Why is it 'ce sont mes livres' not 'c'est'?

Susan G.B2Kwiziq community member

Why is it 'ce sont mes livres' not 'c'est'?

Above it says when a thing is about to be mentioned always use 'c'est'. The previous mention is in another sentence.
Asked 9 years ago
LauraNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer
Bonjour Susan,

Thanks for your question. You're right, the explanation isn't clear - we'll get it fixed as soon as possible.
Susan G.B2Kwiziq community member
Thank you.
Ozan D.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

can we say that 
Est-ce que vous connaissez Pierre? Oui, il est bon etudiant

normally nouns need "articles". but   "il" can use without an article for giving an opinion about something mentioned.As you can see There is a noun in the sentence.I am curious about whether it is correct or not?

CécileNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq

Hi Ozan, 

Yes, you can say both -

il est bon étudiant 

and 

c'est un bon étudiant

Bonne Continuation!

Mandisa B.A1Kwiziq community member

Because "mes livres" is plural. If we look at the translation of ce sont mes livres, we see that 'ce sont' means 'these are'. Because we are talking about more than one thing, were going to have to use a plural demonstrative pronoun. 

For example 

• this is my cat = c'est mon chat [singular object, singular pronoun]

•these are my cats = ce sont mes chats [plural objects, plural pronoun]

Hope this helps:)

g. j.B1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
no answer

Why is it 'ce sont mes livres' not 'c'est'?

Above it says when a thing is about to be mentioned always use 'c'est'. The previous mention is in another sentence.

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