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POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
Definition: Possessive determiners (also called possessive adjectives or possessive pronouns; analogous to English "my," "his," etc.) are the words used in place of articles to indicate to whom or to what something belongs. Their usage is similar to English, but there are some differences in form.
The following table shows the forms of French possessives:
| ENGLISH |
MASCULINE |
FEMININE |
BEFORE VOWEL |
PLURAL |
| My |
mon |
ma |
mon |
mes |
| your (singular) |
ton |
ta |
ton |
tes |
| his, her, its |
son |
sa |
son |
ses |
| our |
notre |
notre |
notre |
nos |
| your (plural) |
votre |
votre |
votre |
vos |
| their |
leur |
leur |
leur |
leurs |
French has many more possessives than English. For singular subjects (I, you, he/she/it), there are three forms of the possessive. The gender, number, and first letter of the noun possessed determine which form to use.
Examples in French:
|
MY |
YOUR |
HIS, HER, ITS |
| masc: pen |
mon stylo |
ton stylo |
son stylo |
| fem: watch |
ma montre |
ta montre |
sa montre |
| vowel: friend |
mon amie |
ton amie |
son amie |
| plural: brothers |
mes frères |
tes frères |
ses frères |
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. This is particularly difficult when talking about him/her/it. Son, sa, and ses can each mean his, her, or its depending on the context.
Plural subjects:
(we, you, they) have only two forms: singular and plural.
| |
ENGLISH |
OUR |
YOUR |
THEIR |
| MASCULINE |
pen |
notre stylo |
votre stylo |
leur stylo |
| FEMININE |
watch |
notre montre |
votre montre |
leur montre |
| PLURAL |
friends |
nos amis |
vos amis |
leurs amis |
Note: 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:
Examples in French:
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).
Back to:
 French Grammar
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