Questions & Answers about C'est un livre neuf.
In French, both C'est and Il est can translate as "It is", but they are used in different structures.
You use C'est when:
- It is followed by a determiner + noun:
- C'est un livre neuf. – It’s a new book.
- C’est une bonne idée. – It’s a good idea.
- You are identifying or introducing something or someone.
You use Il est (or Elle est, Ils sont, Elles sont) mainly when:
- It is followed by just an adjective:
- Il est neuf. – It is new (brand-new).
- It is followed by an adjective plus an unmodified profession/nationality:
- Il est professeur. – He is a teacher.
So C'est un livre neuf is correct because you have C'est + article + noun (+ adjective).
In French, you almost always need a determiner (article, possessive, etc.) before a singular noun.
- un is the indefinite article for masculine singular nouns and corresponds to "a" in English.
- C'est un livre neuf. = It’s a new book. (any new book, not a specific one)
- C'est le livre neuf. would mean It’s the new book (a specific one you both know about).
C'est livre neuf is ungrammatical because livre is a countable noun and cannot stand alone without an article in this kind of sentence.
In French, every noun has a gender, masculine or feminine, and you must memorize it with the word.
- livre (meaning book) is masculine, so it takes un:
- un livre – a book
- The feminine form of un is une:
- une table – a table
Unfortunately, there is no reliable universal rule to guess gender. Learners usually:
- Learn new words together with their article:
- un livre, une table, un stylo, une chaise.
- Check a dictionary, where m. means masculine and f. means feminine.
Note: livre can also mean pound (weight or currency), and that word is feminine: une livre. But in the sentence C'est un livre neuf, the meaning is clearly book, which is masculine.
Many English speakers expect French adjectives to always go before the noun because of common phrases like un petit chien, une belle maison, etc. But in fact:
- Most French adjectives come after the noun:
- un livre neuf – a brand-new book
- une voiture rouge – a red car
- A relatively small group of very common adjectives usually come before the noun
(often remembered with the acronym BANGS: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size), e.g.:- un petit livre – a small book
- un vieux livre – an old book
- un bon livre – a good book
neuf (brand-new) normally goes after the noun, so un livre neuf is the standard word order.
Both neuf and nouveau can translate as "new", but they do not mean the same thing in French.
neuf / neuve: brand-new, unused
- Focuses on the condition: just made, never used before.
- C'est un livre neuf. – It’s a brand-new book (never used).
nouveau / nouvelle: new to you / recent / replacement
- Focuses on the newness in time or for you, not necessarily unused.
- C'est un nouveau livre. – It’s a (another / new-to-me) book.
Maybe it’s newly bought, or just new in your collection, but it could be second-hand.
So:
- C'est un livre neuf. – The book is physically brand-new.
- C'est un nouveau livre. – It’s a new (different, additional, recently arrived) book; it might be used.
Both sentences are grammatically correct; they just emphasize different ideas.
Adjectives in French must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
The adjective neuf has four forms:
- neuf – masculine singular
- neuve – feminine singular
- neufs – masculine plural
- neuves – feminine plural
In C'est un livre neuf:
- livre is masculine singular
- so the adjective must also be masculine singular: neuf
Other examples:
- C'est une voiture neuve. – It’s a brand-new car. (voiture is feminine, so neuve)
- Ce sont des livres neufs. – They are brand-new books. (masculine plural)
- Ce sont des voitures neuves. – They are brand-new cars. (feminine plural)
There are two main patterns to express this idea.
- To introduce/point out the books using a noun:
- Ce sont des livres neufs. – They are brand-new books.
Structure:
- Ce sont
- des
- noun
- adjective
- des is the plural of un/une
- livres is plural of livre
- neufs agrees in number with livres
- adjective
- noun
- des
- To describe books already known in the context, without restating the noun:
- If you already know you’re talking about some books:
- Ils sont neufs. – They are brand-new.
(Ils refers to the books, which are masculine plural.)
- Ils sont neufs. – They are brand-new.
So:
- Introducing them as books: Ce sont des livres neufs.
- Just describing their condition: Ils sont neufs.
Pronunciation (in IPA) is approximately:
- C'est un livre neuf → [sɛ.tœ̃ li.vʁ nœf]
Key points:
- C'est → [sɛ], like “seh”
- There is a liaison between C'est and un:
- You pronounce a t sound linking them: [sɛ.tœ̃]
- un → [œ̃], a nasal sound (similar to “uh(n)” with the n not fully pronounced)
- livre → [li.vʁ]
- The final -e is silent.
- neuf → [nœf] (f is pronounced)
Spoken smoothly, it sounds like one group:
[sɛ.tœ̃ li.vʁ nœf].
No. C'est un neuf livre is incorrect.
Reason: neuf is an adjective that normally goes after the noun it modifies when it means brand-new.
Correct order:
- un livre neuf – a brand-new book
Compare:
- un petit livre neuf – a small brand-new book
(Here petit comes before, neuf after.)
Changing the position of neuf here does not just sound odd; it is simply ungrammatical.
Yes, you can say Il y a un livre neuf, but it means something slightly different.
C'est un livre neuf.
- Focus: identification.
- You are pointing to / showing / identifying an object as a brand-new book.
- Roughly: “This/That is a brand-new book” or “It’s a brand-new book.”
Il y a un livre neuf.
- Focus: existence / presence.
- You are saying that somewhere (on the table, in the room, etc.) there is a brand-new book.
- Roughly: “There is a brand-new book.”
So:
- Use C'est… when you’re directly identifying something.
- Use Il y a… when you’re stating that something exists or is present somewhere.