French Note 2 " Il est " vs C'est .

French Note 2.   Il est vs C'est

There are certain impersonal expressions which use, " Il est " . Observe the following .

1. Il est douteux que mon père  aille en France ce mois.
2.  Il est possible qu'un écrivain japonais gagne le prix Nobel l'année prochain.
3.  Il est difficile d'écrire en arabe.
4. Il est facile de parler anglais.

Note that the above sentences have two parts. The first part with " il est " with  a complement  followed by statements / infinitive of verbs which are the actual subjects of the sentences. Now the above sentences can be rewritten using ," c'est " in the following manner.

1. Que mon père aille en France ce mois,c'est douteux.
2. Qu'un écrivain gagne le prix Nobel  l'année prochaine, c'est possible.
3. Écrire en arab, c'est difficile .
4. Parler anglais, c'est facile.

Therefore the rule is:

Use " il est " when the subject proposition is at the end.

Use " c' est " when the subject proposition is in the beginning.

The following English version may help you.

1. It is doubtful that my father will go to France this month.
That my father will go to France , that is doubtful .

2. It is possible that a Japanese writer may win the Nobel prize next year.
That a Japanese writer may win the none prize, that is possible.

3. It is difficult to write in Arabic.
Writing in Arabic, that is difficult .

4. It is easy to speak English .

Speaking English, that is easy.

Hope the point made in this note is clear to you.

Sayee Jayaraman
30/12/2014

To be continued..

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