Indefinite French - Le français indéfini

Lessons on the various ways to be indefinite in French

Indefinite French | Impersonal French

I find that one of the hardest things to translate into another language is indefiniteness: anyone did something everywhere all the time. This index includes links to lessons on every kind of French indefiniteness, from indefinite adjectives to the indefinite subject pronoun.
 

Indefinite French Structures and Parts of Speech

Indefinite Adjectives - Adjectifs indéfinis (Autre, Certain, Chaque, Plusieurs...)
Affirmative indefinite adjectives are used to modify nouns in a unspecific sense. Certain adjectives will help some people talk about several new things.

Indefinite Adverbs - Adverbes indéfinis (Ailleurs, Parfois, Peu...)
I've never seen this covered in French grammar books, but I think French indefinite adverbs, or at least the French equivalents for English indefinite adverbs, is an interesting grammatical category that should not be overlooked.

Indefinite Articles - Articles indéfinis (Un, Une, Des)
French indefinite articles correspond to a, an, one, or some in English. The indefinite article usually refers to an unspecified person or thing.

Indefinite Negative Adjectives - Adjectifs négatifs indéfinis (Ne... aucun, nul, pas un)
French negative adjectives, sometimes called indefinite negative adjectives, are made up of two parts which surround the verb. Negative adjectives negate, refuse, or cast doubt on a quality of the noun they modify.

Indefinite Pronouns - Pronoms indéfinis (Autre, Certain, Plusieurs...)
Indefinite pronouns are unspecific and are used in place of nouns. They can be the subject of a sentence, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Indefinite Negative Pronouns - Pronoms négatifs (Ne... Personne, Rien...)
French negative pronouns, sometimes called indefinite negative pronouns, are used to negate, refuse, or cast doubt on the existence of the noun that they replace.

Indefinite Relative Pronouns - Pronoms relatifs indéfinis (Ce qui, Ce que, Ce dont, Quoi)
Indefinite relative pronouns link relative clauses to a main clause when there is no specific antecedent.

Passive Infinitive
Even though the French infinitive translates as "to + verb," the French sometimes needs to be preceded by a preposition. This is the case with the passive infinitive, which is commonly used with indefinite and negative words.

 
Specific Indefinite French Words

Machin
Very common word: thingie, whatsit, contraption.

N'importe... - Indefinite Expressions
The indefinite expression n'importe can be followed by an interrogative in order to designate an unspecified person, thing, or characteristic: n'importe qui, n'importe quel, n'importe où.... Learn these expressions and more with this lesson.

On - Indefinite Subject Pronoun
On is the indefinite French subject pronoun, used mainly in colloquial French. Learn to use it here and discover the grammatical debate surrounding it.

Quelque
Quelque is an indefinite adjective and adverb that is found in numerous indefinite terms and expressions.

Quiconque
Quiconque is a formal French word, found mainly in formal registers such as law and other administrative jargons. It can be an indefinite relative pronoun or an indefinite pronoun.

Soi - Indefinite Stressed Pronoun
Soi should be used only for unspecified persons. Need more info? See the lesson!

Tartempion
Average Joe, a nobody

Telautre
Some other guy

Tout
Learn all about the indefinite French adjective/adverb/pronoun tout.

Truc
Donne-moi le truc, là.

Trucmuche
Thingamajig, thingie, whatsit

Untel
John Doe, Mr. so-and-so

  
Tests on French Indefinites
Test your knowledge.

  

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