A1.5 - Family

Possessive adjectives

Les adjectifs possesifs

Accorder les pronoms possessifs.

(Make possessive pronouns agree.)

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.

Feminine noun Correct Not used Why?
écharpe (scarf) mon écharpe ma écharpe smoother pronunciation
adresse (address) ton adresse ta adresse smoother pronunciation
histoire (history) (h muet) son histoire sa histoire smoother pronunciation

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.
  1. Possessive pronouns agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) according to the noun of the object, not the person who owns it. (ex : "mon père", "ta mère", "ses cousins" )
Personne (Person)Singulier (Singular)Féminin (Feminine)Pluriel (Plural)
Je (I)Mon (My)Ma (My)Mes  (My )
Tu (You (informal))Ton (Your)Ta (Your)Tes (Your)
Il / Elle / On (He / She / One (we))Son (His / Her / Its)Sa (His / Her / Its)Ses (His / Her / Its)
Nous  (We)Notre (Our)Notre (Our)Nos  (Our )
Vous  (You (formal / plural))Votre (Your)Votre (Your)Vos (Your)
Ils / Elles  (They (masc.) / They (fem.))Leur (Their)Leur (Their)Leurs (Their)

Exceptions!

  1. When feminine nouns start with a vowel or a silent “h”, we use the masculine possessive adjective. Example: Mon écharpe.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Voici ___ mari Paul et ___ fille Zoé.

Here are ___ husband Paul and ___ daughter Zoé.

2. ___ parents habitent à Paris ou à Lyon ?

___ parents live in Paris or Lyon?

3. Mon oncle arrive avec ___ enfants pour le dîner.

My uncle is coming with ___ children for lunch.

4. Voici ___ appartement et ___ chambres sont au fond du couloir.

Here is ___ apartment and ___ rooms are at the end of the corridor.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences by replacing the underlined noun phrase with the correct possessive adjective (my, mine, your, yours, his, her, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs).

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  1. Hint Hint (mon) C’est le prénom de moi.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    C’est mon prénom.
    (C'est mon prénom.)
  2. Hint Hint (ton) Voici le mari de toi.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Voici ton mari.
    (Voici ton mari.)
  3. Hint Hint (sa) La sœur de elle habite à Lyon.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Sa sœur habite à Lyon.
    (Sa sœur habite à Lyon.)
  4. Hint Hint (nos) Les enfants de nous sont en vacances.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Nos enfants sont en vacances.
    (Nos enfants sont en vacances.)
  5. Hint Hint (votre) Je cherche le numéro de téléphone de vous.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Je cherche votre numéro de téléphone.
    (Je cherche votre numéro de téléphone.)
  6. Hint Hint (leurs) Ce sont les collègues de elles.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ce sont leurs collègues.
    (Ce sont leurs collègues.)

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Alessia Calcagni

Languages for communication in international enterprises and organizations

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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Last Updated:

Friday, 06/03/2026 18:34