Demonstrative and possessive pronouns
B1 Les pronoms démonstratifs et possessifs 44 / 52
In short
These pronouns replace a noun you have already mentioned. Demonstrative celui/celle/ceux/celles means “the one(s)”; possessive le mien/le tien/le sien… means “mine/yours/his…”. Both agree in gender and number with the noun they stand for, not with the person speaking.
The rule
In Lesson 9 you learned demonstrative and possessive adjectives (ce livre, mon livre), which sit before a noun. Here the noun disappears and a pronoun takes its place. The pronoun still carries the noun’s gender and number.
celui / celle / ceux / celles
These are the demonstrative pronouns. They mean “the one” / “the ones” and can never stand alone - they must be followed by -ci/-là, a preposition (usually de), or a relative clause.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | celui | celle |
| Plural | ceux | celles |
- Choose the form by the noun replaced: le train -> celui, la voiture -> celle, les livres -> ceux, les photos -> celles.
- Quel gâteau ? Celui de gauche. (Which cake? The one on the left.)
celui-ci / celui-là, celui de…, celui qui…
Three ways to complete the pronoun:
- -ci / -là (pointing): -ci = this one (nearer), -là = that one (further). J’hésite entre deux vestes : celle-ci ou celle-là ? In speech -là is by far the more common and often just means “that one” with no contrast.
- + de (belonging / origin): shows possession or source, replacing an English ‘s or “of”. Ma voiture et celle de mon frère. (My car and my brother’s.)
- + relative clause (qui / que / dont / où): Prends celui qui te plaît. (Take the one you like.) / Les étudiants et ceux que j’ai rencontrés hier. (The students and the ones I met yesterday.)
Note the neuter forms ce/ceci/cela/ça, which point to an idea rather than a specific noun: Ceci est important. Ça ne me plaît pas. They do not agree in gender.
Possessive pronouns: le mien, le tien, le sien…
These mean mine, yours, his/hers, ours, yours, theirs. They are always made of a definite article (le/la/les) plus a possessive word, and both parts agree with the noun replaced.
- C’est ton manteau ? Non, c’est le mien. (Is that your coat? No, it’s mine.)
- Ta chambre est petite, la mienne est grande. (Your room is small, mine is big.)
- Because the article is part of the pronoun, it contracts with à and de: à + le mien -> au mien, de + les tiens -> des tiens. Je préfère ma méthode à la tienne. (I prefer my method to yours.)
Do not confuse the possessive pronoun le sien (his/hers, standing alone) with the possessive adjective son/sa/ses (before a noun): son livre = his book, but le sien = his (one).
Forms & patterns
Demonstrative pronouns:
| Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plur. | Fem. plur. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | celui | celle | ceux | celles |
| + ci | celui-ci | celle-ci | ceux-ci | celles-ci |
| + là | celui-là | celle-là | ceux-là | celles-là |
Possessive pronouns (agree with the thing owned, not the owner):
| Owner | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plur. | Fem. plur. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je (mine) | le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| tu (yours) | le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| il/elle (his/hers) | le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| nous (ours) | le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| vous (yours) | le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| ils/elles (theirs) | le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
Note the circumflex on le nôtre / le vôtre (pronoun, closed “o”) versus the adjective notre / votre (no accent, before a noun): notre maison vs la nôtre.
Examples
| Français | English |
|---|---|
| Voici deux stylos : tu veux celui-ci ou celui-là ? | Here are two pens: do you want this one or that one? |
| Ma valise ressemble à celle de Marie. | My suitcase looks like Marie’s. |
| Les gens qui partent tôt et ceux qui restent… | The people who leave early and the ones who stay… |
| Ce n’est pas mon problème, c’est le tien. | It’s not my problem, it’s yours. |
| Nos enfants jouent avec les leurs. | Our children play with theirs. |
| Ton idée est bonne, mais je préfère la sienne. | Your idea is good, but I prefer his/hers. |
| J’ai oublié mon parapluie, prête-moi le tien. | I forgot my umbrella, lend me yours. |
| De toutes ces photos, celles que j’aime sont ici. | Of all these photos, the ones I like are here. |
Common mistakes
- celui rouge -> celui-ci / le rouge - celui cannot be followed directly by an adjective; use -ci/-là, de, or a relative clause instead.
- la voiture de moi -> la mienne - use a possessive pronoun, not de + stressed pronoun, for ownership.
- le mien livre -> mon livre (adjective) or le mien (pronoun, alone) - never put a noun after a possessive pronoun.
- C’est celle de mon frère voiture -> celle de mon frère - the pronoun already stands for voiture; don’t repeat the noun.
- le notre / le votre -> le nôtre / le vôtre - the pronoun takes a circumflex; only the adjective notre/votre is bare.
- Je préfère mon vélo à le tien -> Je préfère mon vélo au tien - the article inside the pronoun contracts: à + le tien -> au tien, de + le mien -> du mien, à + les siens -> aux siens.
Tips
- Two-step choice: first pick gender/number from the noun, then add the ending (-ci/-là, de…, or qui/que…).
- celui is never alone - if nothing follows it, you probably want ce/ça/cela (a whole idea) instead.
- -là wins in everyday speech: French rarely bothers with the -ci / -là contrast unless really pointing at two things.
- Possessive pronoun = article + possessive, so it always shows le/la/les; that article is what contracts to au/du/aux/des.
- Hear the accent: le nôtre/le vôtre (pronoun) have a closed “o” and a circumflex; notre/votre (adjective) have an open “o” and none.
- le sien = his OR hers - French agrees with the object owned, so sa voiture -> la sienne whether the owner is male or female.