Language/French/Grammar/Ce,-and-compound-forms-of-être

From Polyglot Club WIKI
< Language‎ | French‎ | Grammar
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This lesson can still be improved. EDIT IT NOW! & become VIP
Rate this lesson:
0.00
(0 votes)

French-Language-PolyglotClub.png
Ce, and compound forms of être

ce can be used with various compound forms of être, like ce doit être, ce peut être, c'a été:

  • Ce pourrait être un facteur important

It could be an important factor

  • Ce doit être Marianne

It must be Marianne

  • C'aurait été trop

It would have been too much When the phrase following être in this construction is plural, some grammars suggest that the verb should be in the third person plural form:

  • Ce sont mes amis

It's my friends

  • Ce devraient être eux/elles

It should be them

But many speakers use c'est etc. in these cases:

  • C'est mes amis

Ce doit être eux/elles When first or second person plural pronouns nous or vous follow être in these constructions, the verb is always singular:

  • C'est vous, c'est nous

It's you, it's us

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Gender of Nouns Names of ships and restaurants & Compound adjectives involving demi—, nu— and mi—.

Other Lessons[edit | edit source]

Contributors

Maintenance script


Create a new Lesson