Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives

mon, ma, mes - my
ton, ta, tes - your
son, sa, ses – his
, her, its

notre, nos - our
votre, vos - your (including more than one owner)
leur, leurs- their

In the singular (only one owner) they have three forms, one for the masculine, one for the feminine and one for the plural nouns. In the plural forms (more owners) they have two forms: one for the singular both masculine and feminine, and one for the plural nouns.
The gender of the following noun (and not the gender of the owner!) defines its form. Practically, possessive adjectives behave in the same way as the definite article (le, la, l’, les), possessive adjectives are used instead of the article so using the definite article next to the possessive adjective would be incorrect.


ma maison = my house (maison is feminine: la maison)
ta soeur= your sister (soeur is feminine: la soeur)
son frère = his/her brother (frère is masculine: le frère)
notre frère = our brother
leur livre = their book (livre is masculine: le livre)

mes maisons = my houses
tes soeurs = your sisters
ses frères = his/her brothers
nos frères = our brothers
leurs livres = their books

If a feminine noun begins with a vowel, the forms mon, ton, son are used (and not ma, ta, sa):

mon amie = my (girl)friend

NB: 3rd person singular and plural pronouns and adjectives can be used referring to not only people but things too, e.g.:

J’ai une table. J’aime beaucoup sa couleur  = I have a table. I like its colour very much.

Possessive Pronouns

They stand alone, without a noun after them:

le mien, la mienne;  les miens, les miennes – mine
le tien, la tienne;  les tiens, les tiennes – yours
le sien, la sienne; les siens, les siennes – his, hers, its

le nôtre, la nôtre; les nôtres – ours
le vôtre, la nôtre; les vôtres – yours (more than one owner)
le leur, la leur;   les leurs – theirs


La table est la mienne – The table is mine.
Voici une montre. C’est la nôtre – Here is a watch. It is ours.
Ce livre est le sien – This book is his.


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