Tell me all about ,"CELUI ,CELLE, CELUI-Ci etc ,"
This note is about the use of demonstrative pronouns in French . I assure you that it is not difficult to master them. They exist in simple and complex form. Let us take the simple one first and the complex later.
When I start from English to French, the concepts are easily understood. In English , we often use the phrases , " that which ", " he/she who", " those which", " those who" , " he she whom", " those whom". To put these phrases into French , the simple demonstrative pronouns like " CELUI " come handy. The simple demonstrative pronouns are generally used with a relative pronoun like qui, que , dont etc.The following examples would clarify the usage.
He who works hard will succeed.
Celui qui travaille dur, réussira .
Do you want this book ? No I want that which contains photos.
Est-ce que tu veux ce livre? Non, je veux celui qui contient des photos.
Kindly observe that in the first example, " celui qui" is translated as " he who" as it indicates a person. But in the second example " celui qui" is translated as " that which " as " book" is a thing . French language uses " Celui qui" both for persons and things.
Further note that " Celui qui" is the subject of the verb which it follows.
Study the following examples
He whom I loved is dead.
Celui que j'ai aimé est mort.
- Peter, this pant is for you.
- That which I want is green .
- Pierre , ce pantalon est pour toi.
- Celui que je veux est vert.
Remember that in French , " Celui que" should be used only when it is a direct object of the verb which follows. When " Celui que" denotes a person , it is translate in English as " he whom" or " one whom".
But when , " celui que" is not a person, , it is translated in English as " that which" or " the one which ".
" Celui " can be followed by " dont" in French . Study the examples given below.
The one of whom ( about whom ) I spoke will come in 15 minutes.
Celui dont j'ai parlé viendra in 15 minutes.
- You can choose a book.
- That of which I am in need is not available.
- Tu peux choisir un livre.
- Celui dont j'ai besoin n'est pas disponible .
Note that ," Celui dont " can be translated in English as " the one of whom" , " the one about whom" , " that of which" , " that about which " depending on the context and that fact whether one is speaking of a person or thing.
" Celui" can be used with a preposition in French . Let me explain , by first giving English examples and then their French equivalents.
My father is a doctor. That of my cousin is a teacher.
Mon père est médecin . Celui de mon cousin est professor.
This pen is for you. The one for your sister is in the bag.
Ce stylo est pour toi. Celui pour ta sœur est dans le sac.
I know about a temple in gold. But not one in silver.
Je connais un temple en or. Mais pas celui en argent .
" Celui" comes always in the place of a noun in masculine form and singular number in French. It can stand either for a person or a thing .
I shall continue this subject in a few more notes. If you grasp this note, following subsequent notes will be very easy.
T K Jayaraman
31/03/2015
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