Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives: choose by the thing owned (not the owner)

Key idea: In French, mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses agree with the noun that comes after (the thing owned).

• Mon / ma / mes = my
• Ton / ta / tes = your (informal singular)
• Son / sa / ses = his / her / its
• Notre / nos = our
• Votre / vos = your (formal or plural)
• Leur / leurs = their

So: you look at père (masc.), mère (fem.), parents (plural)… and you choose the form that matches.

Step-by-step: how to pick the correct form

1. Is the noun plural?
   • Yes → use mes / tes / ses / nos / vos / leurs
   • No → go to step 2
2. Is the noun masculine or feminine?
   • Masculine → mon / ton / son / notre / votre / leur
   • Feminine → ma / ta / sa / notre / votre / leur
3. Special sound rule (see next section): some feminine nouns take mon/ton/son.

The “vowel / silent h” exception (for pronunciation)

If a feminine singular noun starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or a silent h, French uses the masculine form to avoid two vowel sounds together.

Important: this exception is only for singular feminine. Plural stays plural: mes adresses, ses histoires.

Common confusion: “son/sa/ses” does not tell you if the owner is male or female

son / sa / ses only tells you the gender/number of the thing owned.

• son sourire = his smile or her smile (because sourire is masculine)
• sa sœur = his sister or her sister (because sœur is feminine)
• ses enfants = his/her children (plural)

If you need to clarify who owns it, use context or add a name: son sourire, à Nadia.

Mini self-check before you answer

• 1) What is the noun right after the possessive? (e.g., mère, fils, enfants)
• 2) Is it plural?
• 3) If singular: masc or fem?
• 4) If feminine singular: does it start with a vowel or silent h?

What you should be able to do now

• Choose mon/ma/mes etc. based on the next noun.
• Use mon/ton/son before feminine vowel/silent-h nouns.
• Understand that son/sa/ses can mean his or her depending on context.