FR: this guy / one guy / this one guy

[Messquito]

Hi,

When relating an experience in English, it is common to use “this” to introduce a new person, especially if this new person is integral to later parts of the story. For example:

1. This guy came up to me and said hello. We chatted for a bit and we exchanged numbers…

You can also just use “one”, but as I understand, that is usually when said person isn’t important to the story.

2. One guy came up to me and said hello but before I could pay him any mind the earthquake hit.

You could also say “this one guy” to set him apart from other guys.

3. This one guy came up to me and said hello, and I thought to myself, finally, someone had noticed me.

Does French work like that too? More specifically, can you use a pattern like “ce type”, “un type”, “ce seul type” to make those distinctions?

 

[Saint•112]

It depends on the context.
“ce type” is OK if you mentionned him before.
“un type” is OK if you didn't mention anyone before.
“ce seul type” is OK if you mentionned a bunch of guys including this one whom you singled out.
It's just a matter of logic, not of grammar. It's pretty similar to English.

 

[Maître Capello]

“ce type” is OK if you mentionned him before.

Just like "this guy" in English, it is possible in some cases to say ce type even if you hadn't mentioned him before.

“ce seul type” is OK if you mentionned a bunch of guy including this one whom you singled out.

I beg to disagree. Ce seul type is clumsy and non-idiomatic. We would indeed say either seul ce type or ce type seul and it would mean something different, namely "only that guy" and not "this one guy".

 

[gvergara]

Hi,

3. This one guy came up to me and said hello, and I thought to myself, finally, someone had noticed me.

And would -ci or -là be an alternative in this case? Ce type-ci s'est approché de moi et..., or do the versions with and without -ci/-là mean exactly the same?

G.

 

[Maître Capello]

Adding -ci or -là is possible only if the person was mentioned before. It is therefore not an option in Messquito's context.

 

[OLN]

Dans le registre familier, on peut dire avec "là" :
Il y a un gars, là, qui m'a abordé tout à l'heure pour discuter.
(pause entre gars et là ; on ne le désigne pas par "ce gars-là")