celui, celle, ceux, celles
CEFR B1 · part 2
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
on, the French way to be impersonalUsing on where your language uses a passive, and building the être passive only when it…After a preposition, the infinitiveUsing en + present participle for simultaneity, and an infinitive after any preposition.After si, never the futureBuilding all three conditional types, and never putting a future or conditional after si.Spoken French and written FrenchRecognising what is normal in speech but not in writing, and switching register without…en France, au Portugal, à ParisChoosing the preposition by the gender and number of the place, for going and for coming.le mien, le tien, le sienAnswering «whose is it?» without repeating the noun, with the article in front and…The rule, in three lines
Four forms —celui, celle, ceux, celles— that stand in place of the noun, not before it. And they never stand alone: something always follows. celui de mon frère, celle qui chante, celui-ci.
The usual slip. Leaving it alone: «je préfère celui». Something must follow: celui-là, celui de Paul, celui qui chante.
Why it catches you out. English says the one, and the one also needs something after it —the one I saw— so the shape is familiar. What is new is the gender: four forms where you have one.