Question

French Tutorial: Indefinite Adjectives and Pronouns

Answer 1

Some words can be used as indefinite adjectives or pronouns depending on context. As an example, in English "any" can be used as an adjective or a pronoun (ex: I don't have any bread left, vs. I don't have any left vs. I don't have any, etc.)

One such example in French is tout, which can mean any, all, everything, every, etc. depending on context.

\({\bf{Tout:}}\)

- as an adjective
ex: Des gens inutiles spamment le chat toute la journée. (Useless people spam the chat all day.)

- as a plural pronoun: in the plural form, tout becomes tous (masculine) and toutes (plural feminine)
ex:
Tous sont les bienvenus. (All of them are welcome.)
Les actrices marchent sur le tapis rouge. Toutes sont belles. (The acresses walk down the red carpet. All are beautiful.)

- as a neutral pronoun: in this form, tout is equivalent to all or everything
ex:
Tout va bien. (Everything is ok.)

- as an adverb
ex:
Nous sommes tous seuls. (We are all alone.)

Answer 2

\({\bf{Other~Examples:}}\) other words can serve as indefinite adjectives and pronouns. some change their spelling depending on form.

No spelling changes:
ex: un/e autre (another), plusieurs (several), le/la/les même (the same)

J'en veux un autre. (I want another.)
Je veux un autre verre. (I want another drink.)

Nous en avons besoin de plusieurs. (We need several.)
Nous avons besoin de plusieurs robes. (We need several dresses.)

Vous êtes tous les mêmes. (You are all the same.)
Vous avez tous le même nom. (You all have the same name.)

Spelling changes:
an example of a word that changes form in the adjective/pronoun forms is quelques (some/several).

- adjective form: quelques

ex:
Quelques personnes veulent juste regarder le monde brûler. (Some people just want to watch the world burn.)

- pronoun forms: quelqu'un (someone/anyone), quelque chose (something, anything), quelques-uns/unes (some/a few)

ex:
Quelqu'un m'a dit un jour que le monde allait me rouler. (Somebody once told me the world was going to roll me.)
Je veux quelque chose comme ça. (I want something just like this.)
Voici quelques-unes de mes choses préférées. (These are a few of my favorite things.)

Answer 3

\({\bf{References:}}\)

Rochester, Myrna B. Easy French Step-by-Step, United States, McGraw-Hill Education, 2009, 316-329.

CollinsDictionary for French and English translations

Forvo (https://forvo.com/), a French pronunciation database with samples from native French speakers