Language/French/Grammar/Demonstrative-pronouns-with-—ci-and-—là

Demonstrative pronouns with —ci and —là

The forms celui-ci/celle-ci/ceux-ci/celles-ci and celui-là/celle-là/ceux-là/celles-là translate English 'this o n e / t h e s e ones' and 'that one / those ones' respectively. These distinctions are mainly used in formal French:

• Des deux tissus qui sont sur le comptoir, là-bas, il est évident que celui-ci est plus cher que celui-là

Of the two pieces of material on the counter over there, it's obvious that this one is dearer than that one

• Pour moi tous les diamants se ressemblent. Mais ceux-ci coûtent deux fois plus cher que ceux-là

To me diamonds all look the same. But these ones here cost twice as much as those over there

NB: The pronouns with -ci can also mean 'the latter', and those with -là 'the former':

• J'ai rencontré Pierre et Jean-Marie au café. Celui-là arrivait à l'instant d'un entretien avec le percepteur

I met Pierre and Jean-Marie at the café. The former had just come from a meeting with the tax inspector

• Est-ce que vous désirez le flan ou la tarte aux pommes? Celle-ci sort directement du four

Do you want the custard pie or the apple tart? The latter has just come out of the oven