Contents · C1
Tap a sentence to see its translation.
A text avoids repeating its nouns: what has been named is picked up by a pronoun, by ce dernier or celui-ci, by tel or de même, or by a more general noun. Tout has three values, each with its own agreement, and a few indefinite words, la plupart de, bien des, divers, quelque, express quantity and kind in a precise or formal way.
Referring back across sentences. A noun or an idea already named is referred to without being repeated, so that the reader follows who is who and what is what.
Use
- Ce dernier (cette dernière, ces derniers, ces dernières) refers to the last person or thing named, where il or elle would be ambiguous: Julie a écrit à sa voisine ; cette dernière n’a pas répondu.
- Celui-ci (celle-ci, ceux-ci, celles-ci) also refers to what was named last, celui-là to what was named first.
- Le premier… le second (or le deuxième, l’autre) refers to two people or things in the order they were named.
- Tel, at the head of a clause, refers to what has just been said and agrees with the noun that follows: Telle est la situation. Tels sont les faits.
- Faire de même means doing what the person just named has done; il en est de même and il en va de même say that what has been stated also applies to something else: il en va de même pour les enfants.
- Pareil, after the noun, means “like that” and agrees with it: une idée pareille, des gens pareils.
- A noun is often picked up by a more general noun: le chêne… l’arbre, la Seine… le fleuve, le maire… l’élu.
- Le directeur a reçu un journaliste. Ce dernier voulait parler des salaires.The director met a journalist. The latter wanted to talk about salaries.
- J’ai deux sœurs : la première vit à Paris, la seconde à Lyon.I have two sisters: the first lives in Paris, the second in Lyon.
- Mon voisin a planté des arbres, et nous avons fait de même.My neighbour planted trees, and we did the same.
- Telles sont les règles du jeu.Such are the rules of the game.
- Je n’avais jamais goûté un plat pareil.I had never tasted a dish like that.
→ See also: Referring back in a text: ce dernier, le premier… le second, suivant (B1)
The values of tout#
Tout is a determiner before a noun, a pronoun on its own and an adverb before an adjective or another adverb. Each value has its own forms and its own agreement.
Formation
- As a determiner, tout agrees with the noun: tout, toute, tous, toutes: tout le temps, toute la nuit, tous les jours, toutes les semaines. Tous les, toutes les + a plural noun of time mean “every”: tous les deux jours. Tout + a singular noun without an article means “any”, “every”: tout citoyen, à toute heure.
- As a pronoun meaning “everything”, tout does not change: Tout est fini. J’ai tout vu.
- As a plural pronoun, tous and toutes agree with the noun they refer to, and the s of tous is pronounced: Mes amis sont tous là. In a compound tense, the pronoun is placed between the auxiliary and the participle: Elles sont toutes arrivées. Je les ai tous lus.
Tout as an adverb
- As an adverb, tout means “very” or “completely”, and does not change before a masculine adjective or before another adverb: tout petit, tout près, tout à fait, tout de suite, ils sont tout contents.
- Before a feminine adjective starting with a vowel or a mute h, it does not change either: tout entière, tout heureuse.
- Before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant or an aspirate h, it agrees: toute seule, toutes rouges, toute honteuse.
- Tout en + gérondif marks two actions at the same time, or two actions at odds with each other: tout en marchant, tout en sachant que….
| Value | Meaning | Agreement | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| determiner | all, every, the whole | with the noun | toute la ville, tous les soirs |
| pronoun (singular) | everything | none | Tout va bien. |
| pronoun (plural) | all of them | with the noun referred to; s pronounced | Ils sont tous partis. |
| adverb | very, completely | none, except before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant or an aspirate h | tout doux, tout heureuse, toute pâle |
| tout en + gérondif | while | none | tout en souriant |
- Il a plu toute la journée.It rained all day.
- Nous partons en vacances tous les étés.We go on holiday every summer.
- Les invités sont tous arrivés à l’heure.The guests all arrived on time.
- Tout était calme dans la maison.Everything was quiet in the house.
- Ma voisine est rentrée toute contente.My neighbour came home very happy.
- La salle tout entière s’est levée.The whole room stood up.
- Elle écoutait la radio tout en préparant le repas.She listened to the radio while she cooked the meal.
