Learn French: C'est ce champion que tu dois battre. - It is this champion that you must beat.

C'est ce champion que tu dois battre.

It is this champion that you must beat.

Breakdown of C'est ce champion que tu dois battre.

you (informal singular)

Questions & Answers about C'est ce champion que tu dois battre.

Why does this sentence use que instead of qui?

We use the c'est ... que structure because ce champion is the object of the action, not the subject. You (tu) are the one doing the beating, making you the subject. If the champion were the one doing the action, we would use qui (for example: C'est ce champion qui doit te battre - It is this champion who must beat you).

Why is it ce champion and not cet champion?

The demonstrative adjective ce means this or that for masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant, like champion. You only switch to cet before masculine singular nouns that start with a vowel or a silent H, like cet homme.

Why isn't the verb battre conjugated?

In French, when two verbs are placed together in a single clause, the second one is always in the infinitive (unconjugated) form. The first verb dois is already conjugated to match tu, so the second verb battre (to beat) stays in its full dictionary form.

Could C'est be translated as He is instead of It is?

Yes, depending on the wider context, it could translate as He is the champion that you must beat. However, the c'est ... que structure is a specific grammatical tool used to add emphasis to a sentence, which is why translating it exactly as It is this champion that... captures the stressed feeling of the French phrase perfectly.