Breakdown of Cette décision nous concerne tous, il est indispensable d'en parler.
être
to be
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
ce
this (before a noun)
parler
to speak
Questions & Answers about Cette décision nous concerne tous, il est indispensable d'en parler.
Is the 's' at the end of tous pronounced in this sentence?
Yes! Since tous is used here as an indefinite pronoun meaning all of us, the final 's' is pronounced. You only keep the 's' silent when tous is used as an adjective modifying a noun, like in tous les jours.
Why is tous placed after the verb instead of directly after nous?
When tous emphasizes an object pronoun like nous, vous, or les, it is placed after the conjugated verb, not right next to the pronoun. That is why the sentence says nous concerne tous instead of nous tous concerne.
Why does the sentence use il est indispensable instead of c'est indispensable?
The phrase il est indispensable is an impersonal expression where il just means a generic it. You can absolutely use c'est indispensable in everyday spoken French, but il est is the standard, slightly more formal way to write it. Note that both require the preposition de before the following infinitive verb.
Why do we need the pronoun en before parler?