Why is it "Bien qu'il soit actuellement l'astronaute français le plus célèbre...", and not "Bien que ce soit actuellement l'astronaute français le plus célèbre..." ? I thought that you have to use "c'est" (and not "il est") with a noun that has an article and an adjective.
Il est vs. C'est with nouns plus adjectives : Bien qu'il soit actuellement l'astronaute français le plus célèbre...
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Il est vs. C'est with nouns plus adjectives : Bien qu'il soit actuellement l'astronaute français le plus célèbre...
Hi Clarence,
As you say in your second comment it is a kind of variation to the rule. Not so much an exception as you could also say -
but that would make it a general statement and the use of 'il' puts emphasis on the person you are talking about.
We get so many mistakes regarding the kind of sentences like - He is my brother, he is my daughter's teacher, he's my cat etc.
C'est ( never - il est )mon frère = He is my brother
C'est ( not il/elle est ) mon chat = He's my cat
C'est ( not il/elle est) le professeur de ma fille = He is my daughter's teacher
C'est Maria ( not elle est Maria) = This is Maria
C'est Monsieur Martin ( not il est Monsieur Martin) = This is Mr Martin
That it is safer to use 'c'est' when followed by a name or a noun.
Occasionally, I have noticed in novels, sentences which contradict the rule like -
It stresses the fact that she should behave like a daughter.
Also in the case of superlatives as in this example, you will use il or elle to emphasize the importance of the person -
Elle est l'actrice française la plus connue dans le monde entier = She is the most famous French actress in the whole world
Il est le meilleur ! = He is the best !
Hope this helps!
Bien qu'il soit astronaut... -- Although he is an astronaut...
In this sentence, c'est is not possible because that would mean "even though that's an astronaut."
Oh, I thought "c'est" was obligatory here as explained in Rule 1 on this page: "C'est" vs "Il/Elle est" to say it is/she is/he is in French : "If it/he/she is is followed by un/une/le/la... (any form of article / determinant) - it is a beautiful dress / she is a nice person - then you will use c'est."
Is there something about the description "le plus célèbre" that makes this an exception to the rule, so that you have to use "il est"?
I know this can be difficult to grasp and develop a feel for. In this case, you are referring to a specific person and you're making a specific statement about him. Referring to the exercise in your link, I would call this a case of rule 2b.
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