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| Learn French __ Relative Pronouns, Demonstrative Pronouns, To Read, To Say / Tell, To Laugh, Disjunctive Pronouns |
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Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns join sentences together. These words signal a relative clause which explains the noun called the antecedent. When there is no specific antecedent, ce is added as an artificial one. But it can refer to only things, not people. If the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause, use qui. If the relative pronoun is the direct object of the clause, use que. If the verb of the dependent clause requires the preposition de, use dont. If the antecedent is a place or time, use où.
| C'est ce que je disais. |
That's what I said. |
no antecedent |
| Je mange des choses qui sont bonnes. |
I eat things that are good. |
qui is subject |
| Je mange des chose que j'aime. |
I eat things that I like. |
que is object |
| Voici ce dont j'ai besoin. |
Here is what I need. |
avoir besoin is followed by de |
| C'est un restaurant où on sert les poissons. |
It's a restaurant where they serve fish. |
restaurant is a place |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns translate to the one(s), or that/those when replacing a noun. There are four forms, but they are not often used alone. De, qui, que, dont and -ci or -là usually follow them
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Masc. |
Fem. |
| Singular |
celui |
celle |
| Plural |
ceux |
celles |
Donnez-moi mon billet et celui de Guillaume. Give me my ticket and William's. (or: the one of William)
Il porte ses propres livres et ceux de sa sour. He is carrying his own books and his sister's. (or: those of his sister)
Quelles fleurs aimes-tu, celles-ci ou celles-là? Which flowers do you like, these (ones) or those (ones)?
Ceux qui travaillent dur réussissent. Those who work hard succeed.
C'est celui dont je parle. That's the one I'm talking about.
To Read, To Say / Tell, To Laugh
| lire-to read (leer) |
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dire-to say/tell (deer) |
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rire-to laugh (reer) |
| lis (lee) |
lisons (lee-zohn) |
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dis (dee) |
disons (dee-zohn) |
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ris (ree) |
rions (ree-ohn) |
| lis |
lisez (lee-zay) |
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dis |
dites (deet) |
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ris |
riez (ree-ay) |
| lit |
lisent (leez) |
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dit |
disent (deess) |
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rit |
rient (ree) |
Disjunctive Pronouns
1. As mentioned above, disjunctives are mostly used after prepositions and can only replace people, not things. However, if the preposition is à, there are two possible rules:
à + person = indirect pronoun
à + person + à = disjunctive pronoun, in these cases:
| se fier à |
to trust |
| s'habituer à |
to get used to |
| s'intéresser à |
to be interested in |
| penser à |
to think about |
| rêver à |
to dream about |
2. They can also be used alone, to emphasize a subject, with être à (to belong to) or in compound subjects.
Moi, j'ai faim. Me, I am hungry.
Ses amis et lui, ils aiment manger. His friends and he, they like to eat.
Ce livre est à moi! That book is mine!
3. They can be added to -même to mean -self.
elle-même = herself
4. They are also used with ne...que.
C'est n'est que lui. It's only him.
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