Possessive Adjectives in French
What are possessive adjectives?
Possessive adjectives are words used to express possession or ownership.
A possessive adjective modifies a noun by showing to whom or to what something belongs.
Example
This is my book
That is our house
In the first sentence, the word my is a possessive adjectives that shows I am the owner of the said book.
French possessive adjectives
For English possessive adjectives my, your, his, her, its, our, and their, French has 15 equivalents, depending on the gender and number of the noun they modify.
Before we look at French possessive adjectives in detail, let's see some of their characteristics.
Characteristics of French possessive adjectives
-
They agree with the noun they describe and not with the person describing or possessing them.
Example
Bonjour. Je m'appelle Marie. Mon père est Avocat, ma mère est chanteuse et mes frères sont médecins.
Hi. My name is Marie. My father is a lawyer, my mother is a singer and my brothers are doctors.
In this example, to talk about her father, Marie used the possessive adjective mon (Mon père), because mon agrees with the word father, which is both masculine and singular.
To talk about her mother, she used the possessive adjective ma (ma mère), because ma agrees with the word mother, which is both feminine and singular.
To talk about her brothers, Marie uses the possessive adjective mes (mes frères) because mes agrees with the word frères, which is both masculine and plural.
-
They come before the noun they describe.
Example
C'est sa voiture. It's his car
Elles sont nos soeurs. They are our sisters.
French possessive adjectives are as follows
| masculine singular | meaning |
|---|---|
| Mon | My |
| Ton | |
| Son. | His/her/its |
| Notre. | Our |
| Votre. | Your |
| Leur. | Their |
Example
Mon frère et moi My brother and I.
Il est notre voisin He is our neighbor.
| feminine singular | meaning |
|---|---|
| Ma (Mon) | my |
| Ta (ton) | your |
| Sa (son) | his/her/its |
| Notre. | Our |
| Votre. | Your |
| Leur. | Their |
Examples
Ma mère. My mother
Mon, ton, son are used in front of a feminine noun that begins with a vowel or a silent h.
Example
Elle est mon amie
| Masculine/feminine plural | meaning |
|---|---|
| Mes | my |
| Tes | your |
| Ses | his/her |
| Nos | our |
| Vos | your |
| Leurs | their |
Examples
Notre amie. Our friend
Nos amies. Our friends
