Grammar / A1 : Beginner / Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives
ce, cet, cette, ces: pointing to something.
Four forms to point at anything
You are in a shop in Paris. You want to buy something. "This jacket," you say, pointing. "That book on the shelf." "These two cups." In French, all of these require a demonstrative adjective: ce, cet, cette or ces. These four forms cover every combination of gender and number, and the system is considerably simpler than possessive adjectives.
There is one detail that most textbooks mention too briefly: the form cet, which appears only before masculine nouns starting with a vowel or silent h. Miss it and you will make a mistake every time you say "this hotel" or "this friend". Understand it and the system is complete.
1. The four forms
| Form | Gender and number | Used before | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ce | Masculine singular | A consonant or aspirate h | ce livre (this book) · ce film (this film) |
| cet | Masculine singular | A vowel or silent h | cet ami (this friend) · cet hôtel (this hotel) |
| cette | Feminine singular | Any sound (no distinction needed) | cette maison (this house) · cette école (this school) |
| ces | Masculine or feminine plural | Any sound (no gender distinction) | ces livres (these books) · ces maisons (these houses) |
2. cet : the form that gets missed
The form cet exists for exactly the same phonetic reason as mon, ton, son, bel, nouvel, vieil: French avoids placing two vowel sounds directly adjacent. ce ami would create a vowel collision; cet ami resolves it with a consonant bridge.
cet is used only in masculine singular, only before a vowel or a silent h. cette, the feminine form, does not need an equivalent because its final -e already provides the consonant bridge before any vowel.
| Masculine noun starting with vowel or silent h | Correct form | Why not ce? |
|---|---|---|
| ami (friend) | cet ami | ce ami (two vowels collide) |
| hôtel (hotel: silent h) | cet hôtel | ce hôtel (the h is silent, so same problem) |
| homme (man: silent h) | cet homme | ce homme (silent h, vowel collision) |
| exercice (exercise) | cet exercice | ce exercice (two vowels) |
| étudiant (student) | cet étudiant | ce étudiant (two vowels) |
💡 cette is used for all feminine nouns, whether they start with a vowel or a consonant. cette école (vowel) and cette maison (consonant) both use cette without any change. The t at the end of cette already provides the consonant bridge before a vowel.
cette école (this school) · cette amie (this female friend) · cette histoire (this story)
⚠ The most frequent mistake with demonstratives: using ce before a masculine noun starting with a vowel.
❌ ce ami, ce hôtel, ce homme, ce exercice
✓ cet ami, cet hôtel, cet homme, cet exercice
3. French does not distinguish "this" from "that"
In English, "this" refers to something close and "that" to something further away. French demonstrative adjectives do not make this distinction by themselves. ce livre can mean "this book" (right here) or "that book" (over there). Context usually makes the meaning clear.
When the distinction genuinely matters, when you are comparing two objects or making the distance explicit, French adds -ci (here, close) or -là (there, further away) after the noun, with a hyphen.
| Without distinction | With -ci (this, close) | With -là (that, further) |
|---|---|---|
| ce livre (this/that book) | ce livre-ci (this book here) | ce livre-là (that book there) |
| cette robe (this/that dress) | cette robe-ci (this dress here) | cette robe-là (that dress there) |
| ces chaussures (these/those shoes) | ces chaussures-ci (these shoes here) | ces chaussures-là (those shoes there) |
Je préfère ce modèle-ci au modèle-là. (I prefer this model to that one.)
Prends cette veste-ci, pas celle-là. (Take this jacket, not that one.)
In practice, -là is used far more often than -ci, even when referring to something close. You will hear ce truc-là (that thing there) constantly in everyday speech.
4. Time expressions with demonstratives
Demonstrative adjectives combine with time words to produce some of the most common expressions in everyday French. These fixed combinations do not require any decision about proximity; they simply refer to the current period.
| Expression | Meaning | Gender of the noun |
|---|---|---|
| ce matin | this morning | masculine (matin) |
| ce soir | this evening / tonight | masculine (soir) |
| ce week-end | this weekend | masculine (week-end) |
| ce mois-ci | this month | masculine (mois) |
| cet après-midi | this afternoon | masculine, starts with vowel (après-midi) |
| cet été | this summer | masculine, starts with vowel (été) |
| cet hiver | this winter | masculine, silent h (hiver) |
| cette année | this year | feminine (année) |
| cette semaine | this week | feminine (semaine) |
| cette nuit | tonight / last night | feminine (nuit) |
| en ce moment | at the moment / currently | fixed expression |
Je suis très occupé ce matin. (I am very busy this morning.)
Tu fais quoi ce soir ? (What are you doing tonight?)
Cet été, nous allons au Portugal. (This summer, we are going to Portugal.)
Cette semaine est vraiment difficile. (This week is really difficult.)
En ce moment, je prépare mon DELF. (At the moment, I am preparing for my DELF.)
5. Demonstratives pointing at things and ideas
Beyond physical objects, demonstrative adjectives also point at abstract concepts, situations already mentioned, or things about to be explained. This usage is very common in written French.
Pointing at an object:
Regarde ce tableau ! (Look at that painting!) · Prends cette chaise. (Take this chair.)
Referring to something just mentioned:
Il a dit quelque chose d'important. Cette remarque m'a surpris. (He said something important. That remark surprised me.)
Introducing something about to be explained:
Faites attention à cette règle : le participe passé s'accorde... (Pay attention to this rule: the past participle agrees...)
Common everyday expressions:
Comment tu trouves ce restaurant ? (What do you think of this restaurant?)
Ces gens sont vraiment sympas. (These people are really nice.)
Je n'oublierai jamais cette journée. (I will never forget this day.)
6. Key points
✓ Four forms: ce (m. sg.) / cet (m. sg. before vowel or silent h) / cette (f. sg.) / ces (pl.)
✓ cet is used only for masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel or silent h: cet ami, cet hôtel, cet homme
✓ cette is used for all feminine singular nouns regardless of their first sound: cette maison, cette école, cette amie
✓ ces covers all plurals with no gender distinction: ces livres, ces maisons, ces amis
✓ French does not distinguish "this" from "that" with the adjective alone. Add -ci (close) or -là (far) to the noun when the contrast matters.
✓ Time expressions: ce matin, ce soir, cet été, cet hiver, cette année, cette semaine, en ce moment