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- "Is he your grandson?"
"Is he your grandson?"
Translation:C'est votre petit-fils ?
45 Comments
2004
I don't think Duo is alone in teaching this rule. At least two French experts online also teach this rule regarding the use of c'est vs. il est / elle est with a modified noun.
http://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/cest-versus-il-elle-est
The most relevant section is part A.
http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa032500.htm
The relevant section is the table comparing the use of il est and c'est with unmodified nouns and modified nouns.
Finally, a French language instruction book also puts forward this rule:
"When a noun is used with adjectives that modify or refine the meaning of the noun, c'est is the appropriate choice. [as opposed to il est] Even a single article used with a noun is enough to modify it and make it necessary to use the c'est construction."
885
You're mistaken. I checked several sites and books, and they all agree with Duolingo.
But don't feel bad--people agree that this is one of the most difficult French constructions for English speakers to learn. I know it's been kicking my butt!!
You're missing the verb. Est-ce que is a construction --- that goes all together in one block, you can't split it --- to ask questions. You can't translate it with words into English, it's just used to form questions.
Is he your grandson? <-> Est-ce votre petit-fils ? = Est-ce que c'est votre petit-fils ?.
I bolded the (real) verb+subject of the sentences.
261
For me the literal meaning "is it that..." works to translate "est-ce que", in the sense that it tells me how the construction works in French. You are correct that it is not standard English, though. (Both "Is it true that he is your grandson?" and "Is it the case that he is your grandson?" are valid English, but the literal "is it that he is your grandson?" is not.)