One of the most important elements in your learning of French are the possessive determinants that are used very frequently. Possessive determinants are the “my”, “mine”, “ours”… to indicate affiliation or emotional value (my friend, my hero).
Let’s see if you can recognize possessive determinants (also called possessive adjectives):
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Note that “la sienne” and “la mienne” are possessive pronouns, which can be replaced by “sa/ma maison”.
| Singular | Singular | Plural | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personne | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine |
| je (I) | mon (my) | ma (my) | mes (my) | mes (my) |
| tu (you) | ton (your) | ta (your) | tes (your) | tes (your) |
| il/elle (he/she) | son (her/his) | sa (her/his) | ses (her/his) | ses (her/his) |
| nous (we) | notre (our) | notre (our) | nos (our) | nos (our) |
| vous (you) | votre (your) | votre (your) | vos (your) | vos (your) |
| ils/elles (they) | leur (their) | leur (their) | leurs (their) | leurs (their) |
In the plural the forms are the same for both the masculine and the feminine.
Examples:
- J’aime ses créations > I like her/his creations
- Il déteste ses enfants > He hates his children
- Nous commençons nos jours heureux > We begin our happy days
- Nous commencons nos cours de français > We start our French lessons
Exception: If the feminine noun begins with a vowel or a mute ‘h’, we use mon, ton, son instead of ma, ta, sa. For example: mon amie (my girl friend), ton histoire (your story).
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Illustration – listen carefully
“Je m’entends bien avec ma famille. Mon frère et mes parents sont toujours là pour moi.”
“I get along well with my family. My brother and my parents are always there for me.”
This may be a lot of information for you at once, but no worries! If you make a mistake in the agreement of one of these adjectives, it doesn’t matter, we will still understand you 🙂
