1. It & They
Unit 1: Lesson 6

2. Abbreviations
In this slide presentation, you will notice the following abbreviations. These are their meanings: ? undefined – unknown gender/number s singular (counting only 1 in number) pl plural (more than 1) f feminine m masculine

3. “It”
There are 3 ways to say “it” in French. They are: “ce”, “il”, and “elle”

4. Ce - usage
We have already seen one version of the word “it” in French: “ce” We learned that the French word “ce” has 5 meanings in English: “it”, “this”, “that”, “these”, and “those”. THIS word for “it” is used to help identify an object and is ‘gender-less’. Remember that every noun has a given gender, but until we IDENTIFY that noun, we do not yet know its gender. “Ce”, therefore, means “it” for an object that is being identified, before its gender has been determined.

5. Ce – example 1
It is a monkey. (identifying what the object is) C’est un singe. ce = it (?) est = is (s) un = a/an/1 (m,s) singe = monkey (m,s)

6. Ce – example 2
It is a mouse. (identifying what the object is) C’est une souris. ce = it (?) est = is (s) une = a/an/1 (f,s) souris = mouse (f,s)

7. Ce – example 3
It is a brown monkey. (identifying what the object is and describing it in one sentence) C’est un singe brun. ce = it (?) est = is (s) un = a/an/1 (m,s) singe = monkey (m,s) brun = brown (m,s)

8. Ce – example 4
It is a gray mouse. (identifying what the object is and describing it in one sentence) C’est une souris grise. ce = it (?) est = is (s) une = a/an/1 (f,s) souris = mouse (f,s) grise = gray (f,s)

9. Il - Usage
Il : He The word “il” in French literally means “he”, but it has a second meaning: “it” – when referring to a noun that is masculine, singular. After we have identified a noun as being masculine, it has ‘gender’ and is no longer ‘genderless’ and we can therefore no longer refer to it as “ce”. We know it is masculine and must now refer to it as “he” or “il”.

10. Il – example
The monkey, it is brown. (noun already identified) Le singe, il est brun. le – the (m,s) singe – monkey (m,s) il – he / it (m,s) est – is brun – brown (m,s)

11. Elle - Usage
Elle: She The word “elle” in French literally means “she”, but it has a second meaning: “it” – when referring to a noun that is feminine, singular. After we have identified a noun as being feminine, it has ‘gender’ and is no longer ‘genderless’ and we can therefore no longer refer to it as “ce”. We know it is masculine and must now refer to it as “she” or “elle”.

12. Elle – example
The mouse, it is gray. (noun already identified) La souris, elle est grise. la – the (f,s) souris – mouse (f,s) elle – she / it (f,s) est – is grise – gray (f,s)

13. “it”
Summary: ce used to help identify a noun before the noun’s gender has been established il masculine singular noun elle feminine singular noun

14. “They”
We have already seen that “ce” has 5 meanings in English: “it”, “that”, “this”, “these”, and “those”. It does NOT mean “they”. “Ce” is used to identify something that has not yet been defined or given gender or number. There are only 2 ways to say “they” in French: ils & elles

15. Ils
Ils : They The word “ils” in French means “they” when referring to a group of masculine, plural objects/things/people/places/ideas. Because French is a ‘masculine dominate’ language, this masculine form of “they” is also used to refer to a group of plural nouns of mixed gender – both masculine and feminine objects. If there is even ONE noun that is Masculine, the group is considered “masculine” and is referred to as “ils”.

16. Ils – example 1
The monkeys, they are brown. (nouns already identified) Les singes, ils sont bruns. les – the (pl) singes – monkeys (m,pl) ils – they (m,pl) sont – are (pl) bruns – brown (m,pl)

17. Ils – example 2 The monkeys and the mice, they are brown.
(nouns already identified)
Les singes et les souris, ils sont bruns.
les – the (pl) ils – they* (m,pl)
singes – monkeys (m,pl) sont – are (pl)
souris – mice (f,pl) bruns – brown (m,pl)
*ils – they (m,pl) : if there is even 1 masculine noun, the entire group is masculine – so if “they refers to monkeys (m) and mice (f) together as one group, then the masculine gender of the monkeys becomes dominant and the entire group becomes masculine and we have to use “ils” for “they”

18. Elles
Elles: They The word “elles” in French means “they” when referring to a group of feminine, plural objects/things/people/places/ideas.

19. Elles – example
The mice, they are gray. (nouns already identified) Les souris, elles sont grises. les – the (pl) souris – mice (f,pl) elles – they (f,pl) sont – are (pl) grises – gray (f,pl)