Pronouns

Question 1

When to use possessive pronouns

Answer 1

To show possession. These nouns always agree in gender and numbers.

Question 2

Possessive Pronoun Determiners

Answer 2

These come before the noun an always agree in gender and number with the noun

Pronoun → Masculine | Feminine | Plural
Je → mon | ma | mes
Tu → ton | ta | tes
Il/Elle/On → son | sa | ses
Nous → notre | notre | nos
Vous → votre | votre | vos
Ils/Elles → leur | leur | leurs

Note: Before a vowel or a silent h, the determiners ma, ta, and sa become mon, ton, and son.

Question 3

Possessive Pronouns

Answer 3

These are stand alone pronouns that are without an accompanying noun. Usually the noun is mentioned in a previous sentence and is replaced with the possessive which agrees in gender and number. These correspond to mine, yours, his, hers, etc.

Pronoun → ms | fs | mf | ff

Je → le mein | la mienne | les meins | les miennes
Tu → le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes
Il/Elle/On → le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes
Nous → le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres
Vous → le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres
Ils/Elles → le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs

Question 4

Reflexive Pronouns

Answer 4

Reflexive pronouns are used to indicate that the subject is performing the action on themselves. They are required and only used with pronominal verbs. They must agree with the subject and can be indirect or direct objects.

Je → me
Tu → te
Il/Elle/On → se
Nous → nous
Vous → vous
Ils/Elles → se

If there are two vowels together the reflexive pronouns get contracted, like me becomes m’.

Example: Il se voient. → They see each other

Question 5

Object pronouns

Answer 5

These replace nouns and go before the verb or it’s auxiliary.

Direct Object Pronouns are used for verbs which aren’t followed by prepositions.
Me (me), te (you), nous (us), vous (you), le (him or it), la (her or it), les (them)
Examples:
Je te regarde. I look at you.
Vous me regardez. You look at me.
Ils vous regardent. They look at you.
Nous vous regardons. We look at you.

Indirect Object Pronouns are used for verbs that are followed by the preposition à.
Me (me), te (you), nous (us), vous (you), lui (him or her) and leur (them)
Examples:
Je te parle. I’m speaking to you.
Vous me parlez. You’re speaking to me.
Ils vous parlent. They’re speaking to you.
Nous vous parlons. We’re speaking to you.

The pronoun y can also replace the object of a number of prepositions indicating placement in space or movement:
Le livre est sur la table. —> Le livre y est.

The pronoun en can replace the object of the preposition de, including expressions of quantity.
J’ai quatre livres. —> J’en ai quatre.

Question 6

Pronouns Order

Answer 6

Me, Te, Se, Nous, Vous → Le, La, Les → Lui, Leur → y → en → verb

Question 7

What are demonstrative pronouns in french?

Answer 7

These pronouns help specify which thing or person in a group we are referring to in particular. The pronouns are ce, cet, celui-ci and celui-là. Depending on their grammatical role, they can be pronouns (replace nouns) or determiners (accompany nouns). They correspond to that/this/these/those.

Question 8

How to use demonstrative pronouns

Answer 8

→ The french demonstrative pronouns for masculine are celui/ceux (singular/plural) and celle/celles (singular/plural) for feminine. We can use this to single out a noun that is no explicitly said.
Example: Je parle de celui du milieu. (I’m talking about that one in the middle)

→ There are also compound demonstratives (celui-ci, celle-ci, celui-là, celle-là). Forms ending is -ci indicate something close to the speaker (ici) and forms ending in -là indicate something that is far (là-bas - there).
Example: Lequel? Celui-ci ou celui-là. (Which one? This one or that one?)

→ The simple form is only used when
↪ The pronoun is followed by de
Example: Les moutons dans le pré sont ceux du berger. (The sheeps in the field are the shepherd’s ones.) [ceux du]
↪ A relative clause (clause that gives more info about a noun) follows the demonstrative pronoun
Example: Les moutons dans pré sont ceux que garde le berger. (The sheeps in the field are the ones that the shepherd attends) [ceux que]

Question 9

How to use demonstrative determiners

Answer 9

→ Demonstrative determiners always become directly before the noun
Example: Ce mouton est mignon. (This sheep is cute) ][Ce]

→ We only use the masculine form (cet) when the word begins with a vowel or a silent h
Example: Cet homme. (This man.) [Cet]

→ You can use the compound, -ci/-là by directly attaching it to the noun
Examples:
Ce mouton-ci est mignon. (The sheep here is cute.)
Ce mouton-là est trop grand. (The sheep there is to big.)