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Grammar
Objective: Choose the correct demonstrative modifier based on the gender, number, and starting letter of the target noun.
| Form | Usage | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ce | Masculine singular before a consonant | ce livre | this book |
| cet | Masculine singular before a vowel or silent h | cet homme | this man |
| cette | Feminine singular | cette maison | this house |
| ces | Plural, masculine and feminine | ces livres | these books |
Maison is feminine, so it requires the feminine demonstrative cette rather than the masculine ce.
Masculine nouns beginning with a vowel take cet instead of ce, and this applies to homme and hôtel alike.
Ce precedes a masculine noun beginning with a consonant, which is the standard masculine form.
Cette precedes the feminine noun maison, matching gender in the singular.
Cet replaces ce before the vowel-initial masculine noun homme, allowing liaison.
Ces is the plural form and covers both genders. The verb travaillent agrees with the plural subject.
Ce before a consonant-initial masculine noun. The demonstrative points to a specific café the speaker has in mind.
5 exercises · about 8 minutes
Plural nouns take ces regardless of gender, so livres cannot keep the singular demonstrative ce.
École is feminine, so it takes cette even before a vowel, since cet is reserved for masculine nouns only.
Cette is used before the feminine noun idée even though the noun begins with a vowel, since cet is only for masculine nouns.
Ces covers the plural feminine noun fleurs. The adjective magnifiques agrees in gender and number.
Cet before the silent h of hôtel. The silent h behaves like a vowel for demonstrative agreement.