C'est bon vs est bonne

Bonjour Rene, The gender agreement is always masculine when using «c'est». Here is the note from the lesson: «ATTENTION: when using il/elle, you have to make adjectives agree accordingly, whereas you always use the masculine with c'est. » And here is the lesson: "C'est" vs "Il/Elle est" to say it is/she is/he is in French Bonne chance, Ron

Merci Ron. I understand the theory, I re-read the other lesson BUT I still have my 2 original doubts: 1. The example says " la vanille, c'est bon". Why not "la vanille est bonne"? 2. The next example says "ces bonbons sont bons". Why not "'ces bonbons, c'est bon" ? What determines the use of 'c'est + masculine-ending-adjective' and "il/elle bon/bonne"? Thank you.

In other words: if I read "la vanille, c'est bon" or "la vanille est bonne", I know roughly what it means (I understand the basic concept). I SIMPLY DON'T KNOW when to use "la vanille, c'est bon" and "la vanille est bonne"

Masculine gender agreement ONLY follows the use of «c'est», hence la vanille, c'est bon (not bonne). Ces bonbons is not the same as saying c'est and bonbon is a masculine noun. Let me find another site resource for you: Here is one of my favorites: http://laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/pro3.html (I do not like to recommend sites outside of Kwiziq but at times, another perspective can open the door to understanding). Anyway, this site is from the Univ. of Texas at Austin French department and one of my French profs actually recommended it to me. The lesson is followed by quiz questions so one can test their knowledge. As for your second post, the use of «c'est» follows this general rule or pattern; assuming you are a native English speaker: The house, it is pretty --> In this phrase, the subject is «house» then the pronoun «it» is used in the phrase «it is pretty». However, in French it would look like this: La maison, c'est joli. (this is just for an example) While «maison» is the subject and a noun, in the phrase that become c'est joli, again with masculine gender agreement following «c'est» as per the grammar rule. I understand when you say «I SIMPLY DON'T KNOW when to use "la vanille, c'est bon" and "la vanille est bonne"», but pronouns function in French much like they do in English, i.e. a noun is replaced by a pronoun. Bonne chance et bonne continuation, Ron

Ron, merci beacoup pour l'explication et le lien. I am still hung up on "la vanille, c'est bon" and "la vanille est bonne". When I read French, I realize that French people have TWO WAYS of saying "vanilla is good". In English, I have only one way of saying it: "vanilla is good". So, if I want to say that in French, what rule or thought process do I use to choose? If I want to say "vanilla is good". First I have to add "la" -> "la vanille". What do I do next? How do I choose between "la vanille est bonne"(which seems easy for me) or the more complicated form "la vanille, c'est bon" ?

I think that you are trying to compare apples and oranges, here's my reasoning: 1) la vanille, c'est bon 2) la vanille est bonne These are two entirely different locutions -- «la vanille est bonne» is a simple statement saying that the vanilla is good, there is no use of the pronoun-phrase c'est, while in the phrase «la vanille, c'est bon» is a little more complex, i.e. the vanilla has been mentioned in the discussion previously. Example: I like vanilla --> J'aime la vanille. Then, during the course of the discussion the other person states, Ah, vanilla, yes it is good --> Ah, la vanille, oui, c'est bon. This same scenario could also be used with other feminin nouns, i.e.une maison, une chaise, la gardienne, etc. The grammar rule applies ONLY when the «fixed phrase c'est» is used . I hope this clarifies this for you since I don't know any other ways of explaining it. Should you have further questions, I shall defer to Aurélie for those. Best wishes, Ron

Ron, merci encore une fois. I'm still hung up. "Tu aimes la vanille? Oui, c'est bon" I accept it "by faith, it's a French thing" even though I don't understand. "la vanille, c'est bon" seems different to me.. I wish I could understand it, but if it's too difficult, then I'll just move on. French is just my hobby. I don't need to know it perfectly. Aurelie, could you help?

Bien sûr, bonne chance et bonne continuation.

Vanilla is good. -- La vanille est bonne. Vanilla, it's good. -- La vanille, c'est bon. As Ron pointed out, the subject of the clause is "vanilla" in the first case and "ce" (as in c'est) in the second case. Hence the adjective takes on the female form "bonne" in the first sentence since it agrees with vanilla. In the second sentance it is in the male form "bon" because you have to agree it with "ce". -- Chris (not a native speaker).

Merci Chris. I still don't understand when I should CHOOSE to write "la vanille est bonne" or "la vanille, c'est bon" That's okay. I'm moving on.. French is my hobby, I don't need to write it perfectly! Thanks for all the grammar (male/female explanations). Too bad no one can explain to me: French use "la vanille, c'est bon" ... (this is what I am missing) They use "la vanille est bonne"..... I'll never know the answer. Lemme see... WHEN do I use one or the other? Maybe it's a mystery... I'll go ponder the meaning of life. :)

The question is a stylistic one, not a grammatical one. The French often use this kind of repetition of the subject: La vanilla c'est bon. -- Vanilla vs. ce Moi je ne viens pas. -- Moi vs. je Anne est-elle à la maison? -- Anne vs. elle All different situations, to be sure, but it gives you a hint as to which construction is favored. Don't fret it, just roll with it. -- Chris.

Merci.

Hello Cécile, merci pour votre réponse. 

Can o assume the, that the ce construction is play for general statements? Ex : ma soeur aime bien la vanille. Ah oui, (la vanille, ) c'est bon: oh yes, it's good (here vanilla is a general thing). 

But more definite things require the other construction! la vanille de Madagascar est bonne. J'aime beaucoup les fraises des bois sont bonnes. Elles sont très bonnes. En fait, elles sont délicieuses !

Another example: general: J'aime beaucoup le musique. C'est passionant. La pizza, c'est délicieux.

Definite : la musique classique est passionante. La pizza de Chez Luigi est délicieuse. 

Est-ce que je suis en train de comprendre ce sujet ?

:) 

Lots of typos in my reply... sorry..  mon poche téléphone est affreux !