Les adjectifs possessifs (possessive adjectives)
Explanation of the terms
Possessive adjectives are the words used in combination with a noun, to indicate to indicate to
whom something belongs.
●
My house. - 'My' is the possessive adjective.
The difference between French and English
An important difference between French and English is that in French, it is the gender and
number of the noun that determines which form to use, not the gender and number of the
subject. For instance:
my
my
my
my
uncle:
aunt:
uncles:
aunts:
mon oncle
ma tante
mes oncles
mes tantes
What do I need to know by heart?
This table contains all the French possessive adjectives:
English possessive adj.
my
your
his/her
our (plural or formal)
your
their
singulier
masculin
mon
ton
son
féminin
ma
ta
sa
notre
votre
leur
pluriel
masculin / féminin
mes
tes
ses
nos
vos
leurs
Exception: When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, the masculine possessive is used in
order to keep from saying something like "ma adresse", where the flow of the sentence would
be broken. So instead of "ma adresse" we use : "mon adresse", even though the word
"adresse" is feminine.
Les adjectifs possessifs – grammar explanation from www.french.coursdelangue.nl