Why is “it’s a pretty dress” not considered to be referencing a specific thing and hence Elle est une jolie robe

Neil H.C1Kwiziq community member

Why is “it’s a pretty dress” not considered to be referencing a specific thing and hence Elle est une jolie robe

Asked 5 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Neil,

Even simpler than that, in French you cannot say -

Elle/il est +

une/un/ la/le /du/mon/ma /sa/son/leur  or a name 

Ils sont +

les/des/mes/leurs

so it has to be - C'est or Ce sont 

C'est un beau pays It's a beautiful country 

C'est une jolie cravate It's a pretty tie

C'est du beurre = It's butter

Ce sont mes amis = They are my friends 

Ce sont les amis de Pierre These are Pierre's friends

C'est Marie = This is Marie

Hope this helps!

Neil H.C1Kwiziq community member

Seems to me a ‘that’ rule works.  If ‘that’ works with the English translation then use ‘’C’est” otherwise use “il/elle” etc

Why is “it’s a pretty dress” not considered to be referencing a specific thing and hence Elle est une jolie robe

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