Français — demonstrative determiners
To say “this” or “that” before a noun, French uses ce, cet, cette and ces. The form depends on the gender and number of the noun, and on whether the following word begins with a vowel: ce livre, cet homme, cette femme, ces enfants.
How it works
Use ce before a masculine singular noun starting with a consonant (ce livre), cet before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or mute h (cet homme, cet arbre), cette before any feminine singular noun (cette femme), and ces before every plural noun, whatever its gender (ces livres, ces femmes). French does not distinguish “this” from “that” by form; when you need to, add -ci for something near or -là for something farther: ce livre-ci, ce livre-là.
Forms
| Form | Used before | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ce | masculine singular + consonant | ce livre, ce garçon |
| cet | masculine singular + vowel / mute h | cet homme, cet arbre |
| cette | feminine singular (any first letter) | cette femme, cette école |
| ces | plural, both genders | ces livres, ces femmes |
| …-ci | something near (this … here) | ce livre-ci, cette maison-ci |
| …-là | something farther (that … there) | ce livre-là, ces gens-là |
Good to know
cet is only a spelling change for pronunciation before a vowel; it sounds exactly like cette. So cet ami (masculine) and cette amie (feminine) are said the same but written differently — let the noun's gender, not the sound, decide. Also note that cet is used only in the masculine singular: a feminine noun beginning with a vowel still takes cette (cette histoire), never cet.