Breakdown of Il est difficile de cacher une émotion forte.
être
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
fort
strong
difficile
difficult
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
cacher
to hide
il
it (impersonal subject)
l'émotion
the emotion (f)
Questions & Answers about Il est difficile de cacher une émotion forte.
Why use Il est here instead of C'est?
In formal or written French, the standard rule is to use il est for impersonal expressions followed by an adjective and a verb. However, in everyday spoken French, you will hear people say C'est difficile de cacher... all the time! Both mean 'It is difficult,' but il est is more proper in this specific structure.
Why do we need de before the verb cacher?
In English, we say 'difficult to hide'. In French, this impersonal structure requires the preposition de to connect the evaluation adjective (difficile) to the infinitive verb (cacher). The strict formula to remember for this lesson is: Il est + [adjective] + de + [infinitive].
Why does the adjective forte come after émotion instead of before it?
Unlike English, most French adjectives are placed after the noun they describe. The main exceptions are short, common adjectives (often remembered by the acronym BANGS: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size). Since forte (strong) doesn't fall into those basic groups, it takes the standard position after the noun.
I see that émotion is feminine because of une. Is there a trick to remembering its gender?
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