POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS : MINE, YOURS, HIS, HERS, OURS

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS : MINE, YOURS, HIS, HERS, OURS, THEIRS.
Instead of saying : "The waiter has brought your soup but not my soup", we would usually say : "The
waiter has brought your soup but not mine". In French, the form of the possessive pronouns ('mine',
'yours', hers', etc.) must reflect the gender and number of the noun they replace.
Pronouns replacing masculine nouns :
singular
plural
le mien
les miens
le tien
les tiens
le sien
les siens
le nôtre
les nôtres
le vôtre
les vôtres
le leur
les leurs
mine
yours (familiar)
his/hers
ours
yours
theirs
Pronouns replacing feminine nouns :
singular
plural
la mienne
les miennes
la tienne
les tiennes
la sienne
les siennes
la nôtre
les nôtres
la vôtre
les vôtres
la leur
les leurs
mine
yours (familiar)
his/hers
ours
yours
theirs
Examples :
Le garçon a apporté votre soupe, mais pas la mienne.
The waiter has brought your soup, but not mine.
Voici son croissant, mais où est le vôtre?
Here's his/her croissant, but where's yours?
Notre jambon est très bon; comment est le leur?
Our ham is very good; how's theirs?
Ma bière est excellente; est-ce que la vôtre est bonne aussi?
My beer is excellent; is yours good too?
J'ai payé mon café, mais je n'ai pas payé les leurs.
I've paid for my coffee, but I haven't paid for theirs.
When following the verb 'to be' and having the meaning of 'belonging to', the possessive pronouns
are often translated by :
à moi, à nous; à toi, à vous; à lui, à eux [masculine plural]; à elle, à elles [feminine plural].
It is also possible to say : "à Pierre", "à ma femme", etc., meaning "Pierre's", "my wife's" :
Pardon, Madame, est-ce que ce parapluie est à vous?
Excuse me, Madam, is this umbrella yours?
Ces gants [masculine] ne sont pas à moi; ils sont à mon frère.
These gloves are not mine; they belong to my brother.
MORE QUESTION FORMS :
1). 'What' is expressed as follows :
AFTER A PREPOSITION, BY QUOI :
- À quoi pensez-vous? What are you thinking about?
- Je pense à mon déjeuner. I'm thinking about my lunch.
- Avec quoi avez-vous payé le dîner? What did you pay for the dinner with?
- J'ai payé avec ma carte de crédit. I paid with my credit card.
BEFORE THE VERB 'TO BE' AND A NOUN, BY QUEL, QUELLE, QUELS, QUELLES :
- Quel est votre nom? What is your name?
- Quel est votre numéro de téléphone? What is your telephone number?
- Quelle est votre adresse? What is your address?
- Quels sont les prix? What are the prices?
WHEN 'WHAT' IS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, BY QU'EST-CE QUI :
- Délicieux? Qu'est-ce qui est délicieux? Delicious? What's delicious?
WHEN 'WHAT' IS THE OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, BY QU'EST-CE QUE or QUE (QU'):
- Qu'est-ce que vous avez comme légumes? or :
- Qu'avez-vous comme légumes? What have you got in the way of vegetables?
AS AN EXCLAMATION, 'WHAT!' IS TRANSLATED BY QUOI ! :
- Quoi ! Le service n'est pas compris? What ! The service isn't included?
- Quoi ! Le bar est fermé? What ! The bar is closed?
- Quoi ! Le café n'est pas ouvert? What ! The cafe isn't open?
AS AN EXCLAMATION, 'WHAT!' FOLLOWED BY A NOUN IS TRANSLATED BY QUEL, QUELLE, QUELS,
QUELLES :
- Quel repas ! Quelle cuisinière ! What a meal ! What a cook !
2). 'Who, Whom' is expressed as follows :
WHEN 'WHO' IS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, BY QUI EST-CE QUI or QUI:
- Qui est-ce qui a réservé la table? or :
- Qui a réservé la table? Who reserved the table?
WHEN 'WHOM' IS THE OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, BY QUI EST-CE QUE or QUI:
- Qui est-ce que vous avez payé? La serveuse? or :
- Qui avez-vous payé? La serveuse? Whom did you pay? The waitress?
3). 'Which one(s)... ?' is expressed by lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles :
- Voici trois bons vins. À votre avis, lequel est le meilleur? Here are three good wines. In your
opinion, which one is the best?
- Toutes les tables sont libres, Madame; laquelle préférez-vous? All the tables are free, Madam;
which one do you prefer?
- Des légumes? Oui, lesquels voulez-vous? Vegetables? Yes, which would you like?
4). You remember that 'Which book ?', 'Which house ?' (INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES-Week 7) etc. are
translated as Quel livre, Quelle maison, etc. For example :
- Quel vin avez-vous bu? Which wine did you drink?
Note that where, as in the last example, quel appears in a sentence with a perfect tense verb using
avoir, the past participle must agree with it in gender and number :
- Quelle viande avez-vous mangée? Which meat did you eat?
- Quels plats avez-vous recommandés? Which dishes did you recommend?
- Quelles pommes avez-vous achetées? Which apples did you buy?
This does not apply if quel is preceded by a preposition:
- À quelle femme avez-vous donné le livre? Which woman did you give the book to?
5). 'Whose..... ?' is translated by à qui? :
- À qui est ce dessert? Whose is this dessert?
- À qui est cette serviette? Whose is this napkin?
VOCABULARY :
le barman=the barman
le repas=the meal
la fourchette=the fork
frais (fraîche)=fresh
commander=to order
le whisky=the whisky
le couteau=the knife
la cuillère=the spoon
chinois[e]=Chinese
le poisson=the fish
le chapeau=the hat
les baguettes[f.]=chopsticks
italien[ne]=Italian
IRREGULAR VERBS :
PRESENT TENSE
SENTIR (to smell)
je sens
tu sens
il/elle/on sent
nous sentons
vous sentez
ils/elles sentent
SERVIR (to serve)
je sers
tu sers
il/elle/on sert
nous servons
vous servez
ils/elles servent
PARTIR (to leave)
je pars
tu pars
il/elle/on part
nous partons
vous partez
ils/elles partent
SERVIR (to serve)
j'ai servi
tu as servi
il/elle/on a servi
nous avons servi
vous avez servi
ils/elles ont servi
PARTIR (to leave)
je suis parti(e)
tu es parti(e)
il/elle/on est parti(e)
nous sommes parti(e)s
vous êtes parti(e)(s)
ils/elles sont parti(e)s
RECENT PAST TENSE
SENTIR (to smell)
j'ai senti
tu as senti
il/elle/on a senti
nous avons senti
vous avez senti
ils/elles ont senti
NOTE : payer (to pay) is not irregular, but is one of those verbs which change their spelling in the stem.
As seen in the following present tense, y becomes i before a silent e.
PRESENT TENSE
RECENT PAST TENSE
SENTIR (to smell)
je paie
tu paies
il/elle/on paie
nous payons
vous payez
ils/elles paient
SENTIR (to smell)
j'ai payé
tu as payé
il/elle/on a payé
nous avons payé
vous avez payé
ils/elles ont payé
TRANSLATE :
1. The barman has served you your whisky, but where's mine?
2. My fish is delicious; yours is not fresh.
3. I've paid our bill and they've paid theirs.
4. Does this hat belong to you or to your friend (masc.)?
5. What do you want to eat this Chinese meal with? With chopsticks? What! No! With a knife and fork.
6. What is the telephone number of the Italian restaurant?
7. Which vegetables did she order?
8. What smells so good?
9. Here's a list of the best restaurants in Paris; which one do you prefer?
10.Whose is this spoon?