chideraokoye

[copper idol]

Please be patient

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[knotty ember]

c'est/ce sont are used for presenting something/someone

1. Ce sont mes amis. 2. C'est Raoul, il est mon père.

I think "c'est" and "ce sont" actually mean "this/that" is and "these/those" are

[trim otter]

Thank you

[calm ledge]

« c’est » is more used as an abstraction whereas « il/elle est » is used to refer to objects

« C’est important d’avoir une famille qui nous soutient. Elle est essentielle pour qu’elle nous dirige vers la bonne direction ».

The first one, « c’est », refers to an abstract idea, the fact that the concept of having a big family is important.
The second one, « elle est », refers to the aforementioned object, « la famille », and that it (la famille) is essential for guiding us to the right direction.

[knotty ember]

When you say it is used more as an abstraction, does that mean "il est" can also be used for that? But less frequently?
'Cause I by default will use "il est" (I am not sure about my knowledge)

[knotty ember]

I just discorverd this as well https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/using-impersonal-expressions/

[calm ledge]

It can, yes, because « il » can also work as a neutral pronoun like « ce ».

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/cest-vs-il-est/
Second section

[knotty ember]

In summary
"C’est and il est" are interchangeable only in impersonal expressions. For other uses, see https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/cest-vs-il-est/"

that's what the site says

[calm ledge]

Yes but considering that OP also asked about « elle est », I limited it to non-impersonals

Since « elle est » can also work for ‘it is’ in that context

[knotty ember]

why non-impersonal? I read that "elle est" could be used to refer to a feminin object: "Elle est impossible à trouver"

[calm ledge]

It's in what you wrote: to refer to a feminine object. Impersonal subjects don't refer to anything, that's why they're impersonal.

In the impersonal verb « pleuvoir » and its conjugation « il pleut (it rains) », « il » doesn't refer to anything, it's just there so that the verb can be conjugated

[knotty ember]

I see, my knowledge about impersonal pronouns was inaccurate, so if c'est/il est/elle est is not used in an impersonal way, the adjectives have to accord to the genders right?

[calm ledge]

« elle » CANNOT be used impersonally

« ce » or « il »

[knotty ember]

sorry I mistyped

[calm ledge]

Yes, the adjectives have to accord. The masculine is also the neuter which « ce » is, so you only have two accords for gender

C'est génial de voir cette belle maison. Je crois qu'elle est grande mais le jardin qui se situe dedans, il est trop petit.

elle = cette belle maison
the adjective « grand.e.s » agrees with it [feminine singular]
il = le jardin
the adjective « petit.e.s » agrees with it [masculine singular]
ce = impersonal
the adjective « génial.e.s » agrees with it [masculine/neuter singular]

[knotty ember]

how "vous laisseriez" should be pronounced? wikitionary gives \vu lɛ.sə.ʁje\

[calm ledge]

This isn’t the pronunciation thread… Anyway, Wiktionary (the English one) gives both /lɛ.sə.ʁje/ and /le.sə.ʁje/

[knotty ember]

I had a look at this again and wonder why in the section 2, il/ce refer to real subjects. You already said that would be non-impersonal but why is the author still including it in the article? The author also wrote in Section 2 that il/ce are still interchangeably in this case

[calm ledge]

it's a note