Learn French: C'est une grande récompense.

C'est une grande récompense.

It is a great reward.

Breakdown of C'est une grande récompense.

Questions & Answers about C'est une grande récompense.

Why do we use C'est here instead of Elle est, since récompense is feminine?

When you are identifying a noun that is introduced by an article (like une, un, la, or le), you must use c'est. You generally use il est or elle est when describing something using only an adjective (like Elle est grande). Since we have the full noun phrase une grande récompense, c'est is the correct choice!

Why does grande come before the noun? Don't French adjectives usually go after?

Most French adjectives do go after the noun, but a specific group of very common, short adjectives goes before it. A handy way to remember these is the BANGS rule: adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size go first. Since grande describes Size, it comes right before récompense.

Do I need to pronounce the 't' in C'est une?

Yes, you do! This is called a liaison. Because est ends in a normally silent consonant and une starts with a vowel sound, you link them together. The 't' wakes up and is pronounced, so it sounds like "seh-toon".