Possessive Adjectives

By • September 11, 2012 • Updated May 16, 2020

les adjectifs possessifs

A possessive adjective is a word like my, your, his, her etc. In French possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

BEFORE MASCULINE SINGULAR NOUNS
mon livremy booknotre livreour book
ton livreyour (tu) bookvotre livreyour (vous) book
son livrehis/her bookleur livretheir book
BEFORE FEMININE SINGULAR NOUNS
ma voituremy carnotre voitureour car
ta voitureyour (tu) carvotre voitureyour (vous) car
sa voiturehis/her carleur voituretheir car
BEFORE ALL PLURAL NOUNS - FEMININE & PLURAL
mes voisin(e)smy neighborsnos voisin(e)sour neighbors
tes voisin(e)syour (tu) neighborsvos voisin(e)syour (vous) neighbors
ses voisin(e)Shis/her neighborsleur voisin(e)stheir neighbors

The possessive adjectives son, sa, and ses can translate to his, her or its depending on who is in possession of the particular noun.

  • Marie aime sa voiture. Marie likes her car.
    Pierre aime sa voiture aussi. Pierre likes his car too.
  • Pierre aime son livre. Pierre likes his book.
    Marie aime son livre aussi. Marie likes her book too.

example sentences

Pierre aime son chien.Pierre likes his dog.
Marie aime son chien aussi.Marie likes her dog too.
Mon père parle français.My father speaks French
Ma mère parle français aussi.My mother also speaks French.
Je connais tes cousins.I know your cousins (to somebody you know).
Je connais vos cousins.I know your cousins (to somebody you don’t know).
Elle aime sa maison.She likes her house.
Il aime sa maison aussi.I likes his/her house too (depending on context).
Ses amis habient en France.His/her friends live in France (depending on context).
Je joue avec leur chien.I play with their dog.
Marc et Marie aiment leurs chiens.Mark and Marie like their dogs.
Où est ton hôtel?Where is your hotel?
Ton ami est très sympathique.Your friend (male friend) is very nice.
Ton amie est très sympathique aussi.Your friend (female friend) is also very nice.
Voici mon adresse.Here is my address.

The masculine forms mon, ton and son must go before a feminine noun starting with a vowel.

  • mon école
  • ton hotel
  • son adresse

For ami always use son, even when talking about a female friend. Here the masculine son is acting like a liason.

  • J’aime son ami. I like his (male) freind.
  • J’aime son amie aussi. I like his (female) friend too.

Practice Exercises

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