français · B1 · grammar · 4 minutes
Celui, celle, ceux, and celles
Replace a known noun while preserving its gender and number, then identify it with de, qui, or que.
Understand the choice
Demonstrative pronouns mean “the one(s)” but cannot usually stand bare. Their form inherits gender and number from the omitted noun; the following phrase tells listeners which one.
Core rule: Celui, celle, ceux, and celles replace a noun but normally require a complement such as de + noun, a relative clause, or -ci/-là.
Notice it in context
Je préfère cette option à celle que nous avons testée hier.
I prefer this option to the one we tested yesterday.
Celle replaces feminine option and is specified by the que relative clause.
Mon bureau est celui près de la fenêtre.
My desk is the one near the window.
Celui replaces masculine bureau and the place phrase identifies it.
Ceux qui souhaitent participer doivent s’inscrire.
Those who wish to participate must register.
Ceux is masculine or mixed plural; qui is subject of souhaitent.
What to remember
- Celui-ci points to the nearer or current item and celui-là to a contrasted or more distant one.
- Do not confuse ce, an adjective/pronoun form, with ceux, the masculine plural demonstrative pronoun.
Common trap: Do not use celui directly before a noun. Say ce livre or celui de Marie, not celui livre.