elle est étudiante
In French, "she is a student" is translated as elle est étudiante.
This phrase is used to state that a female person is currently enrolled in an educational institution.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between stating an occupation and identifying a person. Use elle est étudiante to state her occupation, but use c'est une étudiante if you are identifying her as 'a student' (e.g., 'She is a student that I know').
How does it change in a sentence?
In French, when stating someone's profession or status, the indefinite article 'a' (une) is typically omitted. The noun étudiante must end in e to agree with the feminine subject elle.
Did you know?
- In many French educational contexts, the term étudiante specifically implies a university-level student. A student in primary or secondary school would more likely be referred to as élève, making 'elle est étudiante' a marker of higher education.
- The word est shares a common ancestor with the English word 'is'. Both descend from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ésti.
Examples in context
- Elle est étudiante à la fac.She is a student at the university.This sentence is useful for specifying that she is a student at the university using elle est étudiante.Tatoeba #3378621 by Aiji, translation #3378622 by _undertoad
- Elle est étudiante.She is a student.This sentence is a simple way to state that she is a student using elle est étudiante.Tatoeba #1170455 by rene1596, translation #313016 by CK
- Ouais! C'est une étudiante super sympa.Yeah! She's a really nice student.
- Elle est étudiante en médecine.She is a medical student.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are talking about a friend.
- EmmaEst-ce que Marie travaille ?Does Marie work?
- LucasNon, elle est étudiante.No, she is a student.
- EmmaElle étudie quoi ?What is she studying?
- LucasElle est étudiante en droit.She is a law student.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries elle, est, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
