#Ceci vs ce

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solid bearBOT
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Ceci vs ce

keen adder
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"ce" is incomplete in itself. It requires a noun after it.
ce problème ne me plaît pas
"ceci" works by itself and doesn't require a noun.
ceci ne me plaît pas

note: you can use "ce" without a noun with "être" specifically

red citrus
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Thank you, this helps quite a bit but I still have questions

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If ‘ce’ requires a noun after it, would you use ‘ceci’ in a sentence like ‘this is not X’
This is not a tree, this is not a cat, this is not a pipe, etc. The noun doesn’t immediately follow it, so using that logic it should be ceci right? But all translation sites I’ve used say it should be ‘ce’, except for ‘this is a pipe’ which for some reason shows ‘ceci’ instead

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What’s different about that sentence specifically? Or is it just translation sites being weird?

keen adder
red citrus
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Sorry if my wording is bad

keen adder
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the difference between "ce n'est pas une pipe" and "ceci n'est pas une pipe" is a question of how much focus you're putting on the object.

red citrus
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Sorry if I’m being dumb but I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this for a while

keen adder
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let's first clear your doubt about "this is X" usually translated with "ce"
is it clear or still not?

red citrus
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That part is clear

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I just don’t understand why I might use ceci here

keen adder
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because you're putting a lot of focus on the object.
"ceci" makes it clear you're talking about an object you're presenting, meanwhile "ce" could be really abstract.