Language/French/Grammar/Ce,-and-compound-forms-of-être
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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
Related Lessons
- Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives — A change in written, but not spoken
- Past participles used as adjectives with the verb être
- “en” when numbers are direct objects
- How to use « il y a » in French
- Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
- Stressed pronouns with même, aussi, seul, autres, tous and numerals
- Years
- Collective nouns
- Compound Tenses
- Form of the article with adjectives and nouns beginning with a vowel or an h
- Conjugation group 3 — verbs with infinitives which end in —re
- Compare numbers
- Conjugation group 2 — verbs whose infinitive ends in —ir
- Object pronouns in coordinated clauses
- Differences in the use of numbers in French and English mille milliers milliards