English
|
Masculine
|
Masc before vowel
|
Feminine
|
this, that
|
ce
|
cet
|
cette
|
these, those
|
ces
|
ces
|
ces
|
Demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate a specific noun
or nouns. In French, they must agree with the noun(s) in number and sometimes
gender.
Par exemple…
Ce livre est très bon. This/That book is really good.
Je vais acheter ces chaises.
I’m going to buy these/those chairs.
Characteristics of demonstrative adjectives
1. Used in place of an article (not with an article)
2. Placed directly in front of a noun or an adjective + noun
3. Agree with the demonstrated noun in number and sometimes
gender
4. Demonstrative adjective + noun can be replaced by a
demonstrative pronoun
There are three singular adjectives:
1. Masculine: ce
2. Masculine in front of a vowel: cet
3. Feminine: cette
When a singular demonstrative adjective precedes a masculine
noun or adjective that begins
with a vowel or h muet, cet is used to avoid a hiatus.
Par exemple…
cet homme this/that man
cet ancien château this/that former château
There is only one plural demonstrative adjective: ces.
Cettes does not exist, and neither does cets.
Par exemple…
ces femmes these/those women
ces hommes these/those men
French vs English
French demonstrative pronouns make no distinction between
"this" and "that" – ce, cet, and cette can
each mean either one. Likewise, ces can mean
"these" or "those." When you need to make the
distinction, you can attach a suffix to the noun:
–ci = "this" or "these"
–là = "that" or "those"
Par exemple…
cette chaise-ci this chair
ces chaises-là those chairs
Je vais à cet hôtel-ci, pas à cette maison-là. I’m going to
this hotel, not that house.
No comments:
Post a Comment