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Chapitre quatorze

Le temps libre

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Grammaire : Adjectifs et pronoms démonstratifs

The adjectifs démonstratifs The pronoms démonstratifs

The adjectifs démonstratifs How do demonstrative adjectives agree? When and how does French distinguish between this and that?   How do demonstrative adjectives agree? There are two different forms for masculine singular use, there is a third form for feminine singular use, and a fourth one for all plurals. precedes as in ce masculine singular nouns or adjectives beginning with a consonant (with the exception of mute h) Ce livre n'est pas intéressant. Il faut profiter de ce bel après-midi. cet masculine singular nouns or adjectives beginning with a vowel or a mute h Cet après-midi, nous passerons chez grand-mère. Je vous remercie de cet aimable accueil. cette feminine singular nouns or adjectives Cette réponse est juste. Cette habitude est inquiétante. ces plural nouns or adjectives (either masculine or feminine) Ces exercices sont trop difficiles pour nous. Ces raisons ne sont pas valables. Each noun in a list (even a list of two) must have its own demonstrative: Ces cartons et ces papiers ne me servent plus à rien. (These boxes and papers are of no use to me anymore.) When and how does French distinguish between this and that? French does not usually distinguish between this and that, unless the speaker wishes to establish a contrast. In that case, the adjectifs possessifs can be made more specific by the use of either -ci (as in the word ici, which means here) or -là (as in the word là, which means there) attached to the following noun by means of a hyphen. In other words, when necessary, the -ci tag is used to indicate closeness in space, or immediacy in time; the -là tag is used to mark remoteness in either space or time. Normally the -ci tag precedes the -là tag. A tagged demonstrative is also known (in French) as un adjectif démonstratif composé. Ce livre-là coûte 15 euros. Ces gens-ci sont plus polis que ces gens-là. Il fait très chaud ces jours-ci. Un jour, nous gagnerons le gros lot. A ce moment-là, nous partirons faire le tour du monde. The opposite of à ce moment-là is en ce moment, ordinarily used without -ci.

The pronoms démonstratifs Ceci, cela, ça Celui, celle, ceux, celles How does French refer to the former and the latter? Ce   Ceci, cela, ça The invariable demonstrative pronouns ceci, cela and ça are used to refer to an entire clause or to a fairly vaguely described object in the real world. They do not refer to specific words which have a known gender and number. This is also the reason why they are sometimes called indefinite. Cela et ça refer backward, to something that has already been mentioned. Ceci, on the other hand, refers forward, to something that is about to be said. Mon fils ne rentre plus jamais avant minuit. Cela m'inquiète beaucoup. Je vous dirai ceci : rien dans ce monde n'est jamais définitif. When reference is made to objects in the real world, ceci is generally used only in opposition to cela: Lisez ceci, ne lisez pas cela. Ça is only used in conversation or in quoted conversation: Ne fais-pas ça, voyons ! It is best to replace cela (and ça) with ce before the verb être: Cela semble être inévitable. – Mais non, ce n'est pas inévitable ! Celui, celle, ceux, celles The variable demonstrative pronouns celui (masc. sg.), celle (fem. sg.), ceux (masc. pl.) and celles (fem. pl.) correspond to the English pronoun one (singular or plural) preceded by a definite article (the one, the ones) or by a demonstrative (this one, that one, these ones, those ones). They also correspond to the demonstrative uses of these and those. Care must be taken not to translate combinations such as the one and the ones by means of l'un or les uns. Because they vary in gender and number, and refer to a specific noun, the variable demonstrative pronouns are also called definite. They must be accompanied by one of the following: a relative pronoun (qui, que, où, dont, lequel) – qui may be combined with a preposition, lequel must be) a preposition (mostly de, denoting origin or belonging) -ci or -là (to distinguish between two objects or ideas; these tags turn the demonstrative pronoun into a pronom démonstratif composé) Examples of correct use include the following: Ce livre-ci est en anglais et celui-là est en français. Lequel est-ce que tu as lu? – Celui qui est écrit en français. Parmi ces stylos, gardez celui auquel tu tiens le moins et passez-moi les autres. Tu as visité plusieurs maisons. Laquelle est-ce que tu préfères? – Celle que nous avons vue hier. Je sais que tu as deux nièces. Rappelle-moi le nom de celle à qui tu as parlé hier soir. Tu peux prendre 3 CDs. Lesquels vas-tu choisir? – Ceux-ci, ceux dont tout le monde parle. Elle nettoie les appartements du rez-de-chaussée et ceux du premier étage. Nous avons plusieurs amies. Lesquelles avez-vous rencontrées? – Celles de Paris. Choisissez les fleurs que vous préférez. – Celles-ci sont plus fraîches que celles-là. How does French refer to the former and the latter? In French, the former is expressed by means of celui-là, celle-là, ceux-là and celles-là. The latter is expressed by means of celui-ci, celle-ci, ceux-ci and celles-ci. Whereas in English references to the former normally precede references to the latter, in French the forms ending in -ci must be used before those ending in -là. This means that, in French, the latter clauses normally precede the former clauses, which is different from what happens in English. Compare the following French sentences with their English translations: Quelle est la différence entre le petit déjeuner et le déjeuner ? – C'est simple : celui-ci est servi à midi, celui-là le matin. (What's the difference between breakfast and lunch? –- Easy: the former is served in the morning, the latter at noon.) Les chiens et les chats ont des façons différentes de marquer leur contentement. Ceux-ci ronronnent tandis que ceux-là remuent la queue. (Dogs and cats have different ways to express their pleasure. The former wag their tails, whereas the latter purr.) In sentences where only the latter is used, it is possible (but not necessary) to use a form of ce dernier instead of a form of celui-ci. Both of the following are therefore correct: Je cherche des informations sur Marcel Proust et Honoré de Balzac. Ce dernier a écrit des dizaines de romans, dont Le père Goriot. Je cherche des informations sur Marcel Proust et Honoré de Balzac. Celui-ci a écrit des dizaines de romans, dont Le père Goriot. Ce The rules of use of the invariable demonstrative pronoun ce, which often competes with the impersonal pronoun il and is not to be confused with the masculine singular demonstrative adjective ce, are explained in the grammar section of chapter 5.

 
 

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