Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.

I put on this piece of clothing when it is cold.

Breakdown of Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.

• je: I
• ce: this
• quand: when
• froid: cold
• mettre: to put on
• le vêtement: the garment

Questions & Answers about Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.

Why is it je mets and not je porte for “I wear”?

French has two common verbs here:

• mettre = “to put on” (the action of putting clothes on)
• porter = “to wear” (the state of having clothes on)

So:

• Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.
  = I put this piece of clothing on when it’s cold. (focus on the action each time)
• Je porte ce vêtement quand il fait froid.
  = I wear this piece of clothing when it’s cold. (more neutral/habitual)

In everyday speech, je mets is very common when you mean “I (tend to) put this on in that situation.”

What verb is mets from, and how is it conjugated?

Mets comes from the verb mettre (to put, to put on, etc.).
Present tense:

• je mets
• tu mets
• il / elle / on met
• nous mettons
• vous mettez
• ils / elles mettent

The spelling is irregular, but the pronunciation is simpler:

• je mets / tu mets / il met all sound like [mɛ] (the final -s and -t are silent).

Why is it ce vêtement and not cet vêtement or cette vêtement?

Vêtement is a masculine singular noun. The demonstrative adjective (this/that) must agree with it:

• ce
  • masculine singular noun starting with a consonant
    → ce vêtement, ce manteau
• cet
  • masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or mute h
    → cet anorak, cet habit
• cette
  • feminine singular noun
    → cette veste, cette chemise
• ces
  • any plural noun
    → ces vêtements, ces manteaux, ces vestes

So we say ce vêtement because vêtement is masculine singular and starts with a consonant sound.

What is the difference between ce vêtement and ces vêtements?

• Ce vêtement = this/that piece of clothing, this/that garment (singular)
• Ces vêtements = these/those clothes (plural)

The noun changes form (vêtement → vêtements), and the demonstrative also changes (ce → ces) to agree in number.

Why do we say il fait froid instead of something like il est froid or c’est froid?

French uses special weather expressions with faire:

• il fait froid = it is cold (weather)
• il fait chaud = it is hot (weather)
• il fait beau = the weather is nice

Il est froid / c’est froid describe the temperature of a thing, not the general weather:

• Le café est froid. = The coffee is cold.
• C’est froid. = That (this food, this drink, this object) is cold.

For the weather in general, use il fait froid, not il est froid.

What does the il refer to in il fait froid?

In il fait froid, the il is an impersonal pronoun. It does not refer to a person or a thing. It’s just there because French normally requires a subject:

• Il pleut. = It’s raining.
• Il neige. = It’s snowing.
• Il fait froid. = It’s cold.

So you don’t look for a “real” thing that il refers to here; it’s just a grammatical subject.

Can I also say Quand il fait froid, je mets ce vêtement? Is there a difference?

Yes, that word order is completely correct:

• Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.
• Quand il fait froid, je mets ce vêtement.

Both mean the same. Putting Quand il fait froid at the beginning simply emphasizes the condition (“When it’s cold…”) a bit more. In writing, remember the comma:

• Quand il fait froid, je mets ce vêtement.

Does je mets here mean “I am putting on” right now, or “I usually put on”?

French present tense often covers both:

• Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.
  = I put this on when it’s cold. (habit, general truth)

Context usually makes it clear it’s about a habit. To talk clearly about right now, French might add an expression:

• En ce moment, je mets ce vêtement. = Right now, I’m putting this garment on.
• Je suis en train de mettre ce vêtement. = I am in the middle of putting this garment on.

Is vêtement masculine or feminine, and how can I know?

Vêtement is masculine:

• un vêtement
• le vêtement
• ce vêtement

You see this from the words that agree with it: ce, not cette; un, not une.

In general, gender is something you usually have to learn with the noun (by checking a dictionary or your textbook). Some endings give hints, but there are many exceptions, so it’s safest to always learn noun + article together: un vêtement, une chemise, etc.

Can I say Je mets vêtement without ce or another article?

No. In French, a singular countable noun almost always needs some kind of determiner (article, demonstrative, possessive, etc.):

• Je mets un vêtement. = I put on a piece of clothing.
• Je mets ce vêtement. = I put on this piece of clothing.
• Je mets mon vêtement. = I put on my piece of clothing.

*Je mets vêtement is ungrammatical.

How is this sentence pronounced? Any tricky parts?

Approximate pronunciation (standard French):

• Je mets ce vêtement quand il fait froid.
  → [ʒə mɛ sə vɛt.mɑ̃ kɑ̃.t‿il fɛ fʁwa]

Points to note:

• mets is pronounced [mɛ] (final -ts is silent).
• vêtement has a nasal vowel at the end: [vɛt.mɑ̃].
• quand ends with a nasal vowel too: [kɑ̃] and usually makes a liaison before il: [kɑ̃.t‿il].
• Final -d in froid is silent: [fʁwa].