# some people



## Nico2

Is it correct to write "certaines gens" with the "e" in the ending rather than "certains gens" without the "e"? (Meaning simply "some people" here, of course.) If so, can anyone explain why this is so?

I have been corrected several times, but I don't understand since "gens" is masculine. Thank you for your help.


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## LoveBrookfield

I think that "certaines personnes" is more appropriate. what is the context?


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## SibWalseR

I'd rather say "certaines personnes" or "il y a des gens qui..." but "certain(e)s gens doesn't sound very nice to me...


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## melu85

I' rather use "certaines personnes", which is much more common


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## cropje_jnr

_Gens_ can be both genders, depending on very specific criteria (and sometimes simply personal preference) - see here for a pretty decent explanation.


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## Nico2

Thank you for your replies so far. Well, there's no real context. I often use it to say "Some people think that..." == "Certaines gens pensent que..." or other similar constructions.

A Google search shows 46000 hits for "certaines gens" and 18000 hits for "certains gens", so I'm wondering if it may simply be a fixed expression.


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## SibWalseR

Actually I've just figured out that this expression "certaines gens" was used in the past, and sometimes still used today by old people...but I really advise you against using it...It is not said anymore in spoken french (actually I even wonder if I have heard it 10 times in my life...I'm not sure!)


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## keumar83

We do say "*certaines gens*" in French as in "*les petites gens*".

I think it refers to certain classes of people, the workers or the poor, but I'm not sure though...

But both expressions are quite obsolete nowadays, we definitely say "certaines personnes".


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## LoveBrookfield

"certaines gens" doesn't sound good at all to me. I'd say that it's not even correct. could you explain when "certaines gens" was used and in what was the context ?


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## Nico2

Thank you very much for your help. It's a simple calque translation from English that I make in my head when writing, but I will be sure not to use it anymore! I haven't exactly heard it anywhere.


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## LoveBrookfield

what are you gonna use in your phrase then?


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## melu85

No one mentioned you can say "certains" on its own to render "some people"
"Certains pensent que..."


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## debman3

Nietzsche said:
			
		

> Certaines gens penseront qu’il eût pu répondre avec plus de justesse : ils sont tous craintifs



http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Schopenhauer_éducateur


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## helenezen

I agree that _certaines gens _is scarcely used in French. We rather say :
_certaines personnes pensent que ...
certains pensent que...
_or even but it's more literary or journalistic
_D'auncuns pensent que..._


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## Tinwetari

I have a similar question. I have to write the appropriate forms of adjectives in this sentence:
(Certain) gens ne sont (heureux) que quand un gros travail s'offre à leur activité.
 So, there will be "certaines", but I'm not sure wheter to use "heureux" or "heureuses". My dictionary says that the feminine is used before the word "gens" but it says nothing more.
Thanks in advance


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## helenezen

here again, I would say or write :
"_certaines personnes ne sont heureuses que..." _and not "_certaines gens ne sont heureuses que..." _even if you find it in some dictionaries...
hope it helps!


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## Tinwetari

Thanks, I won't use this phrase.
But this is a sentence from my textbook. In one exercise, we have to add modifiers to the word "gens". Is it correct to use feminine if it modifies "gens" or are there any specific exceptions?


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## helenezen

In present-day French, "gens " is masculine plural. 
ex : Les gens sont très gentils ici...


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## Tinwetari

Thank you very much  It helped me a lot.


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## Enlighter_Illuminator

I disagree. "Gens" is feminine when placed after an adjective. Therefore, you'll say "de bonnes gens", "certaines gens". And yes, you may say "certaines gens"; it's still very much in use, just Google it and you'll see.


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## Micia93

Welcome on the forum

Would you say "certaines gens ne sont heureuses que ..."? 

Tinwetari, strange example in your textbook! no one would speak that way


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## Enlighter_Illuminator

Yes, definitely!


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## Micia93

It works with "personnes" but not with "gens", sorry


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

For this EN spkr, in tinwertai's exercise (in 2012!), I'd've said "Certain*s* gens sont heureu*x*". [As noted in above posts]: It seems to me that "Certains gens", i.e. adjs in masc plu, is modern French; R&C gives "gens, n.f." as "Antique", although some fixed expressions like "de petites gens" and "bonnes gens" exist today; "Certains personnes" and "Certains" sound good; "Il y en a qui" might be a shorter version of "Il y a des gens qui". - Might I also suggest, "Selon/Pour certains" [followed by a structure w. a conjugated vb]?


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

P.S., I was just wondering: Might the use of the fem. form of adjs w. "gens" in some expressions possibly be due to a confusion w. "la gent"? But this might not explain the use in the plural.


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## Micia93

it is in fact "la gent*e *(masculine, féminine, canine ...)"


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## Enlighter_Illuminator

These two videos were recently made and uploaded on YouTube:*

Pourquoi certaines gens défendent leurs exploiteurs*
watch?v=oG5hdaHKMdk
*
Pourquoi certaines gens défendent le capitalisme*
watch?v=PttbVhUmG1c

As you can see, "certaines gens" can be used and is still in use.

"_Gens_ requires all words relating to it to be _feminine when_ they precede it, and masculine when they follow it:"
http://books.google.ca/books?id=G3x...=y#v=onepage&q="gens" "feminine when"&f=false


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## Micia93

I agree that "certaines gens" can be said, but in your examples, there is no adjective (like "heureuses" for instance), that is the great difference!
Anyway, I feel like it.
Does any native get the same opinion?


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## Enlighter_Illuminator

Bonnes gens, braves gens, *personnes simples, sans malice.*
http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/gens/36606/locution?q=gens#162509

In the example above, the adjective "bonnes" is used in its feminine and plural form.


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## Micia93

"bonnes gens" is very obsolete, but you're right, the expression has existed
anyway, I never read or heard : "que ces gens sont bonnes"


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## petit1

"Certaines gens" is still used and very correct but people more commonly say "certaines personnes". It is a matter of language level "certaines gens" being more refined.


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## Micia93

Agree Petit, but what do you think of "certaines gens sont heureuses"? (because we are at this point, now)
it's grammatically correct, but doesn't sound natural at all, don't you think so?


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## Enlighter_Illuminator

You should say: "Certaines gens ne sont *heureux* que..."

Once again:
"_Gens_ requires all words relating to it to be _feminine when_ they precede it, and masculine when they follow it:"
http://books.google.ca/books?id=G3x...=y#v=onepage&q="gens" "feminine when"&f=false

Therefore, "certaines" is feminine whereas "heureux" is masculine.


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## Micia93

Ok, j'admets que ton lien est éloquent. Comme quoi, on en apprend tous les jours sur ce forum 
Ceci dit, ce n'est pas une phrase que j'enseignerais à un non-natif si j'avais à le faire.
Il y a un pas entre la théorie et la pratique.


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