Sont-ce (en. Are these)

/sɔ̃s/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

noun

Expression used to ask a question about a group of people or objects.

Are they students or teachers waiting here?

Sont-ce des étudiants ou des professeurs qui attendent ici ?

Used with a verb in the plural to ask about their existence.

Are they the books that you lost?

Sont-ce les livres que tu as perdus ?

Interrogative phrase to clarify a situation.

Are they the ones who decided to leave without us?

Sont-ce eux qui ont décidé de partir sans nous ?

The phrase originates from the contraction of 'sont' (form of the verb être) and 'ce' (demonstrative pronoun).