FRENCH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (Adjectifs Possessifs)

Watch this fun video to learn how to use French possessive adjectives and then practice what you’ve learned & do the exercise sheet below! Enjoy…

EXERCISES TO PRACTICE USING POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (free Pdf)

 

LESSON ON FRENCH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

Salut, Salut!

You must have heard of possessive adjectives, those little words that tell you what belongs to whom… Possession being key in today’s world, you gotta get them down. So let’s take care of that right now, Ninou.

Ninou: In English, possessive adjectives function in a pretty straightforward way. If something belongs to me, I use the adjective “My”. If it belongs to you, I use “Your”. If it belongs to him, I use “his” etc. etc. In French, it’s a little bit more complicated… Of course it is!

Possessive adjectives: MON/MA/MES

To translate “My”, we use either “mon”, “ma” or “mes” depending on the gender and number of what’s following. We use “Mon” in front of masculine words and in front of words starting with a vowel sound.

Example: Mon copain / Mon ami(e)

We use ‘Ma’ in front of feminine words: Ma copine

We use ‘Mes’ in front of plural words, whether they be masculine or feminine: Mes copains / Mes ami(e)s /Mes copines

Possessive adjectives: TON/TA/TES

Ninou: I got it! The same rule applies to the translation of the familiar “your”, right Soso?

Yes! We’ll say Ton copain / Ton ami(e) / Ta copine / Tes copains, tes amis, tes copines

If you got all that down, let’s continue.

Possessive adjectives: SON/SA/SES

Ninou: Soso, do the rules we’ve just seen also apply to the translation of the possessive adjectives HIS and HER.

Yes, pretty much. We’ll say Son copain / Son ami(e) / Sa copine / Ses copains, ses ami(e)s, ses copines

But careful here, because in French, there is no distinction between the possessive adjectives HIS or HER. Only the context will determine whether we’re referring to HIS or HER belongings. In other words, SON copain can mean both HIS or HER friend. SA voiture can mean both HIS or HER car.

Ninou: So basically, whenever you want to translate HIS or HER, you use SON/SA/SES depending on the gender and number of the word that follows. Let’s practice…

What’s the French for HIS DOG? HIS DOGS? HER DOG? HER DOGS?

Ninou: ‘His dog’ is ‘son chien’, ‘his dogs’ – ses chiens, ‘her dog’ – son chien, ‘her dogs’ – ses chiens

Great! If you got all 4 translations correct, you may continue the rest of the lesson.

Ninou: And if not?

Just work on this first part of the lesson some more before you move on. The rest is a bit easier.

Ninou: Ouf!

Possessive adjective: NOTRE/NOS

To translate the possessive adjective OUR, we use “NOTRE” in the singular form, and “NOS” in the plural. No need to worry about the gender of the word following here.

Ninou: Yes, finally some good news!

So we’ll say NOTRE copain, NOTRE ami(e), NOTRE copine, NOS copains, NOS ami(e)s, NOS copines

Possessive adjectives: VOTRE/VOS

Ninou: Is the logic the same for the possessive adjective YOUR?

Yes, it is. We’ll say VOTRE copain, VOTRE ami, VOTRE copine, VOS copains, VOS ami(e)s VOS copines

Possessive adjectives: LEUR/LEURS

And finally if you want to translate the possessive adjective THEIR,

Ninou: I know that! You can just use LEUR, L-E-U-R in front of a singular word, and LEURS in front of a plural word.

Examples: LEUR copain/ LEUR ami(e), LEUR copine / LEURS copains/LEURS ami(e)s/ LEURS copines

Ninou: I’ve summed it all up in a chart for you!

LIST OF FRENCH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (see video for actual chart)

MY

MON + singular nouns + singular words nouns starting with a vowel sound

MA + singular feminine

MES + plural nouns

YOUR TON TA TES

HIS/HER SON SA SES

OUR NOTRE + singular nouns NOS + plural nouns

YOUR (formal/plural) 

VOTRE + singular nouns VOS + plural nouns

THEIR

LEUR + singular nouns

LEURS + plural nouns

Great, good luck with it all! A la prochaine!