quelqu'un

Someone with Quelqu'un

Level 2

Quelqu'un is the French equivalent of 'someone' or 'somebody'. It is used in affirmative sentences and questions to refer to an unidentified person.

How It Works

1. Basic Usage
The pronoun quelqu'un is a compound of quelque and un. Due to elision, the 'e' is dropped, resulting in quelqu'un. It functions as a subject or an object in a sentence.

2. Adding Adjectives
A crucial rule in French is that when you describe 'someone' with an adjective (e.g., 'someone tall'), you must use the preposition de before the adjective. The adjective always stays in the masculine singular form.
Example: quelqu'un de gentil (someone kind).

3. Questions vs. Negation
In questions, quelqu'un is the standard term for both 'someone' and 'anyone.' Unlike English, which often switches between the two, French uses quelqu'un for both. However, in negative sentences, it is replaced by ne...personne (nobody/no one).

4. Plural and Feminine Forms
While quelqu'un is the standard form, it has plural counterparts: quelques-uns (masculine plural) and quelques-unes (feminine plural), meaning 'some' or 'a few'. The feminine singular quelqu'une exists but is very rare and formal.

Examples (5)

  1. Quelqu'un a frappé à la porte.

    Someone knocked on the door.

    Word by Word: Someone has knocked at the door.

    Here, 'quelqu'un' acts as the subject of the sentence.

  2. Est-ce que quelqu'un peut m'aider ?

    Can someone help me?

    Word by Word: Is it that someone can me to help?

    In questions, 'quelqu'un' is used just like 'someone' or 'anyone' in English.

  3. Je cherche quelqu'un de drôle.

    I am looking for someone funny.

    Word by Word: I search someone of funny.

    Notice the mandatory 'de' between 'quelqu'un' and the adjective 'drôle'.

  4. Quelques-uns de mes amis arrivent demain.

    A few of my friends are arriving tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Some-ones of my friends arrive tomorrow.

    This shows the plural form 'quelques-uns' used to mean 'a few' or 'some'.

  5. Elle connaît quelqu'un d'important.

    She knows someone important.

    Word by Word: She knows someone of important.

    The 'de' becomes 'd'' before the vowel in 'important'.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the 'de' before an adjective.

    Je connais quelqu'un intelligent.
    Je connais quelqu'un d'intelligent.

    In French, you must link 'quelqu'un' to an adjective using 'de' (or 'd'' before a vowel).

  • Using 'quelqu'un' to mean 'anyone' in a negative sentence.

    Different MeaningJe n'ai pas vu quelqu'un.
    Je n'ai vu personne.

    'Je n'ai pas vu quelqu'un' is grammatical, but 'quelqu'un' then points to one particular person. To say 'I didn't see anyone', French uses 'ne... personne'.

  • Incorrect plural spelling.

    quelqu'uns
    quelques-uns

    The plural form requires an 's' on 'quelque', a hyphen, and an 's' on 'uns'.

How It Connects

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quelqu'unLevel 2Someone with Quelqu'un

Learn This First

To understand 'quelqu'un', you need to recognize it as a compound word formed by 'quelque' and the indefinite article 'un'. Understanding elision is crucial to see why the 'e' in 'quelque' is replaced by an apostrophe. Since it functions as a pronoun, knowing basic sentence structure helps in placing it correctly as a subject or object.

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Words in This Pattern

quelqu'un