What’s the Difference Between Ce, Cette, Cet, and Ces?

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Find out how ce, cette, cet, ces are used with masculine, feminine, singular, and plural nouns in French.

What’s the Difference Between Ce, Cette, Cet, and Ces?
Featured article photo: Chelsea, Québec by Gadiel Lazcano

Ces

Let’s start off with the easiest one. Ces means these/those, and you can use it regardless of whether the nouns that follow it are masculin or féminin.

Par exemple:

  • Ces tasses (These cups)
  • Ces vêtements (These clothes)
  • Ces serviettes (These towels)
  • Ces bouteilles (These bottles)
  • Ces savons (These soaps)

Ce, cette, and cet means this/that.

Essentially, only ces is used with plural nouns; whereas ce, cette, and cet are used with singular nouns.

Now, let’s differentiate between ce, cette, and cet.

Ce and Cette

Both ce and cette are for singular nouns, but ce is masculin and cette is féminin.

Par exemple:

  • Ce garçon (This boy)
  • Ce coussin (This pillow)
  • Ce miroir (This mirror)
  • Ce lit (This bed)
  • Ce mur (This wall)
  • Cette femme (This woman)
  • Cette fille (This girl)
  • Cette couverture (This blanket)
  • Cette porte (This door)
  • Cette fenêtre (This window)

Cet

Cet is also used with masculine singular nouns, but only for nouns starting with a vowel.

Par exemple:

  • Cet homme (This man)—recall that h is technically a vowel in French!
  • Cet armoire (This wardrobe)
  • Cet étagère (This bookshelf)
  • Cet assiete (This plate)
  • Cet hamac (This hammock)

Your Turn

Fill in the blanks with Ce / Cette / Cet / Ces. Feel free to leave your answers as comments below! :)

  1. _____ nuit
  2. _____ livre
  3. _____ télévisions
  4. _____ sac
  5. _____ avions
  6. _____ règles et procédures
  7. _____ objectifs
  8. _____ question
  9. _____ estimation
  10. _____ type d'action

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