Usage note : this

As a determiner

In French, determiners agree in gender and number with the noun they precede ; this (plural these) is translated by ce + masculine singular noun (ce monsieur) BUT by cet + masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ (cet arbre, cet homme), by cette + feminine singular noun (cette femme) and by ces + plural noun (ces livres, ces histoires).

Note, however, that the above translations are also used for the English that (plural those). So when it is necessary to insist on this as opposed to another or others of the same sort, the adverbial tag -ci, giving the idea of this one here, is added to the noun :

I prefer THIS version

= je préfère cette version-ci

For particular usages see the entry this.

This dictionary contains usage notes on such topics as time units, days of the week and months of the year.

As a pronoun meaning this one

In French, pronouns reflect the gender and number of the noun they are referring to. So this is translated by celui-ci for a masculine noun, celle-ci for a feminine noun ; those is translated by ceux-ci for a masculine plural noun, celles-ci for a feminine plural noun :

of all the dresses this is the prettiest one

= de toutes les robes celle-ci est la plus jolie

For other uses of this used as a pronoun (who’s this?, this is my brother, this is wrong etc.) and for this used as an adverb (it was this big etc.), see the entry this.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.