Demonstrative Adjectives in French

In Brief

Use ce, cet, cette, or ces before a French noun when you mean “this,” “that,” “these,” or “those.” Choose ce for most masculine singular nouns, cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, cette for feminine singular nouns, and ces for all plurals. French usually leaves the difference between “this” and “that” to context; add -ci or -là when the distinction matters.

Overview

A demonstrative adjective is a pointing word placed before a noun: this book, that café, these keys. Modern grammar also calls it a demonstrative determiner, because it helps identify which noun the speaker means. In French, the forms are ce, cet, cette, and ces: ce livre, cet hôtel, cette rue, ces clés.

This is an A1 topic because it is useful immediately. You need these forms to choose food at a market, point out a building, refer to people, or return to something already mentioned. Unlike English, however, French does not normally use one basic form for “this” and another for “that.” Ce restaurant can mean either “this restaurant” or “that restaurant”; the situation, a gesture, or the surrounding words usually make the intended meaning clear.

The form agrees with the noun. Agreement means changing a word so that it matches the noun’s grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). The choice therefore depends on the French noun, not on the English word and not necessarily on the sex of the person or object being discussed.

How It Works

The four basic forms

The beginner rule is compact:

Type of noun	Form	Example	Meaning
Masculine singular, before most consonant sounds	ce	ce livre	this/that book
Masculine singular, before a vowel sound or silent h	cet	cet homme	this/that man
Feminine singular	cette	cette chaise	this/that chair
Any plural	ces	ces livres, ces chaises	these/those books, chairs

A demonstrative adjective occupies the determiner position before the noun. It replaces an article such as le, la, les, un, or une:

• le livre → ce livre
• une question → cette question
• les photos → ces photos

Do not combine the two: French says ce livre, not le ce livre.

Choosing between ce and cet

Use cet with a masculine singular noun when the next pronounced sound is a vowel. This makes the phrase flow more easily:

• cet ami — this/that friend
• cet appartement — this/that apartment
• cet homme — this/that man
• cet hôtel — this/that hotel

The spelling alone is not enough. Many French words beginning with h have a silent or “mute” h (h muet), so they behave as though they begin with a vowel: cet homme, cet hiver, cet hôtel. Other words have an “aspirated h” (h aspiré). The h is not strongly pronounced, but it blocks the vowel connection, so use ce: ce héros, ce haricot, ce hasard. Dictionaries commonly mark these words, and they must be learned with practice.

The immediately following sound controls the choice, even when an adjective comes between the demonstrative and the noun:

• cet ancien appartement — this/that old apartment
• ce grand appartement — this/that large apartment
• cet homme but ce jeune homme — this/that man, this/that young man

Cet is never the feminine form. Feminine singular nouns always take cette, including before a vowel or silent h: cette amie, cette école, cette histoire.

Choosing by gender and number

French noun gender can differ from what an English speaker expects. Learn a noun together with an article—le problème, la voiture—so that the same gender choice transfers naturally:

• ce problème because problème is masculine
• cette voiture because voiture is feminine
• cet ordinateur because ordinateur is masculine and begins with a vowel sound
• cette orange because orange is feminine

In the plural, gender no longer changes the demonstrative adjective. Ces works everywhere:

Singular	Plural
ce billet	ces billets
cet arbre	ces arbres
cette fleur	ces fleurs

Before a plural noun beginning with a vowel or silent h, ces normally makes liaison: the final s is heard as a /z/ sound in ces amis and ces enfants. This changes pronunciation, not spelling.

Expressing this versus that with -ci and -là

French normally relies on context:

• Je prends cette robe. — I’ll take this/that dress.
• Tu connais cet homme ? — Do you know this/that man?

When you need an explicit contrast, attach -ci (“here,” nearer) or -là (“there,” farther away) to the noun. Keep the demonstrative adjective before the noun:

• ce livre-ci — this book (here)
• ce livre-là — that book (there)
• cette semaine-ci — this week
• ces maisons-là — those houses

The hyphen is required. If an adjective follows the noun, the suffix still belongs to the noun: cette robe-ci est élégante. With an adjective before the noun, the whole noun group ends in the suffix: ce petit café-là.

Distance is not always physical. -ci and -là can contrast two choices, two periods, or two items in a discussion. In everyday French, -là is especially common and does not always suggest something very far away. À ce moment-là simply means “at that time.”

With possessors and other noun phrases

The demonstrative identifies the noun; it does not express ownership. Say ce livre (“this/that book”) or mon livre (“my book”), but not ce mon livre. To express both ideas, French commonly uses a phrase such as:

• ce livre à moi — this book of mine
• ce livre de Marie — this/that book of Marie’s
• cette photo de nous — this/that photo of us

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Ce livre est intéressant.	This book is interesting.	Masculine singular before a consonant sound
Cet homme est gentil.	This man is nice.	Masculine singular before silent h
Cette fille est ma sœur.	This girl is my sister.	Feminine singular
Ces chaussures sont confortables.	These shoes are comfortable.	One plural form for both genders
Vous acceptez cette carte ?	Do you accept this card?	A practical question in a shop
Je voudrais goûter ce fromage.	I’d like to taste that cheese.	Context can supply “that”
Cet été, nous allons à Marseille.	This summer, we’re going to Marseille.	Été is masculine and begins with a vowel
Qui habite dans cet immeuble ?	Who lives in that building?	Masculine noun before a vowel sound
Cette histoire est difficile à croire.	This story is hard to believe.	Feminine remains cette before silent h
Ce héros sauve le village.	This hero saves the village.	Aspirated h: ce, not cet
Regarde ces enfants !	Look at those children!	Ces normally links to enfants with /z/
Je préfère ce livre-là.	I prefer that book.	-là marks the contrasted or farther choice
Prenez cette chaise-ci, pas cette chaise-là.	Take this chair, not that chair.	Explicit near/far contrast
À cette époque-là, je travaillais à Lille.	At that time, I worked in Lille.	Distance in time, not space
Ces deux options sont possibles.	Both of these options are possible.	A number may follow ces

Common Mistakes

Using ce with every singular noun

• Wrong: ce maison
• Right: cette maison
• Why: Maison is feminine, so the singular demonstrative must be cette. English “this” never changes, but French demonstratives agree with the noun.

