👉 Demonstrative Adjectives in French: Ce, Cet, Cette, Ces

In French, demonstrative adjectives (les adjectifs démonstratifs) are words like this, that, these, those in English. They are used to point out a specific noun and always come before a noun.

The four forms are: ce, cet, cette, ces.

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1. The Four Forms of Demonstrative Adjectives

👉 Unlike English, French doesn’t distinguish between “this” and “that.” Ce, cet, cette, ces can mean either, depending on context.

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2. How to Differentiate “This” vs. “That”

To make the difference clear, French adds the suffix -ci (this) or -là (that) after the noun.

• ce livre-ci → this book

• ce livre-là → that book

• ces chaussures-ci → these shoes

• ces chaussures-là → those shoes

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3. Examples in Sentences

• J’aime ce film. → I like this/that movie.

• Tu connais cet homme ? → Do you know this/that man?

• Regarde cette voiture ! → Look at this/that car!

• Quels sont ces livres ? → What are these/those books?

With -ci and -là:

• Prends ce gâteau-ci, pas ce gâteau-là. → Take this cake, not that one.

• J’adore cette robe-là. → I love that dress.

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4. Agreement Rules

• The demonstrative adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun.

• ce → masculine singular (before consonant)

• cet → masculine singular (before vowel or silent h)

• cette → feminine singular

• ces → plural

👉 Examples:

• ce chien (this dog – masc. sing.)

• cet arbre (this tree – masc. sing., starts with vowel)

• cette idée (this idea – fem. sing.)

• ces fleurs (these flowers – plural)

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5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ ce homme → ✅ cet homme (before vowel)
❌ ces enfant → ✅ ces enfants (plural needs -s)
❌ cette maison-ci est beau → ✅ cette maison-ci est belle (adjective must also agree!)

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✅ Quick Recap

• ce = this/that (masc. sing., consonant)

• cet = this/that (masc. sing., vowel/silent h)

• cette = this/that (fem. sing.)

• ces = these/those (plural)

• Use -ci and -là to make the difference between this/these and that/those.

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🎯 Practice Exercise

Translate into French:

1. This child is very intelligent.

2. I don’t like that movie.

3. These shoes are beautiful.

4. Do you know this man?

5. That house is very big.

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Conclusion

Demonstrative adjectives in French (ce, cet, cette, ces) are used constantly in everyday conversations. Once you master their forms and remember to use -ci and -là to show distance, you’ll be able to point out people and objects naturally in French.

👉 Practice tip: Look around you right now and try to describe 5 objects using ce, cet, cette, ces.

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• Demonstrative adjectives in French
• Ce cet cette ces rules
• French grammar demonstratives
• Examples of ce cet cette ces
• How to say this and that in French