Mon, ton, son, notre, votre and leur say whose a thing is and agree with the thing. The possessive agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner: Paul aime sa mère. Léa aime sa mère.
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form | mon / ma / mes, ton / ta / tes, votre / vos | Voici ma sœur. | This is my sister. | |
| Form | son / sa / ses, notre / nos, leur / leurs | Léa aime sa sœur. | Léa likes her sister. | |
| Agreement | the possessive agrees with the thing owned: mon frère, ma sœur, mes parents | Voici mes parents. | These are my parents. | |
| Politeness | vous: votre, vos | Quel est votre nom ? | What is your name? | |
| The named owner | noun + de + noun, with no ’s | C’est le chat de Léa. | It's Léa's cat. | |
| The body | a part of the body: the definite article, not the possessive | Il lève la main. | He raises his hand. | |
| A friend of mine | un / une + de + mes / tes / ses / nos / vos / leurs + plural noun | Marc est un de mes amis. | Marc is a friend of mine. | |
| Vowel | mon, ton, son before a vowel, even for feminine nouns: mon amie | Mon amie s’appelle Léa. | My friend is called Léa. | |
| One owner or several | one owner: son, sa, ses; several: leur, leurs | Paul et Léa aiment leurs parents. | Paul and Léa love their parents. | |
| Trap | the possessive replaces the article: mon sac, not le mon sac | J’ai perdu mon sac. | I've lost my bag. | |
| Trap | son follows the noun, not the owner: Léa aime son père | Léa aime son père. | Léa loves her father. |
Overview
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- The possessive agrees in gender and number with the thing owned, never with the owner. Mon frère. / Ma sœur. / Mes parents.My brother. / My sister. / My parents.
- The possessive replaces the article: one word before the noun. J’ai perdu mon sac. / Elle aime sa ville.I've lost my bag. / She loves her city.
- For the articles the possessive replaces, see Articles.
Form: the possessives
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Person | masculine | feminine | plural | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | mon | ma | mes | |
| tu | ton | ta | tes | |
| il / elle / on | son | sa | ses | |
| nous | notre | notre | nos | |
| vous | votre | votre | vos | |
| ils / elles | leur | leur | leurs |
- Before a vowel or a mute h, mon, ton and son replace ma, ta and sa. Mon amie / ton école / son histoiremy friend / your school / his story
- Leur takes an s only before a plural noun. leur maison / leurs maisonstheir house / their houses
- To know when to say tu and when vous, see Forms of Address: tu and vous.
Pronunciation: the possessives
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Person | masculine | feminine | plural | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | /mɔ̃/ | /ma/ | /me/ | |
| tu | /tɔ̃/ | /ta/ | /te/ | |
| il / elle / on | /sɔ̃/ | /sa/ | /se/ | |
| nous | /nɔtʁ/ | /nɔtʁ/ | /no/ | |
| vous | /vɔtʁ/ | /vɔtʁ/ | /vo/ | |
| ils / elles | /lœʁ/ | /lœʁ/ | /lœʁ/ |
- Notre and votre have an open o, nos and vos a closed o. notre /nɔtʁ/ maison · nos /no/ maisonsour house / our houses
- Before a vowel, mes, tes, ses, nos, vos and leurs link with a /z/. mes amis /me zami/ · leurs enfants /lœʁ zɑ̃fɑ̃/my friends / their children
- For all liaisons, see Liaison and Elision.
Use: the possessives
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing your family | Voici ma sœur. / Mon père s’appelle Marc. | This is my sister. / My father is called Marc. | |
| Asking a question | Quel est votre nom ? / Comment s’appelle ton chien ? | What is your name? / What is your dog called? | |
| What you have, what you like | J’ai perdu mon sac. / Nous aimons notre maison. | I've lost my bag. / We love our house. | |
| One owner: he or she | Paul aime sa mère. / Léa aime sa mère. / Léa cherche son sac. | Paul loves his mother. / Léa loves her mother. / Léa is looking for her bag. | |
| Several owners | Paul et Léa aiment leurs parents. / Ils ont leur voiture. | Paul and Léa love their parents. / They have their car. | |
| A named owner: the word de | C’est le chat de Léa. / La mère de Paul est ici. | It's Léa's cat. / Paul's mother is here. | |
| A named owner with le, les | Le sac du professeur. / La voiture des voisins. | The teacher's bag. / The neighbours' car. | |
| A part of the body | Il ferme les yeux. / J’ai mal à la tête. | He closes his eyes. / My head hurts. | |
| One among several | Marc est un de mes amis. / Elle est une de mes voisines. | Marc is a friend of mine. / She is one of my neighbours. | |
| On for nous | On prend notre voiture. / On a oublié nos clés. | We are taking our car. / We've forgotten our keys. |
- For du and des (de + le, les), see Articles.
- To say whose something is with à moi, à toi, see Stressed Pronouns.
Typical errors
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon sœur s’appelle Léa. | Ma sœur s’appelle Léa. | sœur is feminine: ma sœur | |
| Ma amie est ici. | Mon amie est ici. | before a vowel, mon even for feminine nouns: mon amie | |
| Marie aime sa père. | Marie aime son père. | the possessive follows the noun, not the owner: père is masculine, so son père even for Marie | |
| Ils aiment leur parents. | Ils aiment leurs parents. | leurs before a plural noun | |
| Nous avons notre enfants. | Nous avons nos enfants. | nos before a plural noun | |
| J’ai mal à ma tête. | J’ai mal à la tête. | a part of the body takes the definite article: la tête, not “my head” | |
| Marc est un ami de moi. | Marc est un de mes amis. | “a friend of mine” is un de mes amis |