| Singular | Plural | ||||
| English | Masculine | Feminine | Before vowel | ||
| my | 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 | |
1. In
French grammar, there are many more possessives than English, because there are
different forms not only for the person and number, but sometimes also the
gender and the first letter of the thing possessed.
2. When describing two or more nouns in French, a possessive adjective must be used in front of each one:
son frère et sa sœur
his brother and sister
ma tante et mon oncle
my aunt and uncle
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's washing the hair of himself).
In French grammar, there are three forms of
the possessive for each singular 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, which would break the flow of speech.
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, which would break the flow of speech.
In this case, the possessive's final consonant
is pronounced (the "n"
in the example below) to achieve fluid pronunciation.
mon amie - my (female) friend
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 used:
ton amie - your (female) friend
Lesson: tu vs. vous
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 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 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.
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 (for example, 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.
For plural subjects (we, you, and they),
French possessive adjectives are far simpler. There are only two forms for each
grammatical person: singular and plural.
OUR
notre (singular) notre
stylo > our pen
nos (plural) nos montres > our watches
nos (plural) nos montres > our watches
YOUR (VOUS FORM)
THEIR
leur (singular) leur
stylo > their pen
leurs (plural) leurs montres > their watches
leurs (plural) leurs montres > their watches
Source-
https://www.thoughtco.com/french-possessive-adjectives-1368798
