Learn French: C'est une belle étoile, tu la vois ? - It is a beautiful star, do you see it?

C'est une belle étoile, tu la vois ?

It is a beautiful star, do you see it?

Breakdown of C'est une belle étoile, tu la vois ?

you (informal singular)

her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about C'est une belle étoile, tu la vois ?

How does the verb voir work with tu in this sentence?

Voir (to see) is an irregular perception verb. In the present tense, it conjugates as je vois, tu vois, and il/elle voit. Notice that for tu, it ends in -s, but this letter is completely silent when spoken.

Why is the word order tu la vois instead of tu vois la?

In French, direct object pronouns must go immediately before the verb, not after it. Here, the pronoun la means "it" and refers back to the feminine noun une étoile. So, "do you see it?" becomes tu la vois (literally "you it see?").

Why does belle come before the noun étoile?

Normally, French adjectives are placed after the noun. However, short and common adjectives that describe Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, or Size (often remembered by the acronym BANGS) go before the noun. Since belle describes beauty, it is placed before étoile.

Why does the sentence start with C'est rather than Elle est to mean "It is"?