Un 6.5
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are useful when pointing or indicating a specific person or thing, excluding other ones.
Demonstrative Adjectives – Les adjectifs démonstratifs
Demonstrative adjectives are used to specify the location or time of something or someone. This is usually done while considering the speaker’s reality and is often described as ‘pointing things out’.
e.g.
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That car looks great. So does this truck. |
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Those neighbours are scary. |
In French, demonstrative adjectives function in a similar way, but the difference between near (‘this’) and far (‘that’) is not as strictly needed as it is in English. Although this difference can be shown in French, it is quite common that a speaker will assume the difference is understood from context within the conversation or writing. Because of this, and because it is an adjective, the demonstrative adjective changes forms based on grammatical gender and grammatical number, but not on the closeness of the person or object.
e.g.
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Cette voiture a l’air superbe. Ce camion aussi. |
That car looks great. So does this truck. |
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Ces voisins font peur. |
Those neighbours are scary. |
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Demonstrative Adjectives |
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Singular |
Masculine |
ce |
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*Masculine before a vowel or unaspirated ‘h’ |
cet |
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Feminine |
cette |
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Plural |
Masculine |
ces |
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Feminine |
ces |
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The demonstrative adjective has two forms in the masculine. The choice depends on the first sound in the corresponding noun. This is not the case for the feminine singular, which has only one form.
e.g.
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Ce bureau est grand. |
This office is big. |
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Cet appartement est grand. |
This apartment is big. |
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Cet homme est grand. |
This man is big |
If the difference between near and far is of special importance, or if it is not clear from context, it is possible to add a suffix to the corresponding noun using a hyphen. While the demonstrative adjective changes for grammatical number or grammatical gender, these suffixes do not.
e.g.
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J’aime cette voiture-ci, pas cette voiture-là. |
I like this car (here), and not that car (there). |
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Tu vas acheter ce vélo-là, et moi, je vais acheter ces planches à roulettes-ci. |
You’re going to buy that bike (there), and I’m going to buy these skateboards (here). |
