16 - Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns and Relative Pronouns

Demonstrative adjectives

Just like normal adjectives, demonstrative adjectives need to agree in gender and number with the objects they modify.

• ce (masculine singular)
  • Ce livre est intéressant. (This book is interesting.)
• cet (masculine singular before a vowel or mute h)
  • Cet homme est grand.
• cette (feminine singular)
  • Cette voiture est rapide
• ces (masculine and feminine plural)
  • Ces fleurs sont belles
  • Ces garçons sont jeunes.

Adding -ci and -là for Emphasis

To further specify "this one" or "that one," you can add the suffixes -ci (here) and -là (there) to the noun. This is particularly useful when comparing two similar items.

• ci indicates something closer to the speaker. Adding this makes the demonstrative adjective “this”
• là indicates something farther from the speaker. Adding this makes the demonstrative adjective “that”

The basic formulas are like so:

This one = ce/cet/cette + noun + ci

These ones = ces + noun + ci

That one = ce/cet/cette + noun + là

Those ones = ces + noun + là

examples

Here are some examples showcasing:

• Ce livre-ci est plus intéressant que ce livre-là. (This book here is more interesting than that book there.)
• Cette maison-ci est à vendre, mais pas cette maison-là. (This house here is for sale, but not that house there.)
• Ces pommes-ci sont mûres, mais ces pommes-là ne le sont pas. (These apples here are ripe, but those apples there are not.)

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns are words that connect two clauses by referring back to a noun or pronoun in the first clause (called the antecedent). They act like "who," "whom," "which," "that," or "where" in English. Their main job is to avoid repetition and make your sentences more fluid.

qui vs que

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The two most important relatives pronouns are qui and que.

• "Que" = Direct Object Pronoun (Whom, Which, That)
  • Rule: Use "que" when the relative pronoun is the direct object of the verb in the relative clause. This means the action of the verb is being done to "que."
  • Think of it like: "WHAT are you doing to it?" or "WHO are you doing something to?"
  • "Que" is immediately followed by a subject (a noun or a pronoun like je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles), followed by a verb.
• qui = Subject Pronoun (Who, Which, That)
  • Rule: Use "qui" when the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb in the relative clause. This means "qui" is doing the action of the verb that immediately follows it.
  • Think of it like: "WHO is doing the action?" or "WHAT is doing the action?"
  • "Qui" is immediately followed by a verb.

Here is an example of when to use each:

• quelque chose qui est facile (something that is easy)
• quelque chose que je fais (something that I do - here "quelque chose" is the object of "fais")’

Qui in depth

Qui is used when the relative pronoun acts as the subject of the subordinate clause. It translates to "who" or "which" in English. Qui never changes form, regardless of the gender or number of the antecedent.

Examples:

• Le livre qui est sur la table est intéressant. (The book that is on the table is interesting.)
  • Here, qui replaces le livre and acts as the subject of the verb est in the subordinate clause qui est sur la table.
• La femme qui parle français est ma sœur. (The woman who speaks French is my sister.)
  • Qui replaces la femme and is the subject of the verb parle.
• Les étudiants qui étudient sont intelligents. (The students who are studying are intelligent.)
  • Qui replaces les étudiants and is the subject of the verb étudient.

Que in depth

Que is used when the relative pronoun acts as the direct object of the subordinate clause. It translates to "that" or "which" in English. Que elides to qu' before a vowel or mute h.

Examples:

• Le livre que j'ai lu était passionnant. (The book that I read was fascinating.)
  • Here, que replaces le livre and is the direct object of the verb ai lu (past tense of lire, to read) in the subordinate clause que j'ai lu.
• La maison que nous avons achetée est très grande. (The house that we bought is very big.)
  • Que replaces la maison and is the direct object of avons achetée (past tense of acheter, to buy).
• L'homme qu'elle aime est charmant. (The man that she loves is charming.)
  • Qu' replaces l'homme and is the direct object of aime (to love). Note the elision because aime starts with a vowel.

Lequel / Laquelle / Lesquels / Lesquelles

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Lequel / Laquelle / Lesquels / Lesquelles (Which one/Which ones, Whom): These are used after prepositions (other than "de") and agree in gender and number with the antecedent. They are more formal than "qui" when referring to people after a preposition.

• C'est la chaise sur laquelle je suis assis. (That's the chair on which I'm sitting.)
• Voici l'ami avec qui je voyage. (Here's the friend with whom I travel.) (More common for people than "avec lequel")

Dont - whose, of which, about which

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Dont (Whose, Of which, About which): Replaces "de + noun" and is used with verbs/expressions that take "de."

• C'est l'homme dont je t'ai parlé. (That's the man (about whom) I told you.) - Parler de (to talk about)
• J'ai un ami dont le père est médecin. (I have a friend whose father is a doctor.) - Indicates possession ("the father of whom").

