Answers
Jan 25, 2011 - 12:37 PM
Something we haven't really explained at that point is that both "il est" and "c'est" can mean "it is" in a general way.
The difference between the two is that "il est" is more formal than "c'est".
In the program we chose to stick to "c'est" because it's most of the time more natural in oral French, which is what we're focusing on.
Yet to ask for the time, we chose to use "il est" because in this context "c'est" sounds very colloquial.
It's not incorrect though, you might hear: Quelle heure est-il? or C'est quelle heure? etc etc
(Since there are so many ways to build questions in French though, I would strongly advise her to stick to the ones taught in the program for now..)
Also, here "elle est" is impossible. We can only use "elle" to replace a specific feminine noun, not in a general case like here.
The difference between the two is that "il est" is more formal than "c'est".
In the program we chose to stick to "c'est" because it's most of the time more natural in oral French, which is what we're focusing on.
Yet to ask for the time, we chose to use "il est" because in this context "c'est" sounds very colloquial.
It's not incorrect though, you might hear: Quelle heure est-il? or C'est quelle heure? etc etc
(Since there are so many ways to build questions in French though, I would strongly advise her to stick to the ones taught in the program for now..)
Also, here "elle est" is impossible. We can only use "elle" to replace a specific feminine noun, not in a general case like here.