Ça vs Il

Tanya P.B1Kwiziq community member

Ça vs Il

Why would it be "C'était un bâtard" not "Il était un bâtard?" The statement is specific. I asked my partner, who is a native French speaker, and he said both sounded correct/normal to him. He couldn't figure out why the latter is unacceptable, even viewing the rules provided. 

Asked 1 year ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

My wife is French - she immediately responded with “c’était un batard“ when I reconfirmed with her. (To be honest, I knew she would as this question comes up regularly). 

It is very uncommon to follow il/elle with an article-noun, as covered in the lesson here (section 1 - always c’est if followed by article-noun), and the attached external link. Yes, there are exceptions but not many in everyday speech. 

https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/cest-versus-il-elle-est/ 

 

 

 

"C'est" vs "Il/Elle est" to say it is/she is/he is in French

 

Gary T.B2Kwiziq community member

Alors, quand quelqu'un dit de moi que je suis un batard; il faut qu'il dit "C'est un batard"; plutot que "Il est un batard"?  ;)  

Ça vs Il

Why would it be "C'était un bâtard" not "Il était un bâtard?" The statement is specific. I asked my partner, who is a native French speaker, and he said both sounded correct/normal to him. He couldn't figure out why the latter is unacceptable, even viewing the rules provided. 

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