Lesson 4 -
Grammar 1 - Possessive determiners (Possessive adjectives)
In French, the possessive determiners (my, his, her, our, etc.) agree in gender and number with the noun which follows.
Examples:
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
son frère | his brother, her brother |
sa sœur | his sister, her sister |
The set of possessive determiners shows the following shapes:
English / Anglais |
Gender / Genre |
Before a singular noun beginning with a vowel | Before a singular noun beginning a consonant | Before a plural noun |
---|---|---|---|---|
My | If noun is feminine | mon | ma | mes |
My | If noun is masculine | mon | mes | |
His, Her, It’s, One’s | If noun is feminine | son | sa | ses |
His, Her, It’s, One’s | If noun is masculine | son | ses | |
Our | Masculine or feminine | notre | nos | |
Your | Masculine or feminine | votre | vos | |
Their, Theirs | Masculine or feminine | leur | leurs |
Note that the forms for our, your, their are the same whether the following noun is feminine or masculine.
Determiners Review
We have learned so far that:
1. Singular
A feminine noun beginning with a consonant can be preceded by la or une or cette or ma, sa, notre, votre leur.
A masculine noun beginning with a consonant can be preceded by le or un or ce or mon, son, notre, votre, leur.
Any noun beginning with a vowel can be preceded by l’ or un / une or cet / cette or mon, son, notre, votre, leur.
2. Plural
Nouns can be preceded by les or des or ces or nos, vos, leurs.