French Demonstrative Adjectives: Ce, cet, cette, ces (Adjectifs Démonstratifs)

Demonstrative adjectives in French are used to point or talk about specific nouns. As all adjectives, they must agree with the noun in gender and number. 

In English, “that” and “this” are equivalent to the French Demonstrative adjectives. This is a very simple topic and can be learnt with little practice and can help with better communication and increased fluency. 

What Are Demonstrative Adjectives?

Adjectives are describing words which agree with the noun. They add worth to the noun which they are used with. In this case, the adjective is in reference to a specific noun. 

These adjectives replace the article “le/la/les” to identify specific nouns. For example, 

• Ce livre est rouge. (this book is red) 
• Le livre est rouge. (the book is red) 

In both the sentences, we can see that some book is red, but in the first sentence, a specific book is mentioned. 

Types of Demonstrative Adjectives 

There are 4 demonstrative adjectives: 

• Ce : masculin singulier 
• Cet : masculin singulier avec voyelle or “h” muet 
• Cette : féminin singulier
• Ces : pluriel

We will look at all of these one by one with examples. 

Ce is used with masculine singular nouns. For example- Ce livre est intéressant. (This book is interesting) 

Cet is used with masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel or a silent h. For example- Cet homme est gentil. (This man is kind)

Cette is used with a singular feminine noun. For example- Cette image est belle. (This image is beautiful) 

Ces is used with plural nouns. For example- Ces fleurs sont rouges. (These flowers are red)

Gender and Number Agreement 

The demonstrative adjectives must agree with gender and number. This means that if the noun is singular, we should use the singular adjective. As previously mentioned, please check the demonstrative adjectives given below as per the genders and numbers. 

• Ce : masculin singulier
  • Ce sac (this bag)
• Cet : masculin singulier avec voyelle or “h” muet
  • Cet arbre (this tree) 
• Cette : féminin singulier
  • Cette maison (this house)
• Ces : pluriel
  • Ces garçons (These boys)
  • Ces femmes (these ladies)

Placement in Sentences

The demonstrative adjectives are always placed in front of the noun they are describing. For example, Ce portable ne fonctionne pas. (This mobile phone does not work)

Conclusion

Demonstrative adjectives help specify which objects or people you are talking about by situating them in space or distinguishing them from others.

This is a very simple topic and can be mastered easily with regular practice. It is an important part of French and must be learnt in order to be fluent. We highly recommend practicing them. Happy learning!

Learn about Possessive Adjectives in French from here. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the 4 demonstrative adjectives in French? 

Ans: The 4 demonstrative adjectives are ce, cette, cet, ces.

Q: What is the difference between ce, cet, cette and ces? 

Ans: These are differentiated on the basis of gender and number. 

• Ce : masculine singular 
• Cet : masculine singular with vowel or “h” mute 
• Cette : feminine singular
• Ces : plural