Question 1

Does c'est à elle de mean "it's her turn to" or "it's her duty to"?

Accepted Answer

It can mean both, depending on the context! The structure c'est à + [stress pronoun] + de + [infinitive] is a very common way to express whose turn or responsibility it is to do something. Here, "it is up to her" fits well, but "it's her turn to line up" is equally valid if they are taking turns on a diving board.

Question 2

Why do we use elle here? Couldn't we use the indirect object pronoun lui, as we do for "to her" with many verbs?

Accepted Answer

No, because in the specific phrase c'est à..., the preposition à must be followed by a stress pronoun (like moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles). You cannot attach an indirect object pronoun to c'est. So, "it's his turn" is c'est à lui and "it's her turn" is c'est à elle.

Question 3

The verb is in the infinitive (s'aligner). If I wanted to say "it's up to me to align myself", would it still be s'aligner?

Accepted Answer

No, the reflexive pronoun must always match the person doing the action, even when the verb is in the infinitive! If it were your turn, you would say: C'est à moi de m'aligner. Since the action here is being done by elle, the third-person reflexive pronoun se (shortened to s') is used.

Question 4

I've learned that diving is la plongée. Why is the word le plongeon used here instead?

Accepted Answer

La plongée refers to the general sport or activity of diving, usually scuba diving or deep-sea diving. Le plongeon refers to a single, physical dive, like jumping off a diving board into a swimming pool.

C'est à elle de s'aligner pour le plongeon.

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