FRENCH NOTE 64 USE OF " CELLE"

FRENCH NOTE 64 - Use of CELLE

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

In the last note , I dealt with the demonstrative pronoun " CELUI" in its simple form. Now I will take up the other demonstrative pronouns in their simple forms.

CELUI.                          CEUX

CELLE                          CELLES

When the pronoun represents a feminine singular noun , use " CELLE".

CEUX is the plural form of CELUI.

CELLES  is the plural form of CELLE.

Study the examples given below. When you come to the end of this note, you will be thorough with the use of demonstrative pronouns ( simple).

1. The one seated on the chair is my niece.

Celle qui est assise sur la chaise est ma nièce .

Why " Celle qui" ? 

" nièce " is feminine singular . So " Celle qui" and not " Celui qui".

Hope the point is clear.

2.  There are many dancers. But the one whom we admire  is Vyjayanthimala.

 Il y a beaucoup de danseuses. Mais celle qu'on admire est  Vyjayanthimala .

Why " Celle que" and not " celle qui " ?

" celle que" is  the object of the verb " admirer" .  Remember that whenever the demonstrative pronoun represents an object of the verb which follows It, you should use 

" Celle que" and not " Celle qui". This principle  will be followed in other cases also.

Hope the point is very clear now.

3.  My house is the one opposite to the hospital .

Ma maison est celle qui est en face de l'hôpital .

The above example is given to show that " Celle qui" can stand for  nouns other than persons .  Since " Maison " is feminine singular , we use " Celle qui" .  Moreover, " Celle qui" is the subject of the verb "être " .

Hope all points are very clear.

4.  There are many shirts in the store. The one which I like is blue.

Il y a beaucoup de chemises dans le magasin . Celle que j'aime  est bleu.

Hope you understood why we employ "  Celle que" .   " Celle que"  is the object of the verb " aimer" which follows it . " chemise" is feminine singular and therefore " Celle" and not " Celui ".

5.    Your mother is a nurse. That of  Jean  is an advocate.

Votre mère est infirmière . Celle de Jean est avocate.

Just like " Celui " , " Celle " and other demonstrative pronouns ( simple) can be followed by prepositions.

6.  The one with whom he had an affair left him .

Celle avec qui il a eu une liaison  l'a quitté.

Observe the use of preposition after " Celle". We can use other prepositions also.

To sum up ," CELLE" , can be used with relative pronouns and prepositions representing not only persons but  also things other than persons. You may use it with " dont" also. This note is not as exhaustive as I would like it to be. Kindly read good French texts to master the grammar  points.

I tried my best to make you understand " Celle" in this post. 

I will continue  the same topic in my next posts.

Happy learning .

Point out if any inadvertent errors have crept in.

Sayee Jayaraman 

31/03/2015