C'est moi qui paye

Question

Why can't you just say Je paye? Or someone corrected me after I said that my small daughter is ill (La petite est malade <- wrong, C'est la petite qui est malade <- why?)

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Adam,

I'm French, and from what you explained, "la petite est malade" is perfectly acceptable, and sounds very French to me :) However, "Ça ne sonne pas français" is a very clumsy translation from English ;)

Answer

Bonjour Adam,

Je paye isn't wrong, it's just that "C'est moi qui paye" is more emphatic. For example, John says, "Je paye" but Bill insists that he's going to pay, so he says "C'est moi qui paye," which is equivalent to "No, *I'm* paying."

It's the same thing with "C'est la petite qui est malade" - there must be some context in which someone said something like "La grande est malade" and someone else is contradicting: "Non, c'est la petite qui est malade."

Without that sort of contradiction/emphasis, Je paye and La petite est malade are perfectly fine.

Answer

There was no contradiction, just me saying that my little daughter is ill. He told me: "Ca ne sonne pas français" and corrected the sentense. Might this be related to his location? (Angers)

Answer

Maybe - I'm not familiar with any particuliarities about the French in that region of France. I don't see anything at all wrong with La petite est malade.