What's the difference between 'ces' and 'ses' in French?
with audio pronunciations
Following on last week’s topic, here are two homophones which can be very confusing for learners of the French language when it comes to writing. Let’s dive in!
Ces
The word ces is a demonstrative adjective in the plural form, equivalent to “these/those” in English. Demonstrative adjectives appear before a noun and have to agree in gender and number with it. Note the singular form: ce + masculine noun, cet + masculine noun starting with a vowel or mute h or cette + feminine noun. Ces can be used to point to something or someone, to refer to something or someone previously mentioned, or to express proximity in time.
Examples:
Ces fleurs sont magnifiques. – These flowers are magnificent.
Voici les livres que j’ai achetés. Ces livres sont très intéressants. – Here are the books I bought. These books are very interesting.
Il a fait très chaud ces derniers jours. – It has been very hot over the last few days.
Ses
As for ses, it is a possessive adjective in the plural form. It means his, her or its. Just like demonstrative adjectives, possessive adjectives reflect the gender and number of the noun they relate to. The singular is son + masculine noun or feminine noun starting with a vowel or mute h, and sa + feminine noun.
Examples:
Cette célèbre autrice s’est rendue à la librairie pour y dédicacer ses livres. - This famous author visited the bookshop to sign copies of her books.
Il a envoyé une lettre, dans laquelle il explique ses motivations. - He sent a letter in which he explains his motivations.
Quick tip:
If you hesitate between ces and ses, simply change this word to its singular form. That way, you’ll be able to determine which one makes sense and use the correct spelling.
That’s all for this week! Next week, we will look at the French prepositions that are used with means of transport.