Common French Mistake Explained Ces vs. Ses

Ces (these) and ses (his, her, its) are homophones, so no one would ever know if you mixed them up when speaking. Writing, however, is another matter. Whether out of ignorance or carelessness, its easy* to confuse ces and ses but its just as easy to figure out which one is correct. All you have to do is think about what youd say if the noun were singular, since the singular adjectives are not homophones. For example: Il a perdu (ces/ses  ?) clà ©s. While both possibilities are grammatically and logically correct, which one to use depends on what youre trying to express. If clà © were singular, would you use cette (the singular demonstrative adjective) or sa (the singular possessive adjective)? The answer to that makes it crystal clear whether you want to write ces (plural demonstrative) or ses (plural possessive): l a perdu cette clà © (He lost this key) Il a perdu ces clà ©s (He lost these keys)Il a perdu sa clà © (He lost his key) Il a perdu ses clà ©s (He lost his keys