Question 1

Why does this sentence use 'ceux' instead of 'celui' or 'celles'?

Accepted Answer

ceux translates to "the ones" for masculine plural nouns. You use it when referring back to a masculine plural noun mentioned earlier (like les champignons, meaning mushrooms). If you were talking about feminine plural things (like les plantes, meaning plants), you would use celles qui. For a single item, you'd use celui qui (masculine) or celle qui (feminine).

Question 2

Why is it 'ceux qui' and not 'ceux que'?

Accepted Answer

We use qui because "the ones" are the subject of the verb that follows—they are the things that are toxic. If "the ones" were the object of the action (for example, "the ones that I eat"), you would use que, as in ceux que je mange.

Question 3

Why is there a 'd'' before 'identifier'? Could I say 'difficile à identifier'?

Accepted Answer

When making a general, impersonal statement starting with Il est (It is...), you must use de (here shortened to d' before a vowel) before the infinitive verb. You use à when a specific object is the subject of the sentence, usually with C'est, like: C'est difficile à identifier (That is difficult to identify).

Question 4

Does 'toxiques' have an 's' because it agrees with 'ceux'?

Accepted Answer

Exactly. Adjectives must agree with the pronouns they describe. Since ceux is plural, the adjective gets an s. The singular adjective toxique already ends in an e for both masculine and feminine words, so you only need to add the s to make it plural.

Il est difficile d'identifier ceux qui sont toxiques.

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