Questions & Answers about C'est un vieux pote du lycée.
Why does this say C'est instead of Il est if the English translation is "he is"?
In French, when you describe a person using a noun modified by an article (like un) or a possessive, you must use c'est. You generally only use il est when it is followed directly by an adjective or an unmodified profession, such as Il est grand (He is tall) or Il est médecin (He is a doctor). Why does vieux come before the noun pote?
Most French adjectives go after the noun. However, short, common adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size (often memorized by the acronym BANGS) go before the noun. Since vieux describes age, it goes in front. If we used the word ami instead of pote, would it still be vieux?
No, it would become vieil ami. For masculine singular nouns, French changes vieux to vieil when the next word starts with a vowel or a silent H. This avoids a clunky pause between sounds. Because pote starts with a consonant, we keep vieux. How informal is the word pote?
Pote is highly common everyday slang for "friend" or "mate". It is perfectly fine and very natural for casual conversations, but you should stick to ami in formal writing or professional settings. Why do we use du lycée instead of just de lycée?
Du is the mandatory contraction of de (from) and le (the). In French, you are saying he is a friend from the high school, so de + le automatically combines into du. Learn C'est un vieux pote du lycée and more in French
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