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Il est un garçon.

Il est un garçon.
He is a boy.
From Lesson 1:Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)·French

Questions & Answers about Il est un garçon.

Why do we use un here instead of une?
In French, every noun has a gender (masculine or feminine), and the little words before them must match. Since garçon (boy) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine word for 'a', which is un. If we were talking about a girl, we would use the feminine une.
Is est the only word for 'is' or 'am'?
Verbs change shape depending on who is doing the action. est is the specific form of the verb être (to be) that pairs with il (he), elle (she), and on (one/we). If you want to say 'I am', you use suis (je suis). For 'you are', you use es (tu es).
Can il mean anything other than 'he'?
Yes! While il means 'he' when talking about a male person, it also means 'it' when referring to a masculine object. For example, if you are talking about a book (un livre), you use il to replace it in a sentence because books are masculine in French.
I have seen native speakers say C'est un garçon. Why does this sentence use Il est?
You have a great ear! In real, everyday French, you will almost always hear C'est un garçon (He is a boy). When 'he is' is followed by a noun like 'boy', French prefers C'est. Il est un garçon is a literal word-for-word translation used here just to help you learn and practice the basic pronouns and verbs step-by-step.

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