Learn French: Ce sont des maisons.

Ce sont des maisons.

These are houses.

Breakdown of Ce sont des maisons.

être

to be

it / this (with être)

des

some (plural indefinite)

la maison

the house

Questions & Answers about Ce sont des maisons.

Why is there a des here? English just says "These are houses."

In French, you almost always need an article (a little word like "a", "the", or "some") before a noun. des is the plural form of un or une. While in English we can just say "houses" with no word in front, in French you have to say des maisons (literally "some houses").

How do I know maisons is plural just by listening? Do I pronounce the "s" at the end?

No, the "s" at the end of maisons is perfectly silent. This is true for almost all regular plural nouns in French! When listening, you know the word is plural because you will hear the plural article des right before it.

Why is it Ce sont and not Ces sont? Doesn't the word for "these" need to be plural?

When you use the verb être (to be) to point things out, the pronoun ce acts as a fixed placeholder and doesn't change to a plural form. Only the verb changes to match the plural items. So, "it is" is c'est, and "these are" is ce sont.

Do I pronounce the "s" in des?

Not in this sentence. Because the next word (maisons) starts with a consonant, the "s" in des is completely silent. You only pronounce that "s" (making a "z" sound) if the word right after it starts with a vowel.