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C'est un honneur de vous recevoir.

C'est un honneur de vous recevoir.
It is an honour to receive you.
From Lesson 263:Formal expressions of purpose (afin de)·French

Questions & Answers about C'est un honneur de vous recevoir.

Could I use afin de instead of de in this sentence?
No. The phrase afin de means 'in order to' and is used to express a specific goal or purpose. In this sentence, de doesn't show purpose; it is simply the mandatory preposition required by the structure c'est un honneur de to link the noun to the infinitive verb.
Why does the object pronoun vous come before the infinitive recevoir?
In French, object pronouns usually go immediately before the verb they belong to. Because vous is the direct object of the verb recevoir (you are receiving 'them'), it must be placed right before it, even when the verb is in the infinitive form.
Why do we start with c'est instead of il est?
You use c'est before a noun phrase that includes an article, like un honneur. You would only use the impersonal il est in a formal sentence if you were following it directly with an adjective, such as il est important de vous recevoir.
Is there a spoken link (liaison) between un and honneur?
Yes! The 'h' in honneur is a silent 'h' (h muet), meaning the word acts as if it starts with a vowel. You must make a liaison, pronouncing the two words together as 'uh-non-neur'.

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