c'était
The English phrase "it was" is translated into French as c'était.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a contraction of ce (it/this) and était (was).
Which one should you use?
While c'était is used for descriptions, use ça a été instead of c'était when referring to a specific, completed event or a completed duration (e.g., 'The trip was good'). Additionally, the passé simple form ce fut is used in formal written literature to describe a completed event.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form c'était uses the imperfect tense, which is used for descriptions or habitual actions in the past.
Did you know?
- While c'était is used for 'it was', French speakers often use the present tense c'est to describe a past event if they are telling a story vividly to make the listener feel present.
- If you want to say 'It was great!' as an exclamation, you can use C'était top ! or C'était génial !. The word top is actually used by the French to mean something is excellent, borrowed from English but used differently.
- The formal ce fut is so rare in speech that using it in a casual conversation would sound like a character from a 17th-century novel.
Examples in context
- C'était donc vrai !So it was true!Tatoeba #6381831 by Blabla, translation #6482116 by Micsmithel
- C'était de ma faute.It was my fault.Tatoeba #4585937 by sacredceltic, translation #1745701 by Spamster
- C'était de sa faute.It was her fault.Tatoeba #4901104 by sacredceltic, translation #1745702 by Spamster
- C'était une belle journée.It was a beautiful day.
- C'était délicieux !It was delicious!
- C'était un honneur de vous rencontrer.It was an honor to meet you.
- C'était génial !It was awesome!
- C'était incroyablement drôle.It was incredibly funny.
- C'était le meilleur jour de ma vie !It was the best day of my life!
- Ça a été une expérience marquante.It was a memorable experience.
- Ça a été difficile, mais j'ai réussi.It was tough, but I succeeded.
- Ça a été un vrai plaisir de vous revoir !It was a real pleasure to see you again!
- C'était ouf, le concert hier soir !It was crazy, the concert last night!
- Le film ? Il était top !The movie? It was great!
- 1170 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are talking about a film they saw yesterday.
- EmmaC'était vraiment un bon film.It was really a good film.
- GabrielOui, c'était très émouvant.Yes, it was very moving.
- EmmaL'histoire était magnifique.The story was magnificent.
- GabrielC'était une belle expérience.It was a beautiful experience.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
