French Demonstrative Adjectives Adjectifs Démonstratifs

The French demonstrative adjectives—or  adjectifs dà ©monstratifs—are words used in place of articles to indicate a specific noun. In French, as well as in English, a  demonstrative adjective  is a  determiner  that points to a particular  noun  or to the noun it replaces. There are four demonstratives in French and English: the near demonstratives,  this  and  these, and the far demonstratives,  that and those. This  and  that  are  singular, while  these  and  those  are  plural. In French, things get a little  trickier. As in English, French, demonstrative adjectives must agree in number with the noun they modify, but they must also agree in  gender. Once youve determined the number  and  gender of a noun in French, you can choose the correct demonstrative adjective form to use. Masculine Singular Ce is the masculine singular demonstrative adjective in French. The table below shows two examples of the correct use of ce  in a sentence, followed by the English translation. Ce: Masculine Singular English Translation Ce prof parle trop. This (That) teacher talks too much. J'aime ce livre. I like this (that) book. Ce becomes cet in front of a masculine noun that begins with a vowel or  mute h. Cet: Masculine Singular English Translation Cet homme est sympa. This (That) man is nice. Je connais cet endroit. I know this (that) place. Feminine Singular Cette is feminine singular. These examples show how to use  cette  in a sentence, followed by the English translation. Cette: Feminine Singular Engish Translation Cette idà ©e est intà ©ressante. This (That) idea is interesting. Je veux parler à   cette fille I want to talk to this (that) girl. Masculine or Feminine Plural Interestingly,  ces  is the plural demonstrative adjective for both feminine and masculine nouns. To put it another way,  ces  is the only plural demonstrative adjective: Cettes does not exist. Ces: Masculine or Feminine Plural English Translation Ces livres sont stupides. These (Those) books are stupid. Je cherche ces femmes. I'm looking for these (those) women. Use the Suffixes The singular demonstrative adjectives ce, cet, and cette can all mean this or that. Your listener can usually tell by the context which you mean, but if you want to stress one or the other, you can use the suffixes -ci (here) and -là   (there), as the following examples demonstrate: Ce, Cet, Cette English Translation Ce prof-ci parle trop. This teacher talks too much. Ce prof-là   est sympa. That teacher is nice. Cet à ©tudiant-ci comprend. This student understands. Cette fille-là   est perdue. That girl is lost. Likewise, ces can mean these or those, and again you can use the suffixes to be more explicit: Ces English Translation Je veux regarder ces livres-là  . I want to look at those books. Je prà ©fà ¨re ces pommes-ci. I prefer these apples. Ces fleurs-ci sont plus jolies que ces fleurs-là  . These flowers are prettier than those flowers. No Contractions The demonstrative adjective ce does not contract: In front of a vowel, it changes to cet. So c in the expression cest is not a demonstrative adjective: It is an indefinite demonstrative pronoun.  Indefinite demonstrative pronouns can refer to something abstract, like an idea or a situation, or to something indicated but unnamed.  Some examples are: C’est: Indefinite Demonstrative Pronoun English Translation C'est une bonne idà ©e! That's a good idea! C'est triste de perdre un ami. It's sad to lose a friend. C'est la vie. That’s life. Tips and Hints Despite the myriad rules, determining the correct demonstrative adjective to use in French is really not as difficult as it seems. There are only four possibilities:   ce  for the masculine singular before a noun;  cet  for the masculine singular before a vowel; cette  for the feminine singular, and ​ ces for all plural forms,  as the following table shows: English Masculine Masculine Before a Vowel Feminine this, that ce cet cette these, those ces ces ces Since the possibilities for French demonstrative adjectives are so limited, the real key to understanding how to use these important words is to learn the gender and number of  French nouns.  Indeed, it is very important to learn a nouns gender and number because  articles, some pronouns, some  verbs, and, of course, demonstrative adjectives, have to agree with nouns. And therein lies the real work if you seek to master the French language.