Here are in the table bellow the demonstrative determiners and pronouns in French:
| Genre | Déterminants démonstratifs | Pronoms démonstratifs (forme simple) | Pronoms démonstratifs (forme composée) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculin | Ce, cet | Celui | Celui-ci, celui-là |
| Féminin | Cette | Celle | Celle-ci, celle-là |
| Pluriel | Ces | Ceux, celles | Ceux-ci, ceux-là, celles-ci, celles-là |
| Neutre | – | Ce, c’ | Ça, ceci, cela |
Determiners are used in front of a noun while pronouns replace a noun.
The dialogue bellow is an example which illustrates the use of the three different types of demonstrative determiners and pronouns in the French language.
- Person A: Quelle est ta photo préférée ? What is your favourite photo?
- Person B: J’aime beaucoup cette photo (déterminant démonstratif féminin), c’est celle (pronom démonstratif simple féminin) que je préfère. I really like this photo, it’s my favourite one.
- Person A: Pardon, laquelle ? Sorry, which one?
- Person B: Celle-ci (pronom démonstratif composée féminin). This one.
Ci vs là
The composed form with -ci is used with someone ou something which is close to the person who talk rather than the form ending in -là is used with someone or something which is far from the one who talk. For examples:
- Celui-ci, celle-ci. This one.
- Celui-là, celle-là. That one.
- Ceux-ci, celles-ci. These ones.
- Ceux-là, celles-là. Those ones.
Cet
Also, we use “cet” in front of a masculine noun starting with a vowel or a silent “h” like for examples:
- Cet homme. This man.
- Cet indice. This clue.
Ce, c’, ça, ceci, cela
First, “ce” and “c’” are only used with “être” in French with all other verbs we use “ça“.
Also, “c’” is used instead of “ce” in front a word starting with a vowel like for examples:
- C’est une très belle forêt. This is a beautiful forest.
- Ce sont de très beaux arbres enfants. These are beautiful trees.
- J’adore ça. I love this.
“Ça” is widely used by French speakers, although “ceci” and “cela” are sometimes used to replace “ça” in formal conversation or in written French. For examples:
- Je préfère ça (informal). I prefer this.
- Je préfère ceci (formal/written). I prefer this.
- Je parle de ça (informal). I am talking about that.
- Je parle de cela(formal/written). I am talking about that.
If you want to practise with exercises, you can do it here.
Find my other articles about the French pronouns here.
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