celui de
To say that of in French, when you compare two things without repeating the noun, use celui de.
celui de replaces a noun already mentioned, just like that of in English, as in comparing the climate of one city with that of another.
Which one should you use?
Unlike English that of, which never changes, the French form must match the gender and number of the noun it replaces.
How does it change in a sentence?
celui is a demonstrative pronoun that agrees with the noun it replaces. Use celui de for a masculine singular noun, celle de for a feminine singular noun and celles de for a feminine plural noun.
Did you know?
- In spoken French, the pronoun celui is frequently replaced by the word ça in casual conversation to avoid the mental effort of gender agreement.
- The word celui is descended from the Latin ecce, a word used to draw attention to something, similar to saying 'behold'.
- While celui is used for things, it is also the primary way to say 'the one' when referring to a specific person, such as celui qui sait for 'the one who knows'.
Examples in context
- Le climat de Londres diffère de celui de Tokyo.London's climate differs from that of Tokyo.celui de Tokyo stands for the climate of Tokyo.Tatoeba #336577 by sysko, translation #29287 by Eldad
- L'air de Sydney est plus propre que celui de Tokyo.The air of Sydney is cleaner than that of Tokyo.celui de Tokyo stands for the air of Tokyo.Tatoeba #8419586 by Aiji, translation #53450 by AlanF_US
- Le jour du festival coïncide avec celui de l'examen.The date of the festival coincides with that of the exam.celui de l'examen stands for the date of the exam.Tatoeba #333862 by sysko, translation #64481 by CM
- Les élections en France sont similaires à celles des États-Unis.The elections in France are similar to those of the United States.
- Notre approche diffère de celle du gouvernement.Our approach differs from that of the government.
- La philosophie de vie de Pierre est comme celle de Marie.Pierre's philosophy of life is like Marie's.
- 14 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are comparing their laptops.
- LucasMon écran est plus grand que celui de Chloé.My screen is larger than that of Chloé's.
- ChloéMais ma batterie dure plus longtemps que celui de Lucas.But my battery lasts longer than that of Lucas's.
- LucasC'est vrai, le processeur de ton PC est rapide.That's true, your PC's processor is fast.
- ChloéIl est plus performant que celui de ton ordinateur.It is more powerful than that of your computer.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries celui, de, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
