Voici mon père et ma mère — ce sont mes parents. Paul aime sa sœur, et Marie aime sa sœur aussi. C'est notre maison et voici nos enfants. Votre ami est là ? Leur voiture est rouge.
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GrammarA1possessives
Possessive adjectives
Les adjectifs possessifs
A1fr22 min
What you'll learn
- Say whose something is
- Agree with the possessed noun, not the owner
- Apply the vowel exception
Tips for this lesson
- Possessives agree with the THING owned, not the owner's gender.
- son/sa mère can mean 'his mother' OR 'her mother' — context tells you which.
- Before a feminine vowel-noun, use mon/ton/son instead of ma/ta/sa: mon amie.
Step 1 of 6
1Reading
In context
Read. Notice the possessive changes with the noun that follows it, not with who owns it.
Step 2 of 6
2The pattern
The pattern — possessives agree with what's owned
The possessive agrees with the noun that follows it — not with who owns it. Tap 🔊 to hear each form.
French possessives agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe — not with the gender of the owner. This is very different from English. Take son/sa/ses (his/her/its): "sa mère" can mean his mother or her mother — you cannot tell the owner's gender from the possessive alone, only context tells you. The rule is simple once you see it: look at the noun being owned, pick the matching column (masculine, feminine, or plural), and use that possessive regardless of who owns it.
| Owner | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma | mes |
| your (tu) | ton | ta | tes |
| his/her/its | son | sa | ses |
| our | notre | notre | nos |
| your (vous) | votre | votre | vos |
| their | leur | leur | leurs |
Paul aime sa sœur.
Paul loves his sister.
sa agrees with sœur (feminine) — nothing to do with Paul being male.
Marie aime sa sœur.
Marie loves her sister.
Same word sa — same feminine noun, different owner. Context tells you it's Marie's.
mon amie
my (female) friend
mon, not ma — before a feminine noun starting with a vowel, for euphony.
nos enfants
our children
notre → nos in the plural, same form for both genders.
Erreurs fréquentes
- Assuming 'sa mère' must mean 'his mother' (because the owner sounds male in context).sa mère can mean either — check the wider context, not the word itself.
This is the #1 trap: son/sa/ses encode the NOUN's gender, never the owner's.
- ma amiemon amie
Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel, use mon/ton/son (not ma/ta/sa) purely for pronunciation.
- mon frèresmes frères
Check number too — a plural noun always needs the plural possessive (mes/tes/ses/nos/vos/leurs).
Exceptions & à retenir
The vowel rule only applies to feminine singular nouns
mon amie, mon école, mon histoire — all feminine nouns starting with a vowel take mon/ton/son. Masculine nouns were already using mon/ton/son, so nothing changes there.
leur vs leurs
leur (no s) is used with a singular possessed noun even for multiple owners: leur maison (their house, one house). leurs is for a plural possessed noun: leurs enfants (their children).
Possessives repeat before each noun
Unlike English 'my mother and father', French repeats the possessive: mon père et ma mère (not mon père et mère) — each noun needs its own agreeing possessive.
Astuces & mémo
- Ask yourself: what's the gender of the THING, not the person? That's the column to use.
- mon/ton/son + feminine vowel-noun is just for sound — say "ma amie" out loud and you'll hear why French avoids it.
- notre/votre don't change for gender (singular) — only the plural nos/vos/leurs differ from the singular forms.
Step 3 of 6
3Q&A drill
Match the possessive
Match the owner + noun to the correct possessive form.
- Q1my (+ père, masc.)A____________
- Q2my (+ mère, fem.)A____________
- Q3his/her (+ sœur, fem.)A____________
- Q4our (+ enfants, plural)A____________
- Q5their (+ maison, one house)A____________
- Q6my (+ amie, fem. + vowel)A____________
Step 4 of 6
4Fill the blanks
Guided practice — family tree
Fill in the correct possessive adjective.
Example
C'est (1) (my) père.
→ C'est mon père.
Exercice
C'est (1) (my) amie Sophie.
Exercice
Paul aime (2) (his) parents.
Exercice
(3) (our) maison est grande.
Exercice
(4) (their) enfants sont ici.
Answer pool — drag onto a blank (or tap to fill the next one)
Next empty blank: 1
Step 5 of 6
5Word order
Build the sentence
Put the words in the correct order.
Example
voicimonpère→Voici mon père.
- Sentence 1Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 2Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 3Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 4Tap the words below to build the sentence.
Step 6 of 6
6Speak freely
Produce it
Describe your family and whose things are whose, using at least five different possessives.
Ex.Voici mon père et ma mère. Mon frère aime son ordinateur, et ma sœur aime son téléphone.
- 1.Décrivez votre famille (mon/ma/mes).
- 2.Qui possède quoi dans votre famille ? (son/sa/ses)
- 3.Décrivez la maison ou la voiture de votre famille (notre/leur).