Ce sont mes professeurs!

https://duome.eu/tips/en/zz#z03

Duolingo · tips @ duome.eu

 

Ils sont mes professeurs (x)

 

She is my mother = C'est ma mère.
He is the man I saw yesterday = C'est l'homme que j'ai vu hier.
They are brave soldiers = Ce sont des soldats courageux.
They are two of my sisters = Ce sont deux de mes sœurs.

 

What is exact is that "ce sont" may refer to a group of people. You will use "ce sont" instead of "ils/elles sont" if the descriptor has an article or other determiner (number, demonstrative, possessive...).

They are my teacher = Ce sont mes professeurs - not "ils/elles" because "sont" is followed by "mes".

 

"Ce" means more like "These" than "They", so "these are my teachers". If you can imagine that the speaker is pointing at them its probably ce.

 

"ce sont" is the translation for "they are" when the descriptor is a modified noun:

• They are my teachers = Ce sont mes professeurs: you cannot use "ils" because "mes professeurs" is a noun modified by "mes".

The other way around, all of "they/these/those are my teachers" translate to "ce sont mes professeurs".

The same applies to singular subjects:

• He is my teacher = C'est mon professeur (not il est mon professeur)
• C'est mon professeur = He/This/That is my teacher.

C'est is often he/it in English.

"Who is the man in the garden? " He is my husband." In French: "C'est mon mari."

English: It's Marie. In French: C'est Marie.

In English: He is a doctor. He is a famous doctor.

In French: Il est medecin. C'est un medecin connu.

 

https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/30092326

Forum - Duolingo

there is a rule here: whenever "ils/elles sont" is followed by a modified noun (determiner + noun), you have to change the personal pronoun to the indefinite demonstrative pronoun "ce":

• They are my teachers: the noun "teacher" is preceded by the determiner is "my", so "ils/elles" is changed to "ce": Ce sont mes professeurs.

The same rule applies to the singular "il/elle est" which change to "c'est" before a modified noun.

• He/She is my teacher = C'est mon professeur
• Ce sont mes enseignants