 'il' becomes 'it')
c'est (celà est) = this is (it is)
- c'est bien = it's good
- c'est pas moi (<ce n'est pas moi> ou <celà n'est pas moi>) = it's not me (this isn't me)
0
Oi hello
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