Un 11.3
Demonstrative pronouns
Instead of repeating a word, an entire idea or a sentence all the time, we can use demonstrative pronouns to point back at something already-mentioned in a more efficient way.
Les pronoms démonstratifs neutres 'ça', 'ce', 'cela' et 'ceci'
Neutral demonstrative pronouns are used to refer to something that has already been indicated, but that involves some level of abstraction or vagueness. They can also be used to refer to an entire sentence, situation or idea.
e.g.
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Ah, c’est intéressant. |
Ah, that’s interesting. (what you just said, what I just saw, etc.) |
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J’aime ça. |
I like this/that. |
It is not uncommon to find these neutral demonstrative pronouns repeated within a sentence, particularly in everyday speech. This repetition is often used to emphasize what the speaker is referring to.
e.g.
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Ça c’est quoi ça ? |
What’s this/that? |
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Ça c’est important. |
Well, this/that is important. |
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Oui, c’est ça. |
Yeah, that’s right/the one |
The neutral demonstrative pronoun ‘ce’ is primarily used when followed by a form of the verb ‘être‘. As a neutral pronoun, any type of grammatical gender agreement will default to the masculine form. Depending on the form, contraction may occur. This pronoun can be used to indicate both singular and plural things. The singular is more typical in spoken contexts, even when referring to more than one thing.
e.g.
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C’est vrai ? |
That’s true? |
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Ce sont les devoirs pour demain. |
This is the homework for tomorrow. |
When the verb ‘être‘ is conjugated with the auxiliary ‘avoir’ (e.g. le passé composé), the neutral demonstrative pronouns ‘ça’, ‘ceci’ and ‘cela’ are preferred. These three pronouns undergo agreement in the masculine singular. The pronouns ‘ceci’ and ‘cela’, in a stricter sense, make up a pairing to indicate near and far, respectively. In particular, ‘ceci’ is used to refer to something following the message, while ‘cela’ is used to refer to what has already been mentioned. In practice, however, ‘cela’ is much more frequently used.
e.g.
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Ça a été une expérience éprouvante. |
That was a tiring experience. |
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S’il te plaît, regarde ceci : … |
Please, look at the following: … |
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J’ai expliqué cela. |
I explained this/that. |
The neutral demonstrative pronoun ‘ça‘ is typical of informal settings.
Les pronoms démonstratifs
When referring to a specific noun, another group of demonstrative pronouns is used. These demonstrative pronouns indicate the grammatical gender and grammatical number of the noun that they refer to.
|
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Singular |
Plural |
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Masculine |
celui |
ceux |
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Feminine |
celle |
celles |
Demonstrative pronouns that indicate grammatical gender cannot stand alone; they are always followed by something. There are three options of what can follow these demonstrative pronouns. Here, we will look at two of these options.
Les pronoms démonstratifs avec '-ci' and '-là'
As is the case with demonstrative adjectives (Unit 6), these demonstrative pronouns do not, on their own, specifically indicate whether the thing we are referring to is near or far, unlike in English (‘this’ vs. ‘that’). If this near/far distinction is needed to make the message more clear, the addition of ‘-ci’ and ‘-là’ becomes a useful option.
e.g.
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Je veux un gâteau.. Non, pas celui-là, celui-ci. |
I want a cake.. No, not that one there, this one here. |
Les pronoms démonstratifs avec les prépositions
Demonstrative pronouns can be followed by a preposition to further help identity the thing that we are referring to.
e.g.
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Quels livres ? Ah, moi, j’adore ceux de Jules Verne. |
Which books? Ah, well, I love the ones by Jules Verne. |
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Ces hérissons sont trop mignons ! Regarde celui à gauche. Il nous regarde ! |
Those hedgehogs are so cute! Look at the one on the left. It’s looking at us! |
Exercices
Un 11.3 - Ex. 1
Un 11.3 - Ex. 2
Un 11.3 - Ex. 3
Leçons