Common mistakes
Quelques, plusieurs, certains: five French quantity mistakes to fix
Compare a few, several and some members of a group. Fix de after quelques, feminine certaines and the pronoun quelques-unes, then check your choices.
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In short
Quelques presents a few; plusieurs presents several; certains or certaines picks out some members of a group. They go directly before a plural noun: quelques questions, plusieurs réponses, certaines personnes. Their meanings overlap; use a number when the exact count matters.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| Form | French example | What it highlights |
|---|---|---|
| quelques | J’ai quelques questions. | A small number: a few questions. |
| plusieurs | Plusieurs réponses sont possibles. | More than one answer: several. |
| certains / certaines | Certaines réponses sont plus précises. | A subset with a shared feature. |
One group can suit all three words, depending on your message. Quelques participants attendent presents a small number. Plusieurs participants attendent reports several people. Certains participants attendent separates those waiting from other members of the group.
- quelques questionsquelques de questionsa few questions
J’ai quelques questions sur cet exercice.I have a few questions about this exercise.
Use quelques straight before a plural noun. Compare beaucoup de questions, which needs de.
- plusieurs réponsesplusieurs réponseseveral answers
Plusieurs réponses sont possibles.Several answers are possible.
The noun and verb are plural. Plusieurs keeps the same spelling with masculine and feminine nouns: plusieurs exercices, plusieurs réponses.
- certaines personnescertains personnessome people
Certaines personnes préfèrent travailler seules.Some people prefer to work alone.
Personne is feminine, so write certaines personnes. The people described can be men, women or a mixed group.
- quelques-unesQuelques sont longues.a few of them, feminine
Ces réponses sont intéressantes. Quelques-unes sont très détaillées.These answers are interesting. A few are very detailed.
With the noun: quelques réponses. Without it: quelques-unes. For a masculine plural reference, use quelques-uns.
- plusieurs de ces solutionsplusieurs de solutionsseveral of these solutions
Plusieurs de ces solutions sont faciles à appliquer.Several of these solutions are easy to apply.
De ces selects from an identified set. Compare the basic plusieurs solutions, which simply introduces several solutions.
What is the difference between quelques, plusieurs and certains?
Certains participants préfèrent écrire ; d’autres préfèrent parler.
Some participants prefer writing; others prefer speaking.
The sentence divides the group by preference. It gives no exact count. For feminine personnes, write Certaines personnes préfèrent écrire. When the noun is omitted, certains can stand alone: Certains préfèrent écrire. With quelques, change to quelques-uns or quelques-unes.