French Possessive Adjectives - Adjectifs possessifs
French has three forms of the possessive for each singular grammatical person (I, you, he/she/it). The gender, number, and first letter of the noun possessed determine which form to use.
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 adjective 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 adjective is needed:
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 adjective 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.
This difference between English and French possessive adjectives can be particularly confusing when talking about him/her/it. Son, sa, and ses can each mean his, her, or its depending on the context. For example, son lit can mean his bed, her bed, or its bed (e.g., the dog's). If you need to stress the gender of the person the item belongs to, you can use à lui ("belonging to him") or à elle ("belonging to her"):
C'est son livre, à elle. It's her book.
Voici sa monnaie, à lui. Here's his change.
Homophones: Ces vs ses
Test on French possessive adjectives
Related lessons: French possession
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 adjective 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 adjective is needed:
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 adjective 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.
This difference between English and French possessive adjectives can be particularly confusing when talking about him/her/it. Son, sa, and ses can each mean his, her, or its depending on the context. For example, son lit can mean his bed, her bed, or its bed (e.g., the dog's). If you need to stress the gender of the person the item belongs to, you can use à lui ("belonging to him") or à elle ("belonging to her"):
C'est son livre, à elle. It's her book.
Voici sa monnaie, à lui. Here's his change.
Homophones: Ces vs ses
Test on French possessive adjectives
Related lessons: French possession
