Contents · A2
- The present and the imperative completed
- The passé composé completed
- The imparfait and the choice of a past tense
- The future and the condition
- The verb forms of A2 side by side
- Verbs and adjectives followed by à, de or en
- The gender of nouns
- Adjectives: agreement and place
- Comparing and measuring
- Object pronouns, y and en
- Demonstrative and possessive pronouns, and tout
- Relative clauses
- Negation, questions and exclamations
- Prepositions and adverbs of place and time
- Linking words
- Spelling: words that sound alike
Tap a sentence to see its translation.
This one, that one: celui-ci, celle-là#
Formation
The demonstrative pronoun replaces a noun already named and agrees with it in gender and number. -ci is added for what is nearer, -là for what is farther away; in speech, -là is often used for both.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | celui-ci, celui-là | celle-ci, celle-là |
| plural | ceux-ci, ceux-là | celles-ci, celles-là |
- Quel pull tu prends ? — Celui-là, le bleu.Which jumper are you taking? — That one, the blue one.
- Ces chaussures sont trop petites ; celles-là sont parfaites.These shoes are too small; those are perfect.
- J’aime bien les deux robes, mais je prends celle-ci.I like both dresses, but I’ll take this one.
Common mistakes
Je préfère ce.→ Je préfère celui-ci.Ce, cette and ces are placed before a noun; without a noun, the pronoun celui, celle is used.Celui-là est jolie.→ Celle-là est jolie.The pronoun agrees with the noun replaced (la robe).
Difference from English
English “this one”, “that one” is celui-ci, celui-là or celle-ci, celle-là, according to the gender of the noun; “these” and “those” used alone are ceux-ci, ceux-là or celles-ci, celles-là.
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.
Possessive pronouns: le mien, le tien, le nôtre#
Formation
The possessive pronoun replaces a noun with its possessive adjective: mon sac → le mien. It is preceded by the definite article, and it agrees in gender and number with the thing owned, not with the owner.
| Owner | Masculine | Feminine | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| tu | le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| il, elle | le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| nous | le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| vous | le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| ils, elles | le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
Nôtre and vôtre take a circumflex accent, which the adjectives notre and votre do not have, and the vowel is pronounced differently. Le vôtre is also used for one person addressed as vous. The article contracts with à and de: Tu parles de ton frère, et je parle du mien.
- Mon vélo est cassé. Je peux prendre le tien ?My bike is broken. Can I take yours?
- Mon jardin est petit, mais le sien a beaucoup d’arbres.My garden is small, but his has a lot of trees.
- Votre jardin est plus joli que le nôtre.Your garden is prettier than ours.
- Nos enfants sont à l’école, et les leurs sont à la maison.Our children are at school, and theirs are at home.
Common mistakes
C’est ma valise, pas la tien.→ C’est ma valise, pas la tienne.The possessive pronoun agrees with the thing owned: la valise, la tienne.Paul a pris la sien.→ Paul a pris la sienne.La sienne means “his” or “hers”, according to the noun replaced.
Difference from English
English his and hers depend on the owner; le sien, la sienne depend on the gender and number of the thing owned: Léa’s car is la sienne, and so is Marc’s. English ours, yours and theirs have one form; French has a singular and a plural: le nôtre, les nôtres.
→ See also: Possessive adjectives (A1)
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.
All and every: tout, toute, tous, toutes#
Formation
Before a noun, tout means “all” or “the whole”; it agrees with the noun and is followed by an article, a demonstrative or a possessive: tout le pain, toute la famille, tous mes amis, toutes ces chaises. In the plural with a time word, it means “every”: tous les jours, toutes les semaines.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | tout le gâteau | tous les enfants |
| feminine | toute la journée | toutes les filles |
Tout le monde means “everybody” and is followed by a verb in the singular: Tout le monde est là. Tout alone, meaning “everything”, is invariable: J’ai tout compris. As a pronoun, tous and toutes mean “all of them”; the s of tous is then pronounced: Mes amis sont tous venus.
- Il a plu toute la journée.It rained all day.
- Tous les matins, je bois un café.Every morning I drink a coffee.
- Tout le monde est prêt ?Is everybody ready?
- Les enfants ont tout mangé !The children have eaten everything!
Common mistakes
Tout la classe est là.→ Toute la classe est là.Tout agrees with the noun: la classe is feminine.Tout le monde sont contents.→ Tout le monde est content.Tout le monde takes a verb in the singular.
Difference from English
English “all day” has no article; French uses one: toute la journée. English “every day” is singular; French uses the plural: tous les jours (or chaque jour).
In short
| Point | Forms | Example |
|---|---|---|
| demonstrative pronoun | celui-ci, celle-là, ceux-ci, celles-là | Je prends celui-là. |
| possessive pronoun | le mien, la tienne, les nôtres… agree with the thing owned | C’est la mienne. |
| tout + noun | tout le, toute la, tous les, toutes les | toute la nuit |
| everybody, everything | tout le monde + singular verb; tout | Tout le monde danse. |
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.