"il est" used for opinion about previously mentioned thing

Question

their apartment is beautiful, "oui, il est."  I thought "c'est" was used to express an opinion about a previously mentioned item???

Accepted Answer

Hi Rebecca, 
The question involving an apartment is the following one -
Que penses-tu de leur appartement ? Oui , ___ est très bien placé  (What do you think of their apartment? Yes, it is very well-located
Very specific referring to 'their apartment' and it can only be 'il est'.
Bonne Continuation!

Answer

‘Il est beau ..’ for a specific statement about the apartment previously mentioned. Recheck the distinction between general and specific statements of “it is (adjective)” in the lesson.

The link below gives more information on usage as well. In everyday speech you will also hear “C’est beau” in this context but it is not ‘formal’.

https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/cest-versus-il-elle-est/

Answer

As Maarten says, you'll often hear:Cet appartement est beau. - Oui, c'est beau (informal). Oui, il est beau (more formal).Cet appartement est beau. - Oui, il l'est. (notice the l')