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Welcome to an eerily abandoned ghost town. Let's learn how to express "anyone at all" and "anything at all" as we wander through the ghostly mist (*la brume fantomatique*).

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### Anything at all: *Quoi que ce soit*

The absolute indefinite phrase **quoi que ce soit** means "anything at all." It is frequently used in negative or restrictive contexts, such as after the preposition *sans* (without). Let's see it in a gloomy (*lugubre*) setting.

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It also adds strong emphasis to warnings, rules, or negative commands.

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### Anyone at all: *Qui que ce soit*

When referring to people, use **qui que ce soit**, which translates to "anyone at all." Just like its counterpart, it is extremely common after *sans*. If the eerie atmosphere makes you shiver (*frissonner*), you might use it like this:

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Notice that *qui que ce soit* can act as the object of a preposition, such as the *à* (to) in *répondre à* (to answer). Let's look at an example set in the half-light (*la pénombre*).

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### Exploring the Shadows

As you continue through the town and listen to the sudden creaking (*le grincement*) in the darkness, these absolute indefinite phrases perfectly capture the complete isolation of the environment.

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Absolute indefinite phrases (qui que ce soit)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the mist	la brume
ghostly	fantomatique
Most of the streets are hidden in the ghostly mist.	La plupart des rues sont cachées dans la brume fantomatique.
gloomy	lugubre
anything at all	quoi que ce soit
He left the gloomy village without touching anything at all.	Il a quitté le village lugubre sans toucher quoi que ce soit.
to shiver (from cold or emotion)	frissonner
anyone at all	qui que ce soit
We shiver without speaking to anyone at all.	Nous frissonnons sans parler à qui que ce soit.
the creaking	le grincement
frightening (causing anxiety)	angoissant
The creaking of the wood is so frightening that I shiver.	Le grincement du bois est si angoissant que je frissonne.
It is forbidden to touch anything at all here!	Il est interdit de toucher quoi que ce soit ici !
Walk without touching anything at all!	Marchez sans toucher quoi que ce soit !
Most of the houses are so gloomy in the mist that the place is frightening.	La plupart des maisons sont si lugubres dans la brume que l'endroit est angoissant.
the half-light	la pénombre
I wait in the half-light without answering anyone at all.	J'attends dans la pénombre sans répondre à qui que ce soit.
frozen	figé
The ghosts are frozen for having forgotten to leave the castle.	Les fantômes sont figés pour avoir oublié de quitter le château.
The shadow is called a ghost, and it wanders without touching anything at all.	L'ombre s'appelle un fantôme, et elle erre sans toucher quoi que ce soit.
The place is called the black village, and I wander without meeting anyone at all.	L'endroit s'appelle le village noir, et j'erre sans rencontrer qui que ce soit.
This ghostly village seems frozen without anyone at all.	Ce village fantomatique semble figé sans qui que ce soit.
I hear a creak in the gloom without seeing anything at all.	J'entends un grincement dans la pénombre sans voir quoi que ce soit.