Demonstrative adjectives - ce, cette, ces
'This' and 'these' - ce, cette and ces in French - are called demonstrative adjectives. They are used when you want to point out a specific thing or person or to emphasise something.
They come before a noun and agree with the noun. For example:
- ce before a masculine singular noun, eg ce matin - this morning
- cette before a feminine singular noun, eg cette semaine - this week
Ces means 'these'. It's used before a noun in the plural form. For example:
- ces voitures - these cars (voitures = feminine plural)
- ces amis - these friends (amis = masculine plural/mixed group)
- ces hommes - these men (hommes = silent -h and plural)
- ces oranges - these oranges (oranges = vowel and plural)
| Masculine | Masculine (before vowel or -h) | Feminine | English | |
| Singular | ce | cet | cette | this |
| Plural | ces | ces | ces | these |
| Singular | |
|---|---|
| Masculine | ce |
| Masculine (before vowel or -h) | cet |
| Feminine | cette |
| English | this |
| Plural | |
|---|---|
| Masculine | ces |
| Masculine (before vowel or -h) | ces |
| Feminine | ces |
| English | these |