Demonstratives — ce cette ces

In one line

ce for masculine, cette for feminine, ces for plural — and cet only before a masculine noun starting with a vowel.

The forms on this page

The table

cet and cette are both pronounced /sɛt/ — the difference is only in writing. In dictation you have to know the gender of the noun.

-ci and -là — this and that

French does not distinguish "this" from "that" by default, and English speakers over-correct for it.

English forces the choice every time — you cannot say "book" with a demonstrative and stay vague, it is either "this" or "that". French leaves it open, and ce livre covers both. So do not reach for -ci and -là just because your English sentence said "this". Add them only when the contrast is the point.

And when comparing two things:

Je préfère cette robe-ci à cette robe-là. — I prefer this dress to that one

In everyday speech -là is used almost everywhere, even for something close by: Ce truc-là — this thing here. -ci is rarer and more written.

ce for time — "this" or "that"

With time words, the meaning comes from context:

ce jour-là always points to the past or to the future of a story, never to today. For today it is aujourd'hui.

The difference from c'est

These two look alike and are not the same:

The detail is in cest-vs-il-est.

Examples

Common mistakes

Why cet and cette sound the same but are spelt apart