Ce, cet, cette, ces
CEFR A2 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
le, la, les or lui, leurDeciding whether the verb takes a direct or an indirect object, and placing the pronoun…The pronouns en and yReplacing de + something with en, and à + place or thing with y.Imparfait or passé composéChoosing the tense by what it does: setting the scene, or moving the story forward.French false friendsSpotting words that look like yours but mean something else, and using the right one…The imperative and its pronounsForming the imperative in its three persons, placing the pronoun after in the…The verbs that are not -er verbsConjugating in the present the -ir verbs with -iss- and the frequent irregulars…The rule, in three lines
Four forms and one decision: ce for masculine —ce livre—, cet for a masculine word starting with a vowel or mute h —cet homme—, cette for feminine —cette table— and ces for the whole plural, with no gender distinction.
The usual slip. Using ce before a vowel: «ce homme», «ce arbre». Before a vowel the masculine becomes cet, which sounds like cette but is spelt differently.
Why it catches you out. English has this/that and these/those, so you have the singular-plural split but no gender at all. And nothing in your language changes a determiner because of the next vowel, so cet has to be learnt from scratch.