French Possessive Adjectives - Adjectifs possessifs
Introduction to French possessive adjectives
FRENCH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
MY
fem
ma
masc mon
plural mes
C'est ma pomme
C'est mon stylo
Ils sont mes pommes
It's my apple
It's my pen
They are my apples
YOUR
fem
ta
masc ton
plural tes
C'est ta pomme
C'est ton stylo
Ils sont tes pommes
It's your apple
It's your pen
They are your apples
HIS/HER
fem
sa
masc son
plural ses
C'est sa pomme
C'est son stylo
Ils sont ses pommes
It's his/her apple
Its his/her pen
They are his/her apples
OUR
sing
notre
plural nos
C'est notre pomme
Ils sont notre pommes
It's our apple
They are our apples
YOUR
sing
votre
plural vos
plural/formal
C'est votre pomme
Ils sont vos pommes
It's your apple
They are your apples
THEIR
sing
their
plural their
C'est leur pomme
Ils sont leurs stylos
It's their apple
They are their apples
1. French Grammar
Possessive adjectives are the words used in place of articles to indicate to whom or to what
something belongs. French possessive adjectives are used similarly to English possessive
adjectives, but there are some differences in form.
1) French has many more possessives than English, because there are different forms not
only for grammatical person and number, but sometimes also the gender and the first letter of
the thing possessed. All of the different forms are summarized in the table at the bottom of
the page and are explained in detail in the other pages of this lesson.
2) When describing two or more nouns in French, a possessive adjective must be used in front
of each one:
son frère et sa soeur
his brother and sister
notre fils et notre fille
our son and daughter
3) The possessive adjective is almost never used with body parts in French. You can't say "my
hand" or "my hair." Instead, the French use pronominal verbs to show possession with body
parts:
Je me suis cassé la jambe
I broke my leg (literally, I broke the leg of myself).
Il se lave les cheveux
He's washing his hair (literally, He washes the hair of himself).
Test on French possessive adjectives
Related lessons: French Possession
Singular
English
my
Plural
Masculine Feminine Before vowel
mon
ma
mon
mes
your (tu form)
ton
ta
ton
tes
his, her, its
son
sa
son
ses
our
notre
notre
notre
nos
your (vous form)
votre
votre
votre
vos
their
leur
leur
leur
leurs
MY
mon (masculine singular) mon stylo - "my pen"
ma (feminine singular) ma montre - "my watch"
mes (plural) mes livres - "my books"
When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, the masculine possessive is used, to avoid saying
"ma amie", in which the flow of the sentence would be broken (learn more).
mon amie - "my (female) friend"
YOUR (tu form)
ton (masculine singular) ton stylo - "your pen"
ta (feminine singular) ta montre - "your watch"
tes (plural) tes livres - "your books"
When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, the masculine possessive is used:
ton amie - "your (female) friend"
Lesson: Tu vs vous
HIS / HER / ITS
son (masculine singular) son stylo - "his, her, its pen"
sa (feminine singular) sa montre - "his, her, its watch"
ses (plural) ses livres - "his, her, its books"
When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, the masculine possessive is used:
son amie - "his, her, its (female) friend"
Note: An important difference between French and English is that in French it is the gender of
the noun that determines which form to use, not the gender of the subject. A man would say
mon livre when talking about a book, and a woman would also say mon livre - the book is
masculine, and therefore so is the possessive adjective, no matter who the book belongs to.
Likewise, both men and women would say ma maison, because house is feminine in French - it
doesn't matter whether the owner of the house is male or female.
OUR
notre (singular) notre stylo - "our pen"
nos (plural) nos montres - "our watches"
YOUR (vous form)
votre (singular) votre stylo - "your pen"
vos (plural) vos montres - "your watches"
Lesson: Tu vs vous
THEIR
leur (singular) leur stylo - "their pen"
leurs (plural) leurs montres - "their watches"