Pronouns
demonstrative pronouns: celui, celle, ceux, celles
celui, celle, ceux, celles
Celui, celle, ceux, celles (‘this one’ or ‘that one’ in the singular; ‘these,’ ‘those’ or ‘the ones’ in the plural) are demonstrative pronouns. They replace a specific noun, which has been mentioned or is obvious from context, in order to avoid repeating it. They agree in gender and number with the nouns they replace.
| number | masculine | feminine |
| singular | celui | celle |
| plural | ceux | celles |
Celui de/d’, celle de/d’ etc. show possession. They are generally translated by ‘that of’, ‘those of’ or by the possessive form.
| Tammy: Tu aimes l’accent d’Edouard? Bette: Je préfère celui de Tex. |
Tammy: Do you like Edouard’s accent? Bette: I prefer Tex’s. |
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| Tammy: Tu aimes la voix d’Edouard? Bette: Oh, je préfère celle de Tex. |
Tammy: Do you like Edouard’s voice? Bette: Oh, I prefer that of Tex. |
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| Tammy: Tu aimes les yeux d’Edouard? Bette: Oui, mais je préfère ceux de Tex. |
Tammy: Do you like Edouard’s eyes? Bette: Yes, but I prefer Tex’s. |
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| Tammy: Tu aimes les oreilles d’Edouard? Bette: Oui, mais je préfère celles de Tex. |
Tammy: Do you like Edouard’s ears? Bette: Yes, but I prefer those of Tex. |
-ci and -là are added to the demonstrative pronouns to indicate nearness or farness like the distinction between ‘this one’ and ‘that one’ in English.
| Bette: Tammy, regarde mes dernières photos de Tex! Tu préfères celle-ci ou celle-là? | Bette: Tammy, look at my latest pictures of Tex! Do you prefer this one or that one? |
Celui qui … , celle qui … mean ‘the one that’, ‘the one who’ and ceux qui … , celles qui … mean ‘those that / who’. They introduce a relative clause in which they are used as subjects. In the example below, ceux qui is the subject of the verb ‘portent’.
| Bette: Moi, j’aime les tatous. | Bette: Me, I like armadillos. | |
| Tammy: Moi aussi, surtout ceux qui portent le béret. | Tammy: Me too, especially those who wear berets. |
Celui que … and celle que … mean ‘the one that / whom / which’, ceux que … and celles que … mean ‘the ones that / whom / which’. They introduce a relative clause in which they are used as objects. In the example below, celui que is the object of ‘j’aime’.
| Tammy: Et toi Bette, qui est-ce que tu aimes? | Tammy: What about you Bette, who do you love? | |
| Bette: Celui que j’aime ne m’aime pas! | Bette: The one I love does not love me! |
Celui dont … and celle dont … mean ‘the one whose’, ‘the one of which’, ceux dont … and celles dont … mean ‘those whose’, ‘the ones of which’. They introduce a relative clause in which the verb takes an object introduced by de (parler de, ‘to talk about’).
| Tammy: De qui tu parles? | Tammy: Who are you talking about? | |
| Bette: Tu ne connais pas celui dont je parle. | Bette: You don’t know the one I am talking about! |
ceci, cela
Ceci (this) and cela (that) are invariable demonstrative pronouns. They refer to things that cannot have a specific gender assigned to them, like ideas or statements. Ça is used in familiar or conversational style in place of cela for emphasis.
| Tammy: Tu es amoureuse de Tex, cela me semble évident!! | Tammy: You are in love with Tex. That seems obvious to me!! | |
| Bette: Qu’est-ce que tu racontes?! Tu crois vraiment que je ne respecte pas l’amour entre toi et Tex?! Ça me fait de la peine, ça! | Bette: What are you saying!? Do you really believe that I don’t respect the love between you and Tex? Now that really upsets me! |