Treating cet as a general vowel form

• Wrong: cet école
• Right: cette école
• Why: Cet is only masculine singular. A feminine noun uses cette, even before a vowel sound.

Forgetting cet before a masculine vowel sound

• Wrong: ce ami, ce homme
• Right: cet ami, cet homme
• Why: Use cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound or silent h.

Using cet before every written h

• Wrong: cet héros
• Right: ce héros
• Why: The aspirated h in héros blocks the connection. Dictionaries help identify h aspiré words; useful common examples include héros, haricot, and hasard.

Carrying gender into the plural

• Wrong: ces livres but cettes maisons
• Right: ces livres and ces maisons
• Why: There is only one plural demonstrative adjective: ces, for masculine and feminine nouns alike.

Copying English this/that directly

• Awkward assumption: “this” must always be -ci and “that” must always be -là.
• Natural French: J’aime cette veste. can mean “I like this jacket” or “I like that jacket.”
• Why: Add -ci or -là only when location or contrast needs to be explicit. French often leaves it to context.

Usage Notes

Context does much of the work

A speaker may point, look toward an object, or refer to something already discussed. That makes a bare phrase such as ce sac perfectly clear. Overusing -ci and -là can make ordinary speech sound more contrastive than intended.

-Là is more frequent and flexible than a simple “far away” rule suggests. It appears in many established time expressions: ce jour-là (“that day”), cette année-là (“that year”), and à ce moment-là (“at that moment”). -Ci often creates a deliberate contrast or appears in expressions such as ces jours-ci (“these days”) and cette fois-ci (“this time”).

Spoken and written forms

The four written forms remain distinct, but pronunciation can hide some clues. Ce and cet do not sound the same, while cette and cet are often pronounced alike in isolation. The noun and the wider phrase reveal gender. In plural phrases, listen for the /z/ liaison in ces amis; it helps mark the connection between the determiner and the noun.

Demonstratives can refer back to known information

Pointing need not involve a visible object. A demonstrative can signal something the conversation has made identifiable:

• Tu te souviens de ce restaurant ? — Do you remember that restaurant?
• Cette idée me plaît. — I like that idea.

English speakers should not automatically translate every such French demonstrative with “this.” Depending on viewpoint and context, “that” may be more natural in English.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these distinctions at A1, but they prevent confusion when you meet similar forms later.

Demonstrative adjective versus demonstrative pronoun

Ce, cet, cette, and ces must accompany a noun. A pronoun (a word that stands in for a noun) is needed when the noun is omitted:

With a noun	Without the noun
ce livre-ci — this book	celui-ci — this one (masculine)
cette robe-là — that dress	celle-là — that one (feminine)
ces livres-ci — these books	ceux-ci — these ones (masculine/mixed plural)
ces robes-là — those dresses	celles-là — those ones (feminine plural)

Therefore, do not use ce by itself to mean “this one”: Je prends celui-ci is the appropriate form.

Ce in c’est and ceci/cela

The ce in c’est (“it is/this is/that is”) is a demonstrative pronoun, not the adjective taught in the core rule. It is not selected according to a following noun in the same way: C’est une bonne idée. Likewise, ceci and cela mean “this” and “that” without directly determining a noun; ça is the very common conversational form of cela.

Compare:

• Cette idée est bonne. — This/that idea is good.
• C’est une bonne idée. — It/this/that is a good idea.
• Ça, c’est une bonne idée. — Now that is a good idea.

Formal contrasts with celui-ci and celui-là

In careful writing, celui-ci may refer to the more recently mentioned of two masculine nouns and celui-là to the earlier one. This is a formal reference pattern rather than the everyday physical near/far contrast. In normal conversation, speakers often repeat the noun or rephrase to avoid ambiguity.

Fixed discourse expressions

Demonstratives occur in expressions whose meaning extends beyond literal pointing:

• ces derniers jours — the last few days
• en ce moment — at the moment
• sur ce point — on this/that point
• de cette façon — in this/that way
• pour cette raison — for this/that reason

These are worth learning as complete chunks. The choice of English “this,” “that,” or “the” depends on context rather than on a one-to-one rule.

Practice Tips

1. Learn nouns with gender, then transform them. Take ten familiar pairs such as le café, la rue, and l’hôtel. Replace the article aloud: ce café, cette rue, cet hôtel. Then make each plural with ces.
2. Sort by sound, not just spelling. Make a small list with three columns: ce (ce livre, ce héros), cet (cet ami, cet hôtel), and cette (cette amie, cette histoire). This builds the important vowel and h distinction.
3. Practice real choices. Put two objects side by side and contrast them: Je préfère ce stylo-ci à ce stylo-là. Then repeat without the suffixes and notice when gesture or context already makes the meaning clear.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular Adjectives — reviews French gender and number agreement, the foundation for choosing demonstrative forms.