Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives are just what they sound like: they show possession. In the following French and English sentences, the possessive adjectives are in bold.
Je porte ma chemise bleue.
I'm wearing my blue shirt.
Il aime ta s�ur.
He likes your sister.
Est-ce que vous parlez de notre ami?
Are you talking about our friend?
Possessive adjectives in French are:
Corresponding
Owner | Masculine
Singular | Feminine
Singular | M & F
Plural | English
Meaning |
| je | mon | ma | mes | my |
| tu | ton | ta | tes | your |
| il/elle/on | son | sa | ses | his/her/its |
| nous | notre | notre | nos | our |
| vous | votre | votre | vos | your |
| ils/elles | leur | leur | leurs | their |
1. In French, possessive adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, NOT with the owner of the noun. So sa maison does not necessarily mean her house because sa is feminine. It could mean his house. Sa is used because the word for house, maison, is feminine.
2. If the sentence talks about more than one owner, but each owner has only one of the object, the singular possessive adjective is used. For example, their lives is leur vies, because "they" each have only one life.
3. The adjectives ma, ta, and sa are never used before a word starting with a vowel or an h muet. Instead, mon, ton, and son are used, respectively. So, it's mon amie, ton ivresse, and son �uvre, NOT ma amie, ta ivresse, and sa �uvre.
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17.3.05