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French indefinite pronoun agreement: 10 questions with explanations

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Choose singular and plural verbs with chacun, certains and tout le monde, then check adjectives after quelque chose and hidden feminine references.

In short

Find the subject before choosing the verb: chacun a is singular, but certains ont is plural. For an adjective, recover the noun behind the pronoun or use the fixed neutral pattern: quelque chose de nouveau.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Each participant holds a proposal folder during a discussion.
Each participant has une proposition. Illustration: Atelier
Study first: three checks
Question to askExampleReason
What is the subject?Chacun de ces textes est court.Each one is singular, even within a plural set.
Which noun is understood?Ces idées ? Certaines sont intéressantes.The ideas supply feminine plural agreement.
Is it the neutral expression?Quelque chose de nouveau apparaît.Use masculine singular after quelque chose de.

Take the ten questions in order. The first four check the subject; the next three recover a hidden noun; the last three distinguish neutral expressions from an ordinary feminine noun. Read the feedback even when you choose correctly: it names the word controlling the agreement.

How do French indefinite pronouns agree?

Chacune de ces propositions est utile. Les participantes ont chacune une proposition.

Each of these proposals is useful. The participants each have a proposal.

In the first sentence, chacune is the subject. In the second, les participantes is the subject and chacune adds the one-per-person meaning. That difference explains why one verb is singular and the other plural.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Choose the verb controlled by chacun.Chacun de ces textes ___ une conclusion.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    contient. Chacun is singular. The plural textes is inside its complement.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Choose the verb controlled by certains.Certains de ces textes ___ une conclusion.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    contiennent. Certains is plural, so the verb takes the third-person plural form contiennent.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    The participants are all women. Which verb belongs here?Les participantes ___ chacune une note.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    ont. The subject is plural les participantes. Chacune distributes the notes one per person.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Choose the verb after the whole expression.Tout le monde ___ prêt.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    est. Tout le monde is a singular subject, even though it refers to several people.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    The previous sentence names les propositions. Complete the next one.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Certaines sont intéressantes.. Propositions is feminine plural, which gives certaines and intéressantes.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    The reference is les réponses. Choose the adjective.Certaines sont incomplètes ; d’autres sont ___.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    prêtes. D’autres refers to feminine plural réponses, so the adjective is prêtes.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    Refer to each idea individually.Voici trois idées.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Chacune est utile.. Idées supplies feminine chacune, and each individual idea takes singular est.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Complete the neutral expression.J’ai appris quelque chose de ___.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    nouveau. The fixed expression is quelque chose de plus a masculine singular adjective.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    Keep the neutral description after rien.Rien de ___ n’a été décidé.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    précis. Rien de précis uses masculine singular. The word rien also controls singular a.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    This time, the subject is the ordinary noun chose.Une chose ___ est apparue.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    nouvelle. Une chose is feminine singular, so its ordinary adjective is nouvelle.

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