Learn French: Il est grand.

Il est grand.

It is big.

Breakdown of Il est grand.

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Questions & Answers about Il est grand.

Why do we use Il est here instead of C'est?

Because we are describing something using only an adjective (grand). When you describe a specific person or thing with a standalone adjective, you use Il est or Elle est. You would use C'est if there was a noun, like in C'est un grand chien (It is a big dog).

Doesn't Il mean "He"? Why does the translation say "It is big"?

In French, all nouns have a gender (masculine or feminine), even inanimate objects. Il means "he" for a person, but it also translates to "it" when talking about a masculine object (like un livre, a book).

Can this sentence also mean "He is tall"?

Yes! The adjective grand means "big" for objects, but it usually means "tall" when describing people. Depending on the conversation, Il est grand can mean "It is big" or "He is tall".

What if we want to say "It is big" about a feminine object, like a car (une voiture)?

You would need to make both the pronoun and the adjective feminine. Il becomes Elle, and you add an -e to the adjective, making it Elle est grande.