Demonstrative adjectives in French

Demonstrative adjectives are used to refer to a specific person, animal, or thing, by showing or indicating who or what is being referred to. They agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they denote.
Here are the forms of demonstrative adjectives:

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	ce	ces
	cet (before vowel or silent 'h')
Feminine	cette	ces

• Explanations and Examples:

ce : Used before a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant or an aspirated 'h'.

• ce garçon
• ce héros (aspirated 'h')

cet : Used before a singular masculine noun beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, y) or a silent 'h'.

• cet arbre
• cet homme (silent 'h')

cette : Used before a singular feminine noun (whether it begins with a consonant, a vowel).

• cette fille
• cette table

ces: Used before a plural noun, whether masculine or feminine.

• ces garçons
• ces livres

2. Reinforcement with "-ci" and "-là"

To specify proximity or distance, we can add "-ci" (near) or "-là" (far):

• ce livre-ci (the one I'm holding) vs ce livre-là (the one on the shelf).
• cette voiture-ci (the one here) vs cette voiture-là (the one there).

Note: In speech, we often use "là" alone to emphasize:

• "Prends ce stylo-là" (not necessarily far, but to clearly designate it).

3. Difference with Demonstrative Pronouns

• Demonstrative adjective: accompanies a noun (ce livre).
• Demonstrative pronoun: replaces a noun (celui-ci, celle-là).

Do not confuse:

• ce chien est mignon (demonstrative adjective + noun).

Demonstrative adjectives are essential for clearly identifying the elements being discussed in a sentence. You can always find all forms of demonstrative adjectives on our Conjugation and Declension service.