8.2.7
Ça, Cela, Celui
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'Celui' - this one, that one
Celui is used for replacing masculine demonstrative adjective and the noun that follows them. It cannot be used by itself, it can be used on three occasions.

With '-ci-' or '-là' attached to it
- With '-ci' added to it, it means 'this one'. With '-là' added to it, it means 'that one'.
- Quel garçon l'a fait, celui-ci ou celui-là?
- Which boy did it, this one or that one?
- Je ne sais pas si je veux celui-ci ou celui-là.
- I don't know if I want this one or that one.
- Quel garçon l'a fait, celui-ci ou celui-là?

Followed by a prepositional phrase
- Usually, these begin with 'de'.
- Quel film voulez-vous voir? Celui d'Espagne ou celui du Brésil?
- Which film do you want to watch? The one from Spain or the one from Brazil?
- Le seul vélo du village, c'était celui de mon frère.
- The only bike in the village was the one belonging to my brother.
- Lequel préférez-vous? Celui de droite ou celui de gauche?
- Which do you prefer? The one on the right or the one on the left?
- Quel film voulez-vous voir? Celui d'Espagne ou celui du Brésil?

Followed by a relative pronoun
- They are used before 'dont', 'qui' and 'que'.
- Celui dont c'est l'anniversaire.
- The one whose birthday it is.
- Il n'y a de pire sourd que celui qui ne veut entendre.
- There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.
- Celui que vous voulez.
- The one which you want.
- Celui dont c'est l'anniversaire.
Ça, Cela
These are called indefinite demonstrative pronouns. They are used to replace a noun in a sentence, it doesn't matter if the verb is masculine or feminine. The replaced noun can be an idea or a situation or something unnamed.

Cela
- 'Cela' can be used with every verb:
- Cela me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.
- I would be happy to take your questions. (Literally: This will make me happy to answer your questions.)
- Cela doit rester un secret.
- This has to remain a secret.
- Cela me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.
- It is also used as the thing having the action done to it.
- Qui a fait cela ?
- Who did this?
- Qui a fait cela ?

Ça
- 'Ça' is the more informal version of 'cela', it is used in the same way.
- Ça me fera plaisir.
- I would be happy to.
- Ça devrait aller mieux demain.
- That will be better tomorrow.
- Qui a fait ça ?
- Who did that?
- Ça me fera plaisir.
1Home & Abroad
1.1Town & Rural Life
1.2Holiday, Tourism & Directions
1.4Everyday Life & Traditions
2Education & Employment
2.1School Life & Routine
2.2School Trips, Events & Exchanges
3Personal Life & Relationships
3.1House & Home
3.2Daily Routine & Helping at Home
4The World Around Us
4.1Global Issues
4.2Weather
4.3Travel & Transport
4.5Information & Tech
5Social Activities, Fitness & Health
5.1Special Occasions
5.2Hobbies & Interests
5.3Numbers
5.4Shopping & Money
5.5Illness & Health
5.6Food & Drink
6Common Tenses
6.1Present Tense
6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2Perfect Tense
6.3Imperfect tense
6.4Imperfect vs Perfect
7Advanced Tenses
7.1Conditional Tense
8Extra Grammar
8.1The Passive Voice
8.2Pronouns
8.3Asking Questions
8.4Nouns
8.7Quantifiers & Intensifiers
8.8Adjectives
8.9Negative
8.10Conjunctions
8.11Miscellaneous
Jump to other topics
1Home & Abroad
1.1Town & Rural Life
1.2Holiday, Tourism & Directions
1.4Everyday Life & Traditions
2Education & Employment
2.1School Life & Routine
2.2School Trips, Events & Exchanges
3Personal Life & Relationships
3.1House & Home
3.2Daily Routine & Helping at Home
4The World Around Us
4.1Global Issues
4.2Weather
4.3Travel & Transport
4.5Information & Tech
5Social Activities, Fitness & Health
5.1Special Occasions
5.2Hobbies & Interests
5.3Numbers
5.4Shopping & Money
5.5Illness & Health
5.6Food & Drink
6Common Tenses
6.1Present Tense
6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2Perfect Tense
6.3Imperfect tense
6.4Imperfect vs Perfect
7Advanced Tenses
7.1Conditional Tense
8Extra Grammar
8.1The Passive Voice
8.2Pronouns
8.3Asking Questions
8.4Nouns
8.7Quantifiers & Intensifiers
8.8Adjectives
8.9Negative
8.10Conjunctions
8.11Miscellaneous
Practice questions on Ça, Cela, Celui
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1Which of the following is a correct use of 'celui'?Multiple choice
- 2How do you say 'that one' in French?Multiple choice
- 3How do you say 'It/this means' in French?Multiple choice
- 4How do you say 'the one behind my bed' in French?Multiple choice
- 5How do you say 'the one who is sunbathing' in French?Multiple choice
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