Adjective Demonstratives in French

Adjective demonstratives in French are used to point out specific people, animals, or things. They are equivalent to “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those” in English. In French, they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

There are four main forms:

  1. Ce (masculine singular)
  2. Cette (feminine singular)
  3. Ces (plural, both masculine and feminine)
  4. Cet (masculine singular, before vowels or silent h)

Cet is a variant of “ce” to be used before masculine nouns starting with a vowel or silent h.

Examples:

  1. Ce livre (this/that book) – masculine singular
  2. Cette table (this/that table) – feminine singular
  3. Ces chiens (these/those dogs) – masculine plural
  4. Ces fleurs (these/those flowers) – feminine plural
  5. Cet arbre (this/that tree) – masculine singular, starts with vowel
  6. Cet homme (this/that man) – masculine singular, starts with silent h

Usage

  • Unlike in English, French does not distinguish between “this” and “that” or “these” and “those.” 
  • The meaning is determined by the context.
  • To emphasize proximity or distance, you can add “-ci” (here) or “-là” (there) after the noun:
    • Ce livre-ci (this book here)
    • Cette table-là (that table there)

Now, let us practice with some exercises:

Exercise 1: Fill in the blank with the correct demonstrative adjective.

  1. _____ chaise (chair – feminine)
  2. _____ garçon (boy – masculine)
  3. _____ amis (friends – plural)
  4. _____ hôtel (hotel – masculine)
  5. _____ fleur (flower – feminine)
  6. _____ oiseau (bird – masculine)
  7. _____ école (school – feminine)
  8. _____ enfants (children – plural)
  9. _____ heure (hour – feminine)
  10. _____ avion (airplane – masculine)
  11. _____ arbres (trees – plural)
  12. _____ histoire (story – feminine)
  13. _____ appartement (apartment – masculine)
  14. _____ étudiante (female student – feminine)
  15. _____ hôpital (hospital – masculine)

Exercise 2: Translate the following phrases into French using demonstrative adjectives.

  1. This cat
  2. That woman
  3. These books
  4. Those apples
  5. This elephant
  6. This house
  7. That car
  8. These flowers
  9. Those shoes
  10. This umbrella
  11. That restaurant
  12. These mountains
  13. Those stars
  14. This engineer
  15. That ocean

Exercise 3: Correct the mistakes in the following sentences (if any).

  1. Cet fille est intelligente.
  2. J’aime ce arbre.
  3. Ces chiens sont mignons.
  4. Cette homme est grand.
  5. Ce orange est sucrée.
  6. Ce idée est brillante.
  7. Cette garçon est mon ami.
  8. Ces livres sont intéressants.
  9. Cet femme est docteur.
  10. Ce table est en bois.
  11. Cette hôtel est luxueux.
  12. Ces oiseau chante bien.
  13. Cet chien est joueur.
  14. Ce éléphant est grand.
  15. Cette enfant est intelligent.

Exercise 4: Add “-ci” or “-là” to emphasize proximity or distance as indicated in parentheses.

  1. Ce chat ____ est noir. (nearby)
  2. Cette maison ____ appartient à ma tante. (far away)
  3. Ces fleurs ____ sont magnifiques. (nearby)
  4. Cet arbre ____ est très vieux. (far away)
  5. Ces enfants ____ jouent au parc. (nearby)

Exercise 5: Choose the correct form and add “-ci” or “-là” to complete the sentence logically.

  • (Ce/Cette/Ces) chaussures ____ me font mal aux pieds. (talking about the shoes you’re wearing)
  • J’aime (ce/cette/ces) gâteau ____. Il est délicieux! (implying it’s the one you’re eating)
  • (Ce/Cette/Ces) montagnes ____ sont magnifiques. (pointing to distant mountains)
  • (Ce/Cet/Cette) ordinateur ____ fonctionne mieux que le mien. (referring to a computer nearby)
  • Regarde (ce/cette/ces) oiseaux ____! (pointing to birds flying far away)

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