Learn French: C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école. - She is the new director of the school.

C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école.

She is the new director of the school.

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

l'école

the school (f)

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

nouveau

new

him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)

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

Why is the word for director directrice here?

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.

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

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.

Why does nouvelle come before the noun?

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.

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

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.