AtelierLe journal · French, understood
English

Language

The course

Updated

Reading

Ce dont, ce sur quoi, certaines: follow unnamed French references

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read a team update and recover what ce dont, ce sur quoi and certaines refer to. Five questions test explicit information, open details and group size.

In short

Recover the expression behind the reference: parler de cela gives ce dont; se mettre d’accord sur cela gives ce sur quoi. Then look for words that identify what “that” means. Certaines and d’autres pick out members of an earlier group; they supply no exact count.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A team gathers to discuss proposals around a table.
The discussion values la participation de toute l’équipe. Illustration: Atelier

A team update

Après la réunion

Nous avons examiné les propositions. Certaines1 sont détaillées ; d’autres2 restent vagues. Ce sur quoi3 nous nous sommes mis d’accord, c’est la nécessité d’un calendrier commun. Les dates précises restent à choisir.

Ce dont4 nous parlerons demain concerne les ressources disponibles. Nous n’avons pas encore fixé de budget. Ce à quoi5 nous tenons, c’est à la participation de toute l’équipe.

Read it in English

We examined the proposals. Some are detailed; others remain vague. What we agreed on is the need for a shared timetable. The precise dates remain to be chosen.

What we will discuss tomorrow concerns the available resources. We have not fixed a budget yet. What we care about is the whole team’s participation.

Restore the expression, then find the content

Three neutral references
ReferenceUnderlying expressionContent supplied by the paragraph
ce sur quoi nous nous sommes mis d’accordse mettre d’accord sur celaThe need for a shared timetable.
ce dont nous parleronsparler de celaA topic concerning the available resources.
ce à quoi nous tenonstenir à celaThe whole team’s participation.

The first and third references receive explicit answers after c’est. The second is broader: the passage gives the topic area, but it leaves the exact resources unnamed. Agreement that a timetable is needed also leaves the actual dates open, as the next sentence makes clear.

What is the difference between certains, d’autres and les autres?

Certaines sont détaillées ; d’autres restent vagues.Some are detailed; others remain vague.

Focus: Two groups are mentioned; the whole set is not explicitly classified.

Certaines propositions sont détaillées. D’autres propositions restent vagues.
Some proposals are detailed. Other proposals remain vague.

Certaines sont détaillées ; les autres restent vagues.Some are detailed; the others remain vague.

Focus: Les autres identifies the remaining members of the known set.

Les autres propositions restent vagues.
The remaining proposals are vague.

Certaines is feminine plural because it refers to les propositions. The word identifies a subset, but it supplies neither a percentage nor a headcount. Read the article in les autres closely: it makes a different claim about the remainder.

Nous sommes d’accord sur la nécessité d’un calendrier commun, mais les dates restent à choisir.

We agree on the need for a shared timetable, but the dates remain to be chosen.

A full noun phrase can make the reference explicit in your own summary.

Question 1No account needed
What does certaines pick up?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The proposals.. The feminine plural pronoun picks up les propositions, introduced in the preceding sentence.

Question 2No account needed
What did the team agree on?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The need for a shared timetable.. The focus after c’est names the agreement. The next sentence leaves the precise dates open.

Question 3No account needed
Why is dont used in ce dont nous parlerons?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Because the expression is “to talk about something”.. Dont recovers the complement introduced by de: nous parlerons de cela.

Question 4No account needed
Does d’autres restent vagues classify every remaining proposal?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

No: it mentions other proposals without explicitly covering the remainder.. D’autres introduces additional members. Les autres would identify the remainder of the known set.

Question 5No account needed
Which summary stays close to the passage?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

A common timetable is needed; resources will be discussed tomorrow.. The passage states agreement on the need for a timetable and announces the discussion topic; dates and budget remain open.

Keep going