French pronounsDemonstrative pronouns

Using ‘celui’, ‘celle’, ‘ceux’ and ‘celles’

Demonstrative pronouns are used to pick out or ‘demonstrate’ a noun the same as one that has already been mentioned. They are often translated as ‘the one(s) which…’, ‘that one/those ones’ or ‘this one/these ones’.

Examples

• Ma chambre est plus petite que celle de ma sœur. - My bedroom is smaller than my sister’s (the one belonging to my sister).
• Je n’aime pas les frites du supermarché, je préfère celles des restos fastfood – I don’t like chips from the supermarket, I prefer the ones from fast food restaurants.

Demonstrative pronouns can be used with -ci (here) or -là (there) for contrast or emphasis:

Examples

• Je préfère ce portefeuille-ci à celui-là. – I prefer this wallet here to that one (there).
• Ces fraises-là sont moins chères que celles-ci. – Those strawberries over there are cheaper than these ones (here).

Choose the correct demonstrative pronoun from the list.

• celui-là
• celle-là
• ceux-là
• celui
• celle
• ceux
• celles