0Demonstrative means that demonstrates something, means that shows something specific like for example - this book ( it means, we are talking about some particular book ), that boy ( not any boy but some particular boy ).
So, what words do we use to demonstrate something ( a noun or an adjective+ noun ) in French?
The words we use are - Ce, Cet, Cette and CES. They come before a noun and agree with the noun.
Now let's see each of them separately -
1 )Ce= this or that (masculine singular noun), for example - Je veux ce livre ( want this book / I want that book )Because BOOK is masculine singular, we have used CE with it.
2) Cet = this or that( masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or a silent h) , for example - Regarde cet arbre . CET because arbre is masculin singulier and it starts with the vowel A
3)Cette= this or that ( a feminine singular noun)
For exemple: Je n’ai pas besoin de vous raconter cette histoire( I don’t need to tell you this or that story) CETTE because histoire is féminin singulier.
Another example: J'aime bien cette article ( I like this / that article well ) CETTE because the article is feminine singular
4) Ces = these or those (a plural noun)
Here the gender doesn’t matter. You will use ces whether you are referring to something masculine or feminine, as long as it’s plural it works.
For example, Ces fleurs sont belles ( these / those flowers are beautiful ) CES because flowers are plural
Here’s a quick recap :
Ce: this or that for singular masculine
Cet: this or that for singular masculine and starting with a vowel or vowel sound
Cette: this or that for singular féminin
Ces: these or those for plural
Now, you may want to know that how can we differentiate between this and that. This is simple! We just need to attach the following suffix to the noun -
-ci for this / these
-là for that / those
For example - Je vais le voir ce dimanche-ci. I’m going to see him this Sunday.
Je l'ai vu ce dimanche - là . I saw him that Sunday .
ENJOY LEARNING FRENCH !!!!!
