Démonstratifs (Demonstratives)

Pronouns are words that stands for noun

Demonstrative adjective

a) CE

ce is often used to point out a particular person or thing, or persons or things. It is followed by the noun it refers to and agrees in the number and gender with that noun

with a masculine singular noun: ce(cet) (this/that)
with a feminine singular noun: cette (this/that)
with a plural noun (masc or fem): ces (these/that)

-ce roman m'a beaucoup plu(I really liked this novel)
-il a neigé ce matin(it snowed this morning)
-cette  chanson m'énerve(that song gets on my nerves)
-cette fois, c'est fini!(this time, it's over!)
-tu trouves que ces lunettes me vont bien?(you found/think these glasses suits me?)

cet is used instead of ce in front of a word beginning with a vowel or a silent h

-cet après-midi(this afternoon)
-cet hôtel(that hotel)

In French there is not separate words to distinguish 'this' and 'that'. However, when a particular emphaisis is placed on a person or object, or when a contrast is being made between persons or objects, ci and là are added to the noun

ci tranlates the idea of this/these
là translate the idea of that/those

If the speaker wants to specify exactly which noun he is referring to in relation to its distance from the said noun, ci or la is added at the end of the noun. ci points out the item's nearness to the speaker(kind of here), là to mean that it is far from him (kind of there).

-Prends cette valise-ci(Take this case)
-Est-ce que tu reconnais cette personne-là?(Do you recognize that person?)
-je suis très occupé ces jours-ci(I am very busy these days)
-que faisiez-vous ce soir-là?(what were you doing that evening?)

Demonstrative pronouns

They are used instead of a noun with ce/cette/ces.

a) Celui

celui agrees in number and gender with the noun it refers to. It has four different forms

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	celui	celle
Plural	ceux	celles

celui, celle, ceux and celles cannot be used on their own, they are use

with ci or là for contrast

  celui-ci        celle-ci            this(one)
  celui-là        celle-là            that(one)
  ceux-ci         celles-ci           these(ones)
  ceux-là         celles-là           those(ones)

-j'aime bein ce maillot, mais celui-là est moins cher(I like this swimsuit, but that is cheaper)
-je voudrais ces fleur -- lequelles? celle-ci ou celles-là?(I'd like those flowers -- which ones? these or those)

with de + noun, to express possession

-je préfère mon ordinateur à celui de Jean-Claude(I prefer my computer to Jean Claude's(that of Jean Claud))
-range ta chambre plutôt que celle de la soeur(arrange/tidy your own bedroom rather than your sister's(that of your sister))
-mes parents sont moins sévères que ceux de Nicole(my parents are less strict than Nicole's(those of Nicole))
-les douches municipales sont mieux que celles du camping(the public showers are better than those at the camping)

with relative pronouns qui, que, dont to introduce a relative clause(relative pronouns - further section in the chapter)

  celui/celle/ceux/celles qui     the one(s) who/which
  celui/celle/ceux/celles que     the one(s) whom/which
  celui/celle/ceux/celles dont    the one(s) which/whose

-lequel est ton père? celui qui a une moustache?(which one is your father? the one who have a moustache? /the one with a moustache?)
-regarde cette voiture! celle qui est garée au coin(look at this car! the one parked on the corner)
-deux filles, celles qu'il avait rencontrées la veille(two girls, the ones who had met the day before)
-voilà mon copain, celui dont je t'ai parlé l'autre jour(here is my friend, the one which I told you about the other day)

a) Ce

ce (means it, that) is mostly found with th verb être

  c'est               ce serait               c'était
  (it's/that's)       (it/that would be)      (it/that was)

Note: ce changes to c' before an e or an é

use of ce

with a noun or pronoun, ce is used to identify people or things, or to emphasize them; it is translated in avariety of ways

-qu'est-ce que c'est? -c'est mon billet d'avion(what is that? it's my plane ticket)
-qui est-ce? - c'est moi(who is it? - it's me)
-ce doit être lui(that must be him)
-c'est un artiste bein connu(he is a well known artist)
-c'était une bonne idée(it was a good idea)
-ce sont mes amis(they are my friends)
-c'est la dernière fois(it's the last time)
-c'est elle qui l'a fait(it's she who did it)
-c'est celui que j'ai vu(that is the one who I saw)

before an adjective, ce is used to refer to an idea, an event or a fact which has already been mentioned, it does not refer to any specific noun

-c'était formidable(it was wonderful)
-ce serait amusant(it would be funny)
-oui, c'est vrai(yes,that is true)
-c'est sûr?(is that definite/certain?)
-ce n'est pas grave(it doesn't matter/ it's not serious)
-c'est bon à entendre(that is good to hear)

Note: the translation of it is difficult as it is translated b ce or il/elle(future)

a) Ceci, cela, ça

ceci(this), cela(that) and ça(that) are used to refer to an idea, an event, a fact or an object. They never refer to a particular noun already mentioned.

-non, je n'aime pas ça!(no, I don't like that)
-ah,bon? cela m'étonne(really? that surpises me)
-souvenez-vous de ceci(remember this)
-ça, c'est un acteur !(that's an actor!)
-ça m'est égal(I don't mind/ I do not care)
-cela ne vous regarde pas(this is/that's none of your business)
-buvez ceci, ça vos fera du bien(drink this, it will do you good)
-ça alors !(well, really!/ Wow)
-cela s'appelle comment, en anglais?(how do you call it in English?)

Note: ceci is not very common; cela and ça are often used to translate 'this' as well as 'that'; ça is used more frequently than cela

French grammer with English