Go Loco
StudyShopSign In
👉

Demonstrative Pronouns

Spoken Description

Apprenez les pronoms démonstratifs en français : règles d'accord, distinction ce/cela et celui/celle/ceux/celles, accords en genre et nombre, usages de proximité et d'éloignement, exemples clairs et exercices pratiques.

Learn French demonstrative pronouns: rules for ce/cet/cette/ces and celui/celle/ceux/celles, gender and number agreement, uses for proximity vs distance, common mistakes, clear examples and practical exercises to practice.

-:- / -:-
Demonstrative pronouns point to specific things and sometimes show whether something is near or far. They help you replace nouns and make sentences clearer and shorter.

Basic Demonstrative Pronouns

The basic French demonstrative pronouns are celui, celle, ceux and celles, and they agree in gender and number with the noun they replace. Each one can be followed by a suffix like -ci or -là to show more precisely whether you mean something near or far.
GenderNumberFrench PronounEnglish Equivalent
MasculineSingularceluithe one / that one
FeminineSingularcellethe one / that one
MasculinePluralceuxthe ones / those
FemininePluralcellesthe ones / those

Examples

Je préfère(the one - masculine) avec l'étiquette rouge.

I prefer the one (masculine) with the red label.

1 of 4

Distinctions with -ci and -là

Adding -ci makes the demonstrative pronoun refer to something nearby, while -là points to something more distant. This distinction is useful in conversations when you physically indicate or mentally separate two things.
French EndingEnglish Meaning
-cithis / these (near)
-làthat / those (far)

Examples

Je préfère(the one - masculine) avec l'étiquette rouge.

I prefer the one (masculine) with the red label.

1 of 4

Demonsrative Pronouns with Modifiers

Demonstrative pronouns can be followed by relative clauses introduced by qui, que, or dont to add information about the thing pointed to. This turns the pronoun into a more precise tool for picking out one item among many.

Examples

Je préfère(the one - masculine) avec l'étiquette rouge.

I prefer the one (masculine) with the red label.

1 of 4

Neutre Demonstrative : Ce, Cela, Ça

Use ce for more abstract or general references, especially before verbs or when introducing an idea, and use cela or ça for turning attention to an action or when replacing a longer phrase. Ça is the colloquial short form of cela.
French PronounUsageEnglish Meaning
cebefore verbs like êtreit / that
celaformal or neutralthat
çainformal (spoken French)that / it

Examples

Je préfère(the one - masculine) avec l'étiquette rouge.

I prefer the one (masculine) with the red label.

1 of 4

Demonstrative Pronouns with Modifiers

Demonstrative pronouns can be followed by relative clauses introduced by qui, que, or dont to add information about the thing pointed to. This turns the pronoun into a more precise tool for picking out one item among many.
French StructureEnglish Meaning
celui qui...the one who...
celle que...the one that...
ceux dont...the ones whose...

Examples

Je préfère(the one - masculine) avec l'étiquette rouge.

I prefer the one (masculine) with the red label.

1 of 4

Summary

Demonstrative pronouns like celui, celle, ceux and celles replace specific nouns and can take -ci or -là to show proximity. Use relative clauses to add detail, and choose between ce, cela and ça for more general or abstract references. Practice these distinctions to make your French both precise and natural.

All content was written by our AI and may contain a few mistakes. We may earn commissions on some links. Last updated: Mon Dec 8, 2025, 6:26 AM