French ce, cet, cette and ces: choose correctly
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
English this and that do not distinguish masculine from feminine nouns. French demonstrative adjectives do, and the masculine singular form also changes before a vowel sound. This guide explains how to choose ce, cet, cette or ces without memorizing random examples.
Four forms, one basic job
Use ce before a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: ce livre. Use cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel or silent h: cet ami, cet hĂ´tel. Use cette for feminine singular nouns regardless of their first sound: cette maison, cette amie. Use ces for all plurals: ces livres, ces amies. The word is determined by the noun, not by whether the object is physically near or far.
Why cet is not a feminine form
The extra t in cet makes pronunciation smoother before a vowel sound. It is still masculine: cet étudiant is a male student, whereas cette étudiante is a female student. Before aspirated h, French treats the h as blocking the liaison: ce héros, not cet héros. Dictionaries indicate whether a word begins with an aspirated h. English speakers often choose cet simply because a word starts with a written vowel, but sound and grammatical gender must both be checked.
This one versus that one
Ce, cet, cette and ces can mean this or that depending on context. Add -ci or -lĂ after the noun to emphasize a contrast: ce livre-ci is this book and ce livre-lĂ is that book. For plural contrasts, ces chaussures-ci and ces chaussures-lĂ are possible. In normal conversation the demonstrative alone is often enough. Do not attach -ci directly to ce; it follows the noun or the entire noun phrase.
Use the noun phrase as a unit
Practice aloud with real objects: cette table, ce téléphone, cet ordinateur, ces fenêtres. Ask which form fits a noun and explain why. The French form ce can also be a pronoun in other structures, as in ce qui, but here we are studying the adjective before a noun. Recognizing that difference prevents confusion when you later study c’est, ce sont and relative clauses.
| French phrase | Why | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ce garçon | masculine, consonant | this boy |
| cet arbre | masculine, vowel | this tree |
| cette Ă©cole | feminine, vowel | this school |
| ces arbres | plural | these trees |
Quick self-check
Choose: (ce / cet) appartement.
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cet appartement
Choose: (cet / cette) amie.
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cette amie
Choose: (ce / cet) héros.
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ce héros
Choose: (ces / cette) voitures.
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ces voitures
Translate: that book over there.
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ce livre-lĂ