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French Grammar

Demonstrative Adjectives (ce, cette, cet, ces)

The forms used to point to specific objects or people: “this”, “these”.

Level A1 Category Grammar

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Lesson Summary

The forms used to point to specific objects or people: “this”, “these”.

Grammar

Pointing to People and Objects

Demonstrative adjectives correspond to the English “this” and “these”. They designate a specific item close to the speaker. Their form agrees with the noun’s gender and number, and they have a distinct variant before vowel sounds. For the underlying article system, see definite articles and indefinite articles.

The Four Demonstrative Adjectives

Form	Used Before	Example	Meaning
ce	masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant	ce livre	this book
cet	masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel or silent h	cet étudiant, cet hôtel	this student, this hotel
cette	all feminine singular nouns	cette table	this table
ces	all plural nouns (any gender)	ces livres, ces tables	these books, these tables

Selection Rules

- Masculine singular before a consonant: ce (ce cahier, ce stylo).
- Masculine singular before a vowel or silent h: cet (cet ami, cet ordinateur).
- Feminine singular (regardless of the initial letter): cette (cette chaise, cette amie).
- Plural, any gender: ces (ces cahiers, ces tables).

The feminine form cette does not change before a vowel; the masculine singular alone uses cet in that position.

Usage in Context

Demonstrative adjectives combine with known vocabulary to identify items in the immediate environment: Ce livre est intéressant. Cet après-midi, je vais à la bibliothèque. Ces étudiants sont français. Cette couleur est belle. They function identically to articles in terms of position and agreement.

Examples

Ce livre est très intéressant.
Masculine singular before a consonant: ce livre.
Cet étudiant parle anglais.
Masculine singular before a vowel: cet étudiant.
Ces cahiers sont verts.
Plural, any gender: ces cahiers.

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Demonstrative Adjectives (ce, cette, cet, ces)The forms used to point to specific objects or people: “this”, “these”.Select the correct demonstrative adjective based on the gender, number, and initial letter of the noun.GrammarA1grammarLearn French GrammarFrench GrammarPointing to People and ObjectsDemonstrative adjectives correspond to the English “this” and “these”. They designate a specific item close to the speaker. Their form agrees with the noun’s gender and number, and they have a distinct variant before vowel sounds. For the underlying article system, see definite articles and indefinite articles.