C'est vs. Il est

[uh_oh_spaghettio]

Why is it correct to say, 'C'est un homme dur'
but incorrect to say, 'Il est un homme dur' ?

[pumori]

this link might be helpful:

http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa032500.htm

[OliveKalamata]

Tomategirl, in your example, why is it "il est" instead of "elle est," considering that "une voiture" is feminine? Is there another rule about that?

[saksxalmo]

Yes, it should have been "Elle est".

[tomategirl23]

In French, there are three ways to say "it is"- "c'est", "il est" (mas.) and "elle est" (fem.) Let's say you're talking about a car. You say "It is a car"- "C'est une voiture." You say "c'est" because you're describing a noun. But if you're describing the color of the car, you say "Il est rouge" because there isn't a noun in the sentence. So if you said "It is a red car", you would say "C'est une voiture rouge."

[saksxalmo]

You mean "Elle est rouge"?

[santram_cottbus]

Before articles like un/une or le/la, you need to use C'est instead of il est or elle est.

[santram_cottbus]

Before articles like Un/Une or Le/La, you need to use C'est instead of il est or elle est.