Question 1

Why is the word for director directrice here?

Accepted Answer

This sentence features a woman, so we need the feminine form of the noun directeur. In French, words (both nouns and adjectives) ending in -teur usually change their ending to -trice in the feminine.

Question 2

The translation says "She is", so why does the French sentence use C'est instead of Elle est?

Accepted Answer

In French, you must use c'est (and not elle est) when you describe a person using an article like la or un plus a noun. You only use elle est if you state the profession completely on its own, such as Elle est directrice. Because we have la nouvelle directrice, we have to use C'est.

Question 3

Why does nouvelle come before the noun?

Accepted Answer

Nouvelle is the feminine form of nouveau (new). Unlike most French adjectives, it goes before the noun. A helpful trick is the acronym BANGS (Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size) for adjectives that come before the noun. "New" falls under the "Age" category.

Question 4

How would this sentence change if the new director were a man?

Accepted Answer

It would become C'est le nouveau directeur de l'école. The feminine adjective nouvelle changes to the masculine nouveau, and the feminine noun directrice changes to the masculine directeur.

C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école.

Breakdown of C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école.

Questions & Answers about C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école.

Learn C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école and more in French