Common mistakes
Elle est toute heureuse.→ Elle est tout heureuse.Before a feminine adjective starting with a vowel or a mute h, the adverb tout does not change.Elles sont tout fières.→ Elles sont toutes fières.Before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant, the adverb tout agrees.Je les ai tout lus.→ Je les ai tous lus.The pronoun tous agrees with les, and comes between the auxiliary and the participle.
Difference from English
English “all”, “every”, “everything” and “very” are four words; French tout has all four meanings, and its form shows which. English “all” often comes at the end (“I have read them all”); French tous comes before the participle: je les ai tous lus. Tout as an adverb agreeing with an adjective has no English parallel: elle est toute seule.
→ See also: All and every: tout, toute, tous, toutes (A2)
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.
Tel, la plupart de, bien des, quelque: how many and what kind#
A few indefinite words say how many (la plupart de, bien des, maint, quelque) or what kind (tel, divers). Several of them belong to careful or formal French, and each has its own agreement.
Formation
- Tel agrees with its noun: tel, telle, tels, telles. Before a singular noun it follows the article, un tel, une telle; before a plural noun, des becomes de: de tels, de telles.
- Un tel, une telle, de tels + noun + que introduces a consequence: un tel bruit que…
- In tel que (such as, as) and tel quel (as it is), tel agrees with the noun it refers to: des fruits tels que la pomme, une maison vendue telle quelle.
- La plupart de + a plural noun is followed by a plural verb: la plupart des élèves sont venus. La plupart alone is plural too: la plupart sont d’accord.
- Divers and diverses before a plural noun mean “various”: diverses raisons. After the noun, divers means “varied”: des goûts divers.
- Maint (mainte, maints, maintes) is a literary word for plusieurs, found mainly in maintes fois and à maintes reprises.
Use
- Bien des + a plural noun means “many”, like beaucoup de, but keeps des: bien des gens, bien des fois.
- Bien before an adjective can mean très: bien content, bien difficile.
- Before a number, quelque means environ (“about”, “some”) and does not change: quelque trente kilomètres.
- Quelque peu is a formal phrase for un peu: il était quelque peu surpris.
| Word | Meaning | Agreement | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| un tel, de tels | such a, such | with the noun | une telle chaleur, de tels prix |
| tel que | such as | with the noun referred to | des villes telles que Rome |
| la plupart de | most | plural verb | La plupart des magasins ferment. |
| bien des | many | des kept | bien des problèmes |
| divers | various | with the noun | divers pays |
| maint | many (literary) | with the noun | maintes fois |
| quelque + number | about | none | quelque cent personnes |
| quelque peu | rather, a little | none | quelque peu fatigué |
- La plupart des voyageurs attendaient sur le quai.Most of the travellers were waiting on the platform.
- Je ne m’attendais pas à un tel succès.I didn’t expect such a success.
- Il a fait une telle chaleur que les rivières ont séché.It was so hot that the rivers dried up.
- J’ai bien des souvenirs dans cette maison.I have many memories in this house.
- Le musée présente divers objets de la vie quotidienne.The museum shows various everyday objects.
- Le village se trouve à quelque dix kilomètres de la mer.The village lies some ten kilometres from the sea.
- Elle a répété la même chose à maintes reprises.She said the same thing again and again.
Common mistakes
La plupart des gens pense que…→ La plupart des gens pensent que…After la plupart de + a plural noun, the verb is plural.des tels problèmes→ de tels problèmesBefore tel + a plural noun, des becomes de.quelques vingt personnes→ quelque vingt personnesBefore a number, quelque means “about” and has no s.bien de gens→ bien des gensBien meaning “many” is followed by des, unlike beaucoup de.
Difference from English
English “such a” puts the article after such; French puts it first: un tel projet, une telle idée. English “most people” has no article; French has la plupart des gens, with a plural verb. English “some twenty minutes” is quelque vingt minutes, with quelque unchanged.
In short
| Form | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| ce dernier, celle-ci | the latter | agrees with the last noun named |
| celui-là, le premier | the former | agrees with the first noun named |
| tel est, tels sont | such is, such are | agrees with the noun that follows |
| tout, toute, tous, toutes (determiner) | all, every | agrees with the noun |
| tout (pronoun) | everything | no change |
| tous (pronoun) | all of them | s pronounced; before the participle |
| tout (adverb) | very, completely | agrees before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant or an aspirate h |
| la plupart des + noun | most | plural verb |
| bien des | many | keeps des |
| quelque + number | about | invariable |
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.