c'est ma mère vs. elle est ma mère

Question

Hi guys, I still don't get it.. I thought you could use c'est if after you have un, une, le, la, les, des.  Then, why people use c'est ma  mère instead of elle est ma mère ?  Thank you

Accepted Answer

Hi Jorge, 
With people, you cannot say il /elle est ... or ils/elles sont ...
It has to be c'est or ce sont 
e.g.
C'est ma mère
C'est mon oncle
C'est mon frère
C'est ma tante
Ce sont mes cousins
C'est Mme Dupont
C'est Sylvie 
etc.
Hope this helps!

Answer

This is a question that comes up a lot. You may want to browse the discussion at the end of the lesson. I bet the answer is already given several times. If not, please feel free to come back and ask again.

Answer

This is good when found. But why is it not in the actually lesson?

Answer

To be clear - it is il/elle {être} (article) noun, and ils/elles {être} (article) noun, that can’t be used (rare exceptions as always). 
Il/Elle {être} adjective and ils/elles {être} adjective are regularly used.
The link below is useful: 
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/cest-vs-il-est/