Log inSign up

Il est malade comme toi.

Il est malade comme toi.
He is sick like you.
From Lesson 57:Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)·French

Questions & Answers about Il est malade comme toi.

Why is it toi instead of tu here?
In French, tu is a subject pronoun used when "you" is doing the action (like tu es for "you are"). When "you" comes after a word like comme (like/as) or stands alone without a verb, you have to use the stressed pronoun toi.
Can I use comme to say "I like" something?
No. Comme only translates to "like" when it means "similar to" or "as". To say you "like" a person or thing, you need the verb aimer (for example, J'aime for "I like").
Since Il is masculine, shouldn't we remove the "e" at the end of malade?
French adjectives usually add an "e" for feminine and drop it for masculine. However, if the base dictionary form of the adjective already ends in an "e", it stays exactly the same for both masculine and feminine. So it is Il est malade (he is sick) and Elle est malade (she is sick).
How would I use this to answer a pourquoi (why) question?
If someone asked why he is staying home, you could use this sentence to give the reason by adding parce que (because) to the beginning. You would say: Parce qu'il est malade comme toi (Because he is sick like you). Notice that que shortens to qu' before il because it starts with a vowel.

Learn Il est malade comme toi and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →