Let's talk about the demonstrative pronouns - ceci, cela, celui-ci, celui-là, as well as celui and its variations.
French
English
Qui t'a dit cela ?
Who told you that?
Ceci, Cela
Rule 1: Ceci and cela are pronouns that are mostly used to indicate something that is being pointed out or referred to. Both frequently refer to situations rather than to specific nouns.
Ceci means “this”, while cela means “that”.
Rule 2: When referring to a notion, ceci introduces the notion whereas cela refers to an idea already mentioned.
French
English
Je comprends cela.
I understand that.
N'oubliez jamais ceci : prenez soin de votre santé mentale..
Never forget this: care for your mental health.
Rule 3: In everyday, less formal speech, cela is commonly replaced with ça.
French
English
J’adore cela ! -> J’adore ça !
I love that!
Celui, Celle, Ceux, Celles
Rule 4: The demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle, ceux, celles) replace a noun and agree in gender and number with it. They never stand alone, but are followed by:
- a preposition (de, pour, ...)
French
English
Ce n’est pas la maison de Jean, c’est celle de Nicolas.
It's not Jean's house, is that of Nicolas.
- a relative sentence
French
English
Quel livre as-tu acheté ? J’ai pris ceux qui m’intéressent.
Which book did you buy? I took the ones that interest me.
Celui-ci, Celui-là
Rule 5: We can take the previous demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle, ceux, celles) and add -ci or -là to indicate the distance (temporal or spatial) between the speaker and the noun replaced.
- If something is spatially or temporally close, we use -ci
French
English
J’aime celle-ci.
I like this one.
- If something is more distant in space or time, we use -là
French
English
Je préfère celui-là.
I prefer that one.
Quiz
1/4
Translate: I heard you saying that.
0
correct answers.