The possessive adjectives are used to express possession. They always precede the noun or the noun phrase and they have the following form.
Remember:
When the object possessed begins with a vowel or a mute “h”, we use “mon”, “ton”, “son” instead of “ma”, “ta”, “sa” even if it is feminine.
For example:
Mon fils et ma fille ne s’entendent pas bien.
My son and my daughter don’t get along well.
“fille” is feminine and it begins with a consonant, that’s why we used “ma”.
Mon amie Rachel est très généreuse.
My friend Rachel is very generous.
Paul est mon ami intime.
Paul is my best friend.
We can see in the examples above that even though “amie” is feminine, because it starts with a vowel, we used “mon” instead of “ma”.
Personne n’a cru à son histoire.
Nobody believed his story.
Son haleine sent la menthe.
Her breath smells like mint.
Sa hanche lui fait mal.
His hip hurts him.
“haleine” and “histoire” are feminine nouns and they begin with a mute “h”, that’s why they are preceded with “son” instead of “sa”.
“hanche” is a feminine noun that begins with an aspired “h”. An aspired “h” is considered a consonant. That’s why it’s preceded with “sa”.
More examples:
Je suis impressionnée par votre courage.
I’m impressed by your courage.
Vous avez oublié vos lunettes, votre chapeau et vos clés.
You forgot your glasses, your hat, and your keys.
Avez-vous rendu vos devoirs à votre professeur ?
Did you hand your test sheets to your teacher?
Nous avons vendu notre voiture et nos vélos.
We sold our car and our bikes.
Son père est très gentil mais sa mère est une véritable vipère.
His father is very nice, but his mother is a true viper.
Leurs filles ont toutes réussi dans la vie mais leur fils est un bon à rien.
Their daughters have all succeeded in life, but their son is a failure.
Est-ce que ton frère vit toujours avec tes parents ?
Does your brother still lives with your parents?
Où est-ce que tu as acheté ta montre ?
Where did you buy your watch?
| The Person who possesses or the possessor | The object possessed | |||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Person | Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | ||
| 1st person singular | mon | ma | mes | mes | ||
| 2nd person singular | ton | ta | tes | tes | ||
| 3rd person singular | son | sa | ses | ses | ||
| 1st person plural | notre | notre | nos | nos | ||
| 2nd person plural | votre | votre | vos | vos | ||
| 3rd person plural | leur | leur | leurs | leurs | ||
When the object possessed begins with a vowel or a mute “h”, we use “mon”, “ton”, “son” instead of “ma”, “ta”, “sa” even if it is feminine.
For example:
Mon fils et ma fille ne s’entendent pas bien.
My son and my daughter don’t get along well.
“fille” is feminine and it begins with a consonant, that’s why we used “ma”.
Mon amie Rachel est très généreuse.
My friend Rachel is very generous.
Paul est mon ami intime.
Paul is my best friend.
We can see in the examples above that even though “amie” is feminine, because it starts with a vowel, we used “mon” instead of “ma”.
Personne n’a cru à son histoire.
Nobody believed his story.
Son haleine sent la menthe.
Her breath smells like mint.
Sa hanche lui fait mal.
His hip hurts him.
“haleine” and “histoire” are feminine nouns and they begin with a mute “h”, that’s why they are preceded with “son” instead of “sa”.
“hanche” is a feminine noun that begins with an aspired “h”. An aspired “h” is considered a consonant. That’s why it’s preceded with “sa”.
More examples:
Je suis impressionnée par votre courage.
I’m impressed by your courage.
Vous avez oublié vos lunettes, votre chapeau et vos clés.
You forgot your glasses, your hat, and your keys.
Avez-vous rendu vos devoirs à votre professeur ?
Did you hand your test sheets to your teacher?
Nous avons vendu notre voiture et nos vélos.
We sold our car and our bikes.
Son père est très gentil mais sa mère est une véritable vipère.
His father is very nice, but his mother is a true viper.
Leurs filles ont toutes réussi dans la vie mais leur fils est un bon à rien.
Their daughters have all succeeded in life, but their son is a failure.
Est-ce que ton frère vit toujours avec tes parents ?
Does your brother still lives with your parents?
Où est-ce que tu as acheté ta montre ?
Where did you buy your watch?