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Ton stylo ne fonctionne plus ; utilise celui que le marchand t’a donné.

Ton stylo ne fonctionne plus ; utilise celui que le marchand t’a donné.
Your pen no longer works; use the one the merchant gave you.
FromLesson 19inHardcore French
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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Questions & Answers about Ton stylo ne fonctionne plus ; utilise celui que le marchand t’a donné.

What does ne… plus mean in Ton stylo ne fonctionne plus?

The construction ne… plus is a two-part negative meaning “no longer” or “anymore.”

  • ne precedes the verb
  • plus follows it
    So Ton stylo ne fonctionne plus = “Your pen doesn’t work anymore.”
Why is there a semicolon between ne fonctionne plus and utilise?

A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses:

  • It’s stronger than a comma but weaker than a period.
  • Here it shows consequence: your pen is broken; therefore, use the other one.
    You could also use a period or a dash, but the semicolon nicely balances the two commands.
How does celui function in utilise celui que le marchand t’a donné?

celui is a masculine singular demonstrative pronoun replacing le stylo.
It stands alone (no noun after it) and refers back to “that pen.”
The clause que le marchand t’a donné specifies which one.

Are there other forms of celui for different genders or numbers?

Yes. French demonstrative pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace:

  • masculine singular: celui
  • feminine singular: celle
  • masculine plural: ceux
  • feminine plural: celles
Why is there a que before le marchand t’a donné?

Here que is the relative pronoun linking celui to its defining clause.
It stands for the direct object of a donné (gave):
– celui (the pen) → que (that pen) → le marchand t’a donné
Without que, the sentence would lack the necessary connector.

Could we replace que with dont in this sentence?

No. dont replaces de + noun; it means “of whom/of which.”
Since donner takes a direct object (the pen) and an indirect object (the recipient), we need que, not dont.

Why is it ton stylo and not ta stylo?

Possessive adjectives agree with the gender of the noun, not the possessor.

  • stylo is masculine → use ton (masc. sing.)
    You would only use ta for a feminine noun (e.g. ta gomme).
Is t’ in le marchand t’a donné a direct or indirect object pronoun, and why is it elided?

t’ is the clitic form of the indirect object pronoun te (“to you”), because donner uses à for the person.

  • In compound tenses, pronouns precede the auxiliary: le marchand t’
    • a donné
  • It’s written t’ (with an apostrophe) because te ends in a vowel and a begins with one, so the vowel is dropped (elision).
Why use le marchand instead of un marchand?

The definite article le signals a specific merchant already known in context—the one who gave you the pen.
If you said un marchand, it would sound like any random merchant.