What is a possessive adjective? – Les Adjectifs Possessifs
Possessive adjectives are words that describe who or what owns or possesses something.
In English, a possessive adjective is one of the words my, your, his, her, its, our or their used with a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to another. Here are the French possessive adjectives. Like all French adjectives, these agree with the noun they refer to.
Forms of possessive adjectives:
Unlike in English and French, possessive adjectives have different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun that is owned by the subject.
For plural nouns, possessive adjectives agree with the number of the noun they modify.
Possessive adjectives must agree with the gender of the owned noun in French.
Agreement of Possessive Adjectives with Nouns
Number Agreement
If the owned noun is singular, the possessive adjective must also be singular. If the owned noun is plural, the possessive adjective must also be plural.
Gender Agreement
The gender of the possessive adjective must match the gender of the owned noun. Hence it is essential to learn the gender of the nouns whenever you add a vocabulary to your learning repertoire.
Position of Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives are usually placed before the noun they modify.
Note: With feminine singular nouns we use mon, ton, and son in front of words that begin with a vowel and most words beginning with h. This makes it easier to say. So if a noun starts with a vowel or a ‘h’ we always use the masculine form of the possessive adjective when in singular form.
| mon assiette (f) | my plate |
| ton histoire (f) | your story |
| son erreur (f) | his/her mistake |
| mon autre sœur (f) | my other sister |
| mon address (f) | my address |
| ton hôtel (m) | your hotel |
| son amie (f) | his/her friend |
Note: Possessive adjectives agree with what they describe, NOT with the /subject person who owns that thing. For example, ‘sa’ can mean ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘its’ and ‘one’s’, but can only ever be used with a feminine singular noun.
| Paul cherche sa montre. | Paul’s looking for his watch. |
| Paul lave sa voiture. | Paul is washing his car. |
| Paul cherche ses lunettes. | Paul’s looking for his glasses. |
| Catherine a appelé son frère. | Catherine called her brother. |
| Catherine a appelé sa sœur. | Catherine called her sister. |
| Paul et sa soeur lavent leur voiture | Paul and his sister wash their car |
In the sentence Paul cherche sa montre, ‘montre’ is owned by Paul and ‘montre’ is feminine so we say sa montre. Sometimes students get confused by the gender of the subject which in this case is Paul and is masculine.
Similarly, in the sentence Catherine a appelé son frère, frere is masculine so we use son.
Note: ‘Your’ can have two forms in French one is the informal form ta, ton, tes and another is for the formal and plural subject form ‘Vous’ for which the possessive adjectives can be votre and vos.
Eiffel Tower – A Global Icon
The idea for the Eiffel Tower originated from the desire to create a centerpiece for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Designed by engineer Gustave Eiffel, the construction of the tower began in 1887 and was completed in 1889, taking approximately two years, two months, and five days to build.
Gustave Eiffel’s company won the contract to build the tower, and the design was a collaboration between Eiffel and his engineers Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier, and architect Stephen Sauvestre. Gustave also made a small apartment for himself in the tower where he invited special guests like Thomas Edison.
The Eiffel Tower stands at a height of 324 meters (1,063 feet) and was the tallest man-made structure in the world until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York City in 1930. Composed primarily of wrought iron, the tower comprises around 18,038 individual iron parts, connected by 2.5 million rivets.
Initially, the Eiffel Tower faced criticism and opposition from some Parisians, including artists and intellectuals, who considered it an eyesore that clashed with the city’s aesthetics. Despite the initial backlash, the tower soon became an engineering marvel and an enduring symbol of Paris, drawing millions of visitors from around the world. The tower was built to stand only for 20 years but continued to stay on as history has it.
Another way of saying something belongs to someone is to use the ‘de’ as a preposition where it means ‘of’. Note in the examples below we are using definite articles before the noun.
Variations based on vowel sounds:
When the word following “de” begins with a vowel, “de” contracts to “d’.”
- Example: L’ami d’Élodie (Elodie’s friend).
Additionally, “de” combines with articles like “le” or “les”:
- de + le becomes du: La voiture du professeur (The teacher’s car).
- de + les becomes des: Les amis des enfants (The children’s friends).
Examples
- Elle est la mère de Marc – She is Mark’s mother
- Il est le frère de Marc – He is Mark’s brother
- Ce sont les jouets de Louis – These are Louis’s toys
- C’est le jouet de Marc – This is Mark’s toy
- Elle est la soeur de Marc- She is Mark’s sister
- Ils sont les amis d’Avni – They are Avni’s friends.
Exercises:
Write the below in French using the correct possessive adjective.
- my mother
- her room
- his book
- their car
- our house
- your pencil
- your(pl) dress
- my hats
- his parents
- your uncle
- their aunt
- her hair
- your hands
- my back
- her brother
- our cousins
- their daughters
- our legs
2. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate possessive adjective.
- C’est ___________ chien. (my)
- Où sont ___________ stylos ? (your)
- Voici ___________ amis. (our)
- J’aime ___________ nouvelle voiture. (his)
- Est-ce que c’est ___________ maison ? (their)
- Elle porte ___________ robe bleue. (her)
- Regardez ___________ livres sur l’étagère. (your, formal/plural)
- Je préfère ___________ café noir. (my)
3. Rewrite the following sentences using the correct possessive adjective.
Le livre de Marie. (her) – Son livre (her book)
- La voiture de mon frère. (his)
- Les chaussures de Paul et Lucie. (their)
- Les clés de la maison. (our)
- Le stylo de Sophie. (your)
- Le père d’Anna (her)
- Le vélo d’enfants (their)
- Les livres de professeur (her)
- La maison de chef (his)
- La chambre de mes soeurs (their)
- Les jouets de bebe (its)
4. Write a short paragraph about your family, using possessive adjectives to describe their belongings.
For example: “Mon père a une voiture rouge. Ma mère adore son nouveau sac à main. Mes frères ont leurs propres ordinateurs.”
propre=own
