Il est très grand.

Breakdown of Il est très grand.

être
to be
il
he
grand
big / tall
très
very

Questions & Answers about Il est très grand.

Why do we use Il est here instead of C'est?
In French, when you describe someone or something using just an adjective (like grand) or an adverb and an adjective (like très grand), you use Il est for masculine subjects and Elle est for feminine ones. You would use C'est if you were identifying him with a noun, such as saying 'He is a tall boy' (C'est un grand garçon).
Does grand mean 'big' or 'tall'?
It can mean both! When talking about a person's physical height, grand usually translates to 'tall'. If you were using it to describe an object, like a house or a box, it would mean 'big' or 'large'.
Are the 's' in très and the 'd' in grand pronounced?
In this exact sentence, no. Both letters are silent. The 's' in très is only pronounced (making a 'z' sound) if the very next word starts with a vowel. Since grand is at the end of the sentence, its final 'd' remains completely silent.
How would this sentence change if we were talking about a woman?
You would change the subject pronoun to Elle (she) and add an 'e' to the end of the adjective to make it feminine: Elle est très grande. Because of that added 'e', you would actually pronounce the 'd' sound at the end of grande!

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