Breakdown of C'est étrange, cette histoire.
l'histoire
the story (f)
c'est
it is, that is
étrange
odd, peculiar
Questions & Answers about C'est étrange, cette histoire.
Since histoire is feminine, why do we use C'est instead of Elle est?
When making a general comment or expressing a reaction to a situation, French uses c'est followed by a masculine singular adjective. Even though it refers to cette histoire (a feminine noun), the conversational structure C'est [adjective], [noun] locks the pronoun as c'est. If you used elle est, you would need the standard word order: Cette histoire est étrange.
Because histoire is feminine, does the adjective étrange agree with it?
No, it doesn't. Although étrange looks identical in both masculine and feminine forms, grammatically it is masculine singular here. After c'est used for a general statement, the adjective is always invariable (masculine singular). If you used a word like fou (crazy), it would remain masculine (C'est fou, cette histoire), not feminine (folle).
Why put cette histoire at the end with a comma instead of at the beginning?
This is a very common conversational habit in French. Speakers often lead with their emotional reaction or judgment (C'est étrange) and then clarify exactly what they are reacting to (cette histoire) at the end. While Cette histoire est étrange is perfectly correct, the comma-separated version sounds much more natural in everyday spoken French.
Should I pronounce the 't' in C'est to link it with étrange?
It is optional. In formal French, you will hear the 't' pronounced as a liaison connecting to the vowel in étrange. However, in everyday, casual spoken French, this liaison is frequently dropped, and the two words are pronounced separately.
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