Les pronoms démonstratifs

Question 1

Comment dit-ons ‘this one’ (masc. sing)?

Answer 1

Celui

Question 2

Comment dit-ons ‘these/ those’ (masc.)

Answer 2

Ceux

Question 3

Comment dit-ons ‘this one/ that one (fem. sing)?

Answer 3

Celle

Question 4

Comment dit-ons ‘these/ those (fem.)?

Answer 4

Celles

Question 5

When do you use demonstrative pronouns?

Answer 5

To say ‘this’ or ‘that’ in French you use ce, cet, ces followed by the noun (demonstrative adjectives) but if you want to replace both the demonstrative adjective and the noun, you use the pronouns celui, celle, ceux or celles. They agree in gender and number with the noun that they replace.

Question 6

Comment dit-ons ‘this one here interests me’ (masc.)?

Answer 6

Celui-ci m’intéresse

Question 7

Comment dit-ons ‘this one here is fascinating’ (fem.)?

Answer 7

Celle-là est fascinante

Question 8

Comment dit-ons ‘Sophie’s one’ (masc.)?

Answer 8

Celui de Sophie

Question 9

Comment dit-ons ‘I met the one who wrote Twilight?’ (fem.)

Answer 9

J’ai rencontré celle qui a écrit <>

Question 10

What are demonstrative pronouns commonly followed by?

Answer 10

–ci (this one) or là (that one)

–de (to indicate possession)

–relative pronouns (i.e. qui, que, dont, où)

Question 11

Comment dit-ons ‘The one I’m reading at the moment is fascinating’ (masc.)

Answer 11

Celui que je lis en ce moment est passionant.

Question 12

Comment dit-ons ‘I don’t know the ones you are talking about’ (masc.)

Answer 12

Je ne connais pas ceux dont tu parles

Question 13

Comment dit-ons ‘Have you read the one where they all die at the end? (masc.)

Answer 13

Tu as lu celui où ils meurent tous à la fin?

Question 14

When do you use ceci, cela et ça?

Answer 14

ceci (this), cela (that) and ça (that-more informal) are not related to a specific item but to something indefinite, which has no specific gender, such as a recently mentioned ideas. They are invariable, the forms never change.

e. g. Il m’a offert un livre et cela m’a fait plaisir
e. g. tu aimes la musique classique, mais moi ça ne m’intéresse pas.

Question 15

Comment dit-ons ‘He had a particular interest in nature, and this can be seen in his paintings.’

Answer 15

Il avait un intérêt pour la nature, et ceci se voit dans ses tableaux

Question 16

Comment dit-ons ‘this/ that pen’

Answer 16

ce stylo

Question 17

Comment dit-ons ‘this/ that tree’

Answer 17

cet abre

Question 18

Comment dit-ons ‘this/ that man’

Answer 18

cet homme

Question 19

Comment dit-ons ‘this/ that pocket’

Answer 19

cette poche

Question 20

Comment dit-ons ‘these/ those tables’

Answer 20

ces tables

Question 21

Why would you add ‘ci’ or ‘là’? to celui/ celle or ce/cette?

Answer 21

To stress the meaning and to be very specific

e.g. ‘Ce-livre ci!,’ (this book (here))

Question 22

Comment dit-ons ‘I like this book (here)’

Answer 22

J’aime ce livre-ci

Question 23

Comment dit-ons ‘I like these apples (here)’

Answer 23

J’aime ces pommes-ci

Question 24

Comment dit-ons ‘I like that tie (there),’

Answer 24

J’aime cette cravate-là

Question 25

Comment dit-ons ‘I like those books (there)’

Answer 25

J’aime ces livres-là

Question 26

Comment dit-ons ‘This book (here) is red, but that ball (there) is blue’

Answer 26

Ce livre-ci est rouge, mais cette balle-là est bleue

Question 27

Comment dit-ons ‘Paul’s one is black’

Answer 27

Celui de Paul est noir

Question 28

What does ‘celui de’ mean?

Answer 28

The ones of/ those of

Question 29

Comment dit-ons ‘John’s shirts are yellow, but Paul’s are blue’

Answer 29

Les chemises de Jean sont jaunes, mais celles de Paul sont bleues

Question 30

Comment dit-ons ‘This one is red, but that one (fem) is black’

Answer 30

Celui-ci est rouge, mais celle-là est noire

Question 31

Comment dit-ons ‘These are pretty, and those (fem) are beautiful’

Answer 31

Ceux-ci sont jolis, mais celles-là sont belles

Question 32

What does ‘celui qui’ mean?

Answer 32

the one who (which)

e.g. celui qui attend

Question 33

Comment dit-ons ‘Which pupil’ ‘the one who waits.’

Answer 33

‘Quel élève?’ ‘Celui qui attend’

Question 34

Comment dit-ons ‘the ones whom he killed’?

Answer 34

Ceux qu’il a tués

Question 35

what does ‘celui dont’ mean?

Answer 35

the one (of) whom, which

Question 36

Comment dit-ons ‘the one (of) which I (have) need’?

Answer 36

Celle dont j’ai besoin

Question 37

When talking of ‘celui-ci’ and ‘celui-là’ which is always the former and which is always the latter?

Answer 37

Celui-là= the former
Celui-ci= the latter

e.g. ‘Voilà une poire et un citron; celle-là est verte, celui-ci est jaune
in this sentence ‘celle-là’ is used to refer to the former, which is green
‘celui-ci’ is used to refer to the latter, which is yellow

Question 38

Rule of thumb: (celui)-là refers to the noun which is….

(a) closer
(b) farther away

Answer 38

(b) farther away

makes sense at ‘là’ means ‘there’, which suggests more distance than ‘ci’ (from ici meaning here)

Question 39

Comment dit-ons ‘this is incredible (some event etc.)

Answer 39

Ceci est incroyable

Question 40

Comment dit-ons ‘What do you think of that (idea)?’

Answer 40

Que pensez-vous de cela?