सर्वनाम (Pronouns)
Page Title
Demonstrative Determiners (Déterminants démonstratifs)
A demonstrative determiner is a word that accompanies a noun and is used to point out or specify exactly what we're talking about. These include ce, cet, cette and ces.
| Form | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ce | masc. sing. (before consonant) | ce livre |
| cet | masc. sing. (before vowel/mute h) | cet homme |
| cette | fem. sing. | cette chanson |
| ces | plural (all genders) | ces étoiles |
Ex Label Title
J'aime cette chanson. (I like this song.)
Il lit ce livre. (He reads this book.)
Regarde ces étoiles ! (Look at those stars!)
Demonstrative Pronouns (Pronoms démonstratifs)
A demonstrative pronoun replaces a noun to avoid repeating it – just like how in English we say "I like this one" instead of naming the noun again.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular (-ci) | celui-ci | celle-ci |
| Singular (-là) | celui-là | celle-là |
| Plural (-ci) | ceux-ci | celles-ci |
| Plural (-là) | ceux-là | celles-là |
Invariable Demonstrative Pronouns
1
ça – that/it (informal): Ça va ?
2
ceci – this (formal): Ceci est important.
3
cela – that (formal): Cela me plaît.
4
ce / c' – it/this (with être): C'est beau.
Ex Trans Label Title
J'aime cette chanson. → J'aime celle-ci.
Il lit ce livre. → Il lit celui-ci.
Regarde ces étoiles ! → Regarde celles-là.
-ci vs. -là
-ci indicates something close (this one), while -là indicates something further away (that one). In everyday speech, -là is often used for both.