Ce, cet, cette, ces + [durée] -là/-ci = that/those or this/these + [duration] (French Demonstrative Adjectives)

In most cases, using the demonstrative adjectives ce/cet/cette/ces (see Ce/cet/cette and ces = this/that and these/those (French Demonstrative Adjectives)) on their own is good enough to express this/that/these/those in French.
But sometimes, especially with durations, you need to emphasise how far in the past (or in the future) something happened/happens (that day), or how close to now things are happening (these days).

"Ce/cet/cette/ces" with durations in French


Look at such cases in French:

Ce soir-là, quelque chose d'extraordinaire s'est produit.That night, something extraordinary happened.

Oh non, j'étais en vacances cette semaine-là !Oh no, I was on holidays that week!

Dans ces moments-là, on ne sait jamais quoi faire.In those moments, one never knows what to do.

Ce matin-là, je me lèverai tôt.That morning, I will get up early.

Elle se maria cette année-là.She got married that year.

Note that in this expression you use année and NOT an

To say that + [duration], use the agreed demonstrative adjective ce, cet, cette or ces + [durée] + -là

To say this + [duration], use the agreed demonstrative adjective ce, cet, cette or ces + [durée] + -ci

Note that ce/cet/cette/ces ...-là (that/those ...) is much more commonly used than its counterpart ce/cet/cette/ces...-ci (this/these ...)

ATTENTION:

To express in those days in French, you won't colloquially use ces jours-, but rather à cette époque-là or en ce temps-là.
However, ces jours-ci is perfectly correct to say these days:
À cette époque-là, les femmes n'avaient pas le droit de vote.In those days, women didn't have the right to vote.

Je ne me sens pas super bien ces jours-ci.I don't feel great these days.

 

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Examples and resources

Dans ces moments-là, on ne sait jamais quoi faire.In those moments, one never knows what to do.
Je ne me sens pas super bien ces jours-ci.I don't feel great these days.
Ce soir-là, quelque chose d'extraordinaire s'est produit.That night, something extraordinary happened.
Ce matin-là, je me lèverai tôt.That morning, I will get up early.
Elle se maria cette année-là.She got married that year.
Oh non, j'étais en vacances cette semaine-là !Oh no, I was on holidays that week!
À cette époque-là, les femmes n'avaient pas le droit de vote.In those days, women didn't have the right to vote.
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