How to Use Demonstrative Adjectives in French

Demonstrative adjectives in French serve a similar purpose to their English counterparts, helping you point out specific people or things. However, their usage can be a bit more complex due to gender and number agreement. Let's break down how to use these essential elements of French grammar.

Basic Forms of French Demonstrative Adjectives

French has four main demonstrative adjectives:

• Ce (masculine singular)
• Cette (feminine singular)
• Ces (plural for both genders)
• Cet (masculine singular before a vowel or silent h)

Usage and Agreement

French demonstrative adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify:

• Ce livre (this/that book) - masculine singular
• Cette table (this/that table) - feminine singular
• Ces livres (these/those books) - plural masculine
• Ces tables (these/those tables) - plural feminine
• Cet arbre (this/that tree) - masculine singular starting with a vowel sound

Adding Precision with -ci and -là

To distinguish between "this" and "that" or "these" and "those", French uses the suffixes -ci (for near objects) and -là (for far objects):

• Ce livre-ci (this book here)
• Cette table-là (that table there)
• Ces livres-ci (these books here)
• Ces tables-là (those tables there)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don't forget to use "cet" before masculine nouns starting with a vowel sound:

   • Correct: Cet homme (this man)
   • Incorrect: ~~Ce homme~~

2. Remember that "ces" is used for both masculine and feminine plural nouns:

   • Ces garçons et ces filles (these boys and these girls)

3. Don't confuse demonstrative adjectives with demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle, ceux, celles).

Practice Examples

To solidify your understanding, try using demonstrative adjectives in various contexts:

• Je préfère ce stylo-ci à ce stylo-là. (I prefer this pen to that pen.)
• Cette voiture rouge est plus rapide que cette voiture bleue. (This red car is faster than that blue car.)
• Ces fleurs sont magnifiques ! (These flowers are magnificent!)

By mastering French demonstrative adjectives, you'll be able to point out objects and people with precision in your French conversations. Remember to pay attention to gender and number agreement, and use -ci and -là for added specificity when needed.