How do I say this and that in French?

The French equivalent of this/that is generally:

ce for a masculine word (that you'd use with le);
cette for a feminine word (that you'd use with la).

So for example, with some masculine words (which use le for the):

le garçon the boy	–>	ce garçon this boy, that boy
le train the train	–>	ce train this train, that train

and some feminine words (which use la for the):

la fille the girl	–>	cette fille this girl, that girl
la maison the house	–>	cette maison this house, that house

As you see from these examples, which word to use in French depends on the gender of the noun. Unlike English, French doesn't tend to make a distinction between 'near' and 'far' (this vs that in English): the words ce and cette generally cover both meanings. (See the next page for information on how to distinguish between this and that in French.)

Words that use l'

Before words beginning with a vowel, l' is used instead of le or la (the water = l'eau, not ~~la eau~~). The word for this/that for such words is:

cet for a masculine word beginning with a vowel;
cette (as normal) for a feminine word.

So for example:

l'homme the man	–>	cet homme this man, that man
l'eau the water	–>	cette eau this water, that water

How do I say this and that in French?

Words that use l'

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