More on possessive adjectives
Key points
- Like mon, ma and mes, there are masculine, feminine or plural for all possessive adjectives.
- When a feminine noun starts with a vowel you use mon, ton or son and not ma, ta or sa: Mon amie.
- Son, sa and ses can mean either him or her, depending on the gender of the noun: Paul met sa chemise
We have already seen that there are three ways of saying my in French. It depends on whether the noun the my is describing is masculine , feminine or plural . All the other possessive adjectives in French follow a similar pattern. Here is the complete list:
| masc sing | fem sing | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma | mes |
| your | ton | ta | tes |
| his/her | son | sa | ses |
| our | notre | notre | nos |
| your | votre | votre | vos |
| their | leur | leur | leurs |
Quel est le nom de ton professeur?
What's the name of your teacher?
Son frère est très sportif
His / Her brother plays a lot of sport
Sa soeur est très intelligente
His / Her brother is very clever
Est-ce que je peux emprunter votre parapluie?
Can I borrow your umbrella?
Where a feminine noun starts with a vowel you use mon, ton or son and not ma, ta or sa. This is because it’s easier to say:
Mon amie
My friend
Ton école
Your school
Son, sa and ses can mean either him or her. It depends on the gender of the noun :
Paul met sa chemise
Paul puts on his shirt
Marie met son pullover
Marie puts on her jumper