French adjectivesDemonstrative adjectives

Ce, cet, cette and ces

To say ‘this’ or ‘that, use ce, cet or cette. To say ‘these’ or ‘those’, use ces. These are demonstrative adjectives.

For example:

• Ce garçon est très intelligent. – This/That boy is very intelligent.
• Cet homme est très beau. – This/That man is very handsome.
• Cette fille est très courageuse. – This/That girl is very brave.
• Ces enfants sont mignons. – These/Those children are cute.

To distinguish between ‘this/these’ and ‘that/those’, you can add -ci (this/these) or -là (that/those) to the noun. For example:

• Ce garçon-ci est très grand, mais ce garçon-là est petit. - This boy (here) is very tall, but that boy (over there) is short.
• Ces chiens-ci sont mignons, mais je n’aime pas ces chiens-là. - These dogs (here) are cute but I don’t like those dogs (over there.)

Fill in the blanks with the correct demonstrative adjective.