il

Everyday

1. (French) «Il» means «he» or «it» in French: «il mange» is «he eats». tree →
2. (French) In some phrases it means «it» with no real person: «il pleut» is «it is raining». tree →
3. (Italian) In Italian «il» means «the», as in «il gelato» (the ice cream). tree →
4. It is not an English word; to an English ear French «il» sounds like «eel». tree →

In the lessons

In French lessons «il» (he/it) is learnt with «elle» (she/it), «ils» (they, masculine) and «elles» (they, feminine). Common phrases: «il y a» (there is, there are), «il fait beau» (the weather is nice), «s'il vous plaît» (please). In English you might see «il» in Italian food and place names, such as «Il Duomo» or a restaurant called «Il Forno».

Examples

• In French, «il est grand» means «he is tall». tree →
• «Il pleut» means «it is raining». tree →
• «S'il vous plaît» means «please». tree →
• «Il y a un chat» means «there is a cat». tree →
• French «il» sounds like the English word «eel». tree →
• The Italian restaurant on our street is called «Il Forno». tree →
• In French, a thing that is masculine is also called «il». tree →

Note

French or Italian, not English. Do not read «il» as «ill» (sick). In French the «l» is said; in «ils» (they) the «s» is silent, so «il» and «ils» sound the same. Do not confuse it with the prefix «il-» in English words like «illegal» and «illogical», where it means «not».

In Jewish tradition

In French lessons «il» (he/it) is learnt with «elle» (she/it), «ils» (they, masculine) and «elles» (they, feminine). Common phrases: «il y a» (there is, there are), «il fait beau» (the weather is nice), «s'il vous plaît» (please). In English you might see «il» in Italian food and place names, such as «Il Duomo» or a restaurant called «Il Forno».

Examples

• Interested readers can check the 1562 Mantua edition for themselves through the digital archives of the National Library of Israel: nli.org.il/he/books/NNLALEPH990012793690205171/NLI. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →

Note

French or Italian, not English. Do not read «il» as «ill» (sick). In French the «l» is said; in «ils» (they) the «s» is silent, so «il» and «ils» sound the same. Do not confuse it with the prefix «il-» in English words like «illegal» and «illogical», where it means «not».