Possessive adjectives and pronouns

Possessive adjectives and pronouns
Possessive adjectives
A possessive adjective describes the ownership of a noun.
“My” is an example of an English possessive adjective. “My book” shows that the book belongs to me. If
the book belonged to you, the possessive adjective would be “your,” “your book”.
While there is only one possessive adjective per subject pronoun in English (my, you, his, her, its, our,
their), in French, the possessive adjective depends not only on the subject pronoun (or owner) but also on
the noun it’s describing (what is owned). So, since these possessives must also agree in gender and
number with “what is owned,” there are three possessive adjectives for every subject pronoun.
Subject pronoun
je
tu
il, elle, on
nous
vous
ils, elles
Masculine object
mon
ton
son
notre
votre
leur
Feminine object
ma
ta
sa
notre
votre
leur
Plural object
mes
tes
ses
nos
vos
leurs
It is very important to note that the gender and number of the noun following the possessive adjective will
determine which possessive adjective to use.
So how would you say “her car?” The subject pronoun is “she” or elle. If we look at the corresponding line
we now must choose between son, sa, and ses. We know we are only talking about one car, so it will be
one of the singular possessive adjectives, son or sa. Now the only question is whether the noun, “car” or
voiture, is masculine or feminine. Since voiture is feminine, “her car” is sa voiture.
What if you want to say “his car?” Remember, the noun being possessed determines which possessive
adjective you will use. Since the gender and number of the noun voiture did not change, it can never be
son voiture. So “his car” will also be sa voiture.
Sometimes, you will have a singular feminine noun or adjective starting with a vowel, like amie, école,
opinion, âme, oreille, ancienne, etc...
In that case, you will not say sa amie, but rather son amie which is more pleasant to the ear.
Possessive pronouns
• Whereas possessive adjectives describe the ownership of a noun, as in mon livre, a possessive pronoun
describes the ownership of a noun and replaces that noun.
Est-ce que tu as lu mon livre ? (Have you read my book?) This is an example of a possessive adjective.
Non, j’ai lu le mien. (No, I read mine.) This is an example of a possessive pronoun.
• Just like possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they
replace.
© 2011 Middlebury Interactive Languages. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only. No portion of these
materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of Middlebury Interactive Languages.
Take a minute to study the following table.
Singular
mine
yours
his, hers, its
ours
yours
theirs
Masculine
le mien
le tien
le sien
le nôtre
le vôtre
le leur
Plural
Feminine
la mienne
la tienne
la sienne
la nôtre
la vôtre
la leur
Masculine
les miens
les tiens
les siens
les nôtres
les vôtres
les leurs
Feminine
les miennes
les tiennes
les siennes
les nôtres
les vôtres
les leurs
Notice that the possessive pronouns le sien, la sienne, les siens, and les siennes, can mean his, hers,
or its. While in English the form is determined by the possessor, in French, the form is determined by the
gender and number of the noun being replaced.
Eric aime ma nouvelle voiture, mais il préfère la sienne. (Eric likes my new car, but he prefers his.)
Because a possessive pronoun always starts with an article, it can be combined with the preposition à or
de in the following manner:
à + le = au
à + la = à la
à + les = aux
de + le = du
de + la = de la
de + les = des
Je me souviens de mon premier jour à l’école. Et toi ? Tu te souviens du tien ?
Je n’ai pas pensé à tes parents mais j’ai pensé aux miens.
Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns are another example of why it is so important to know the
gender of every noun you learn. This can be confusing at first, so make sure you practice. Now take a list
of nouns and formulate sentences using each possessive adjective and possessive pronoun.
© 2011 Middlebury Interactive Languages. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only. No portion of these
materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of Middlebury Interactive Languages.