9
votes
Accepted
"De ces" instead of "des" when "de" is partitive?
The formulation de ces, where de is partitive, is okay and roughly means "some of these/those".
Straightforward reading
The formulation can indeed sound strange to English ears, since matching the ...
- 19.2k
7
votes
Accepted
What does it mean when there's a "C'est" after "ce, cet, cettes, ou ces"?
this sentence is grammatically incorrect. I think that one word is missing. Based on the context, it could be "vidéo".
Cette vidéo, c'est ...
This video is ...
Cette is a "déterminant" which ...
- 5,575
6
votes
Is there a difference between "this" and "that" in French?
Many wrong or partially wrong answers here, and your question is not precise enough. The use of demonstrative pronouns is not easy. Here are my thoughts after I've read the answers, probably not ...
- 3,745
6
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between “c'est pour cela” and “c'est pour ça”?
"Ça" can replace "Cela" in all sentences, it means the same thing.
"Ça" is more used in familiar language and "Cela" in formal or literary language.
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6
votes
Accepted
« Ç'a été » et « Ça a été »
La première phrase est d'un registre familier puisque ça est utilisé pour cela :
Ça a été difficile. (Cela a été difficile, cela fut difficile)
La deuxième phrase est soit d'un registre encore ...
- 146k
6
votes
Use of “c’est” with an adjective and plural nouns
Your examples show a way to put the emphasis on a quality or a state (attribute) by moving the subject at the end of a sentence. It is common in spoken French. A comma is generally used.
TLFi
II.− Ce,...
- 146k
5
votes
Why would you talk about people as if they were an object (c'est un/une...)?
In this sentence, it is not correct to translate “c'est” by “it is”. The pronoun ce is neutral when it is part of the triptych celui/celle/ce (plural ceux/celles — there is no neutral plural). In this ...
5
votes
Why would you talk about people as if they were an object (c'est un/une...)?
Indeed, it is a richness of our marvelous language :). C' (for Ce) is neutral and you can use it to represent almost everything cited in a preceding sentence (or everyone, Laurent in your case):
C'...
- 1,458
5
votes
The use of the particle “là”
"Là" is an adverb. It's used for time and place.
Ce moment-là : this precise moment, the "là" puts the word "moment" in kind of highlights
Ce niveau-là : same idea, to put attention about "niveau".
...
- 99
5
votes
Accepted
C'est / Il est. Tu as vu ce film ? Il/C'était intéressant
En effet cette remarque est tout à fait pertinente. Pour parler du film précédemment évoqué, il n'est pas possible d'utiliser le pronom ce, il faut nécessairement utiliser il :
Tu as vu ce film ? ...
- 30.3k
5
votes
What pronoun should be used for “She is my guide” as opposed to “He is my guide”?
You believe wrong, « C'est mon guide » doesn't need to be adapted as it already equally applies to a woman. « Elle est mon guide » is somewhat odd. It matches the unidiomatic « Il est mon guide » ...
- 146k
5
votes
Accepted
Necessity of pronouns in “Here is my [adjective] one” type constructs
I was not sure whether this qualifies as an answer as I am not able to provide any logic to explain it but I decided to post this because my intuitions about this are very different from Begueradj's.
...
- 1,127
5
votes
Accepted
Why not class "ce" as a personal pronoun?
It's partly because of conservatism in traditional grammatical analyses of French, that made a strong distinction between personal and demonstrative pronouns and have roots in the grammatical system ...
- 9,654
4
votes
What pronoun should be used for “She is my guide” as opposed to “He is my guide”?
« C' » est un pronom démonstratif impersonnel qui signifie « ceci » ou « cela », il peut donc désigner « il » ou « elle ». Pour préciser dans ce cas, vous pouvez utiliser:
Elle est mon guide.
Au ...
- 225
4
votes
Why would you talk about people as if they were an object (c'est un/une...)?
I believe it's more complicated than that, and this actually goes to a similar place as the ser/estar distinction of Spanish.
It's not that French "refers to humans the same as it does objects", but ...
- 17.3k
4
votes
Celui-ci / Celui-là / Ceci what's the difference between them?
The meaning is very close between celui-ci and celui-là. In theory, the first one is for things closer than the second one but this nuance is not always respected. We often just favor celui-là because ...
- 146k
3
votes
Quelle est la différence entre "ce que" et "celui/celle que"?
On pourrait dire où est ce qui manque ? si on ne référait pas à la carte manquante. Le ce dans ce cas renverrait plutôt à un collectif/massif.
- 2,869
3
votes
Accepted
What is the proper way of using the Demonstrative Pronoun in this sentence?
To find the appropriate translation, you should provide more context as there are various situations where "This is my teacher" can be used in English. Depending on them, the French translation might ...
- 146k
3
votes
Accepted
Laquelle de ces phrases contient une faute dans l’emploi du pronom démonstratif ?
On peut comprendre la phrase
Marc, c’est celui-ci dont Lucie nous a parlé en sortant du lycée.
de deux façons.
Vu la ponctuation (virgule après Marc qui est mis en apposition) il faut ...
- 60.2k
3
votes
Accepted
Les raisonnements optimistes sont plus fréquents que ceux pessimistes
Your sentence is not grammatical. You should use an article together with an adjective, omitting the noun, to avoid repetition:
Les raisonnements optimistes sont plus fréquents que les pessimistes.
...
- 30.3k
3
votes
Les raisonnements optimistes sont plus fréquents que ceux pessimistes
Non. Les pronoms démonstratifs doivent être utilisés dans une de ces constructions particulières :
avec un suffixe -ci ou -là
avant une phrase prépositionnelle
avec un pronom relatif
Dans votre ...
- 4,628
3
votes
When to use c'est or il/elle est when describing the shapes of objects?
Il est rectangulaire is correct if it is clear you are talking about a specific book, C'est en papier is not unless you haven't already tell it is a book, or if you are talking about what is a book in ...
- 146k
3
votes
Accepted
"C'est" vs. "ce sont" in enumerations
C'est mon fils et ma fille is not just familiar but an accepted and common style.
There are rare cases where using Ce sont is mandatory like where it expands a previously expressed plural:
Je parle ...
- 146k
3
votes
"ce qui sont" ou "ce qui est" devant le pluriel
I would say both of yours alternatives are at least grammatically questionable.
Unlike C'est which can be and is routinely followed by a plural, ce qui is almost exclusively followed by a singular.
...
- 146k
3
votes
Cela, celà, ceux là
En dehors de l'accent grave et de son extrême rareté, rien ne distingue celà de cela.
Certains auteurs mettent un accent par analogie avec voici/voilà (ceci/celà) mais l'Académie l'a toujours ...
- 146k
3
votes
How can I choose between "ça" & "c’est" to write a sentence?
Ça is “this”, “that” or “it”, c’est could in most cases if not all, be translated as “this is”, “that is” or “it is”:
Ça s’est bien passé → That went well
Ça fonctionne → It works
Ça me fait mal →...
3
votes
Accepted
Traduction de « this » dans « We believe that this is the first work that shows how... »
Une autre suggestion :
Nous pensons qu'il s'agit là du premier travail qui montre que...
Travail n'est probablement pas la meilleure traduction de work ici. On trouvera plutôt :
...la première ...
- 146k
3
votes
Accepted
Ce mois-ci / Ce jour-là
Pour autant que je sache, on met systématiquement un tiret entre un mot et ci ou là.
Voir le TLFi
- 14.9k
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