French Grammar – Those people were so nice 🇫🇷

Ces

Plural noun, use ces.

7 months ago

Adjectives

French demonstrative adjectives
this / that these / those
masculine ce ces
masc + vowel cet ces
feminine cette ces

7 months ago

____ gens étaient si gentils.

The blank in the phrase “____ gens étaient si gentils” is correctly filled by the French demonstrative adjective “ces” because “gens” is a plural noun. The demonstrative adjective needs to match the number and gender of the noun it is describing. In French, “ces” is used before plural nouns, regardless of whether the nouns are masculine or feminine. “Ces” can be directly translated to “those” or “these” in English, and it is used to point out specific items or people.

Since “gens” is plural, “ces” is the appropriate choice:

– Ces gens étaient si gentils translates to “Those people were so nice” in English.

The phrase is referring to specific individuals who possess the quality of being nice. If “gens” were singular (which it cannot be, because “gens” is inherently plural), a different demonstrative adjective would be used such as “ce” for masculine singular or “cette” for feminine singular nouns. But with “gens,” “ces” is always used:

– Singular (masculine): Ce garçon était si gentil. – This/That boy was so nice.
– Singular (feminine): Cette fille était si gentille. – This/That girl was so nice.
– Plural (masculine or feminine): Ces gens étaient si gentils. – These/Those people were so nice.

Remember, though, that while “gens” is a masculine word, it is often treated as feminine when it is preceded by an adjective that comes before the noun, especially if the adjective has distinct masculine and feminine forms. However, demonstrative adjectives are not affected by this rule, so “ces” remains unchanged.

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