Dont is used to replace a noun that is followed by the preposition de in the subordinate clause. This often indicates possession or origin. It can translate to "whose," "of which," or "from which" in English.

Examples:

• Le livre dont je parle est intéressant. (The book that I am talking about is interesting.)
  • Here, dont replaces le livre. The subordinate clause would originally be "Je parle du livre." (I am talking about the book). The de (from du) is incorporated into dont.
• La femme dont le fils est médecin est très fière. (The woman whose son is a doctor is very proud.)
  • Dont replaces la femme. The subordinate clause would originally be "Le fils de la femme est médecin." (The son of the woman is a doctor).
• La maison dont les fenêtres sont bleues est jolie. (The house whose windows are blue is pretty.)
  • Dont replaces la maison. The subordinate clause would originally be "Les fenêtres de la maison sont bleues." (The windows of the house are blue).

Ou - Where/when

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Où is used to indicate place or time. It translates to "where" or "when" in English.

Examples:

• La ville où je suis né est petite. (The city where I was born is small.)
  • Où replaces la ville and indicates the place of birth.
• Le restaurant où nous avons mangé était excellent. (The restaurant where we ate was excellent.)
  • Où replaces le restaurant and indicates the place where they ate.
• Le jour où je l'ai rencontré était un jour spécial. (The day when I met him was a special day.)
  • Où replaces le jour and indicates the time of the meeting.

combining ce with relative pronouns

"c'est", "ce sont", when to use them

You use the “c’est” contraction when wanting to refer to “this is” or “it is” in a sentence, and "ce sont" when saying "these are" or "they are" but is has the narrow scope of only referring to something general, or an object that has not been previously mentioned or referenced.

info

When referring to a specific object, you MUST use subject pronouns like “Il”, “Elle” instead of “c’est”.

• C’est legal = it is legal (referring to a general situation)
• Ce n’est pas legal = it is not legal (referring to a general situation)

ce qui and ce que

Whenever you have “ce qui” or “ce que”, it roughly translates to english as “what”, and in spanish it is the equivalent of “lo que” and “la que”

• Ce qui est important, c'est d'essayer. (What is important is to try.)
• Ce qui me plaît, c'est le chocolat. (What pleases me is chocolate.)
• Ce que tu dis est vrai. (What you say is true.)

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns replace nouns, again pointing out specific people, places, or things. They also agree in gender and number with the noun they replace. The basic demonstrative pronouns are:

• celui (masculine singular)
• celle (feminine singular)
• ceux (masculine plural)
• celles (feminine plural)

info

When used in tandem with relative pronouns, these demonstrative pronouns basically fit one-to-one with la que, el que, etc. in spanish, which means “the one” or “the ones”

Demonstrative pronouns are often followed by relative clauses introduced by qui, que, dont, or où. This allows you to specify which item you are referring to.

Examples:

• Celui qui travaille réussit. (He who works succeeds.)
• Celle que tu as choisie est très belle. (The one that you chose is very beautiful.)
• Ceux dont je parle sont mes amis. (Those of whom I speak are my friends.)
• Celles où nous sommes allées étaient magnifiques. (The ones where we went were magnificent.)
• Celui de Pierre est rouge. (The one of Pierre is red.)
• Celle de Marie est bleue. (The one of Marie is blue.)
• Ceux de la table sont sales. (The ones on the table are dirty.)
• Celles du jardin sont magnifiques. (The ones in the garden are magnificent.)

Usage with -ci and -là

The demonstrative pronouns are rarely used alone. They are usually followed by a relative clause, a prepositional phrase, or the suffixes -ci and -là. These create additional demonstrative pronouns that factor in depth:

As with demonstrative adjectives, you can add -ci and -là to demonstrative pronouns to indicate "this one" or "that one."

• celui-ci (this one - masculine singular)
• celle-ci (this one - feminine singular)
• ceux-ci (these ones - masculine plural)
• celles-ci (these ones - feminine plural)
• celui-là (that one - masculine singular)
• celle-là (that one - feminine singular)
• ceux-là (those ones - masculine plural)
• celles-là (those ones - feminine plural)

	Masculine Singular	Feminine singular	Masculine plural	Feminine plural
Basic Form	celui	celle	ceux	celles
With -ci (this one / these ones)	celui-ci	celle-ci	ceux-ci	celles-ci
With -là (that one/those ones)	celui-là	celle-là	ceux-là	celles-là

Examples:

• Je préfère celui-ci à celui-là. (I prefer this one to that one.)
• Celle-ci est plus petite que celle-là. (This one is smaller than that one.)
• Ceux-ci sont moins chers que ceux-là. (These ones are less expensive than those ones.)
• Celles-ci sont plus jolies que celles-là. (These ones are prettier than those ones.)