Hi guys! Salut à tous! Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast!  This is episode 52, numéro 52!

Today we're doing some grammar! Woohoo! You'll learn what the demonstrative adjectives are in French, of course. In other words, you'll learn how to translate "this, that" & "these/those" in French. 

If you've never heard of demonstrative adjectives before, I strongly recommend you download your lesson's cheat sheet. It's free. After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy library, where you can access your lesson's exercises, as well as all the previous ones. And it's also free.

Alright, if you're ready, then let's get started!

So. We use demonstrative adjectives to show or point out an object or a person. In English, they are "this, that" & "these, those;" and we'll see what they are in French in a minute.

The choice of demonstrative adjectives in French depends on two things: 

1. the gender of the noun (masculine/feminine)
2. the number of the noun (singular/plural)

So you can see why knowing the gender of nouns in French is super important!

HOW TO SAY “THIS” OR “THAT” IN FRENCH

Let's start with the singular. and learn how to say "this” or “that" in French.

So there are three ways to say "this" or "that" in French: "ce," "cet," and "cette." And oui you heard that right, the second and the third sound the same. But! They're not spelled the same.

Let's find out which one to use.

• If the noun is masculine singular, you're going to use "ce."

For example: ce livre. (this/that book) 📒

• If the noun is masculine singular but starting with a vowel, you're going to use "cet."

For example: cet arbre (this/that tree) 🌳

• If the noun is feminine singular, you're going to use "cette."

For example: cette voiture (this/that car) 🚗

Let's move on to the plural and learn how to say "these” or “those" in French.

HOW TO SAY “THESE” OR “THOSE” IN FRENCH

There is only one way to say "these" or "those" in French, so that makes it easier: "ces.

• If the noun is plural, whether it is masculine or feminine, it doesn't matter; you're going to use "ces."

For example: ces chaises (these/those chairs.) 🪑

Awesome, so let's do a quick recap: 

There are three ways to say "this" or "that" in French: 

• "ce" for masculine nouns
• "cet" for masculine nouns starting with a vowel or a mute h
• "cette" for feminine nouns

There is only one way to say "these" or "those" in French:

• "ces" whether the noun is masculine or feminine

Alright, so that's the end of today's lesson. Now, to make sure you've understood everything, go and practice what you've just learned today; without practice, it's a bit hard to retain, so make sure you download your exercises for this lesson. The link is in the episode notes. If you've enjoyed this lesson, I'd really appreciate a quick review on Apple Podcast or send me a message on Instagram; I'd love that.