In French, the agreement of the possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her) doesn't work the same way as in English. Indeed, in French, possessive adjectives agree with the possession, as well as with the owner.
How to use possessive adjectives in French
Look at these three examples:
In English, we will use my because the owner here is me, (first person).
In French, we will also use the first person, but it only determines the first part of the adjective, so it could still be mon, ma or mes.
Then you need to look at the possession:
- In the first case, stylo is masculine, therefore we will use mon.
- In the second case, chaussures is plural, therefore we will use mes.
- In the last case, voiture is feminine, therefore we will use ma.
Now look at these three examples:
In English, we will use your because the owner here is you, (second person).
In French, we will also use the second person, but it only determines the first part of the adjective, so it could still be ton, ta or tes.
Then you need to look at the possession:
- In the first case, chapeau is masculine, therefore we will use ton.
- In the second case, collants is plural, therefore we will use tes.
- In the last case, robe is feminine, therefore we will use ta.
And finally look at these three examples:
In English, we will use his or her because Annie, the owner here, is a third person (not I nor you), and it will be the feminine her because Annie (the 'owner') is a woman.
In French, we will also use the third person, but it only determines the first part of the adjective, so it could be son, sa or ses.
Then you need to look at the possession:
- In the first case, père is masculine, therefore we will use son.
- In the second case, livres is plural, therefore we will use ses.
- In the last case, mère is feminine, therefore we will use sa.
ATTENTION:
Note that because of this, you cannot infer the gender of an owner based of the possessive adjective in French.
In both cases, you will use sa because of la copine!
Here are more examples:
See Notre/nos/votre/vos/leur/leurs = our/your/their (French Possessive Adjectives)
See also the simpler lesson Mon, ma, mes; ton, ta, tes; son, sa, ses = my; your; his / her in French (French possessive adjectives)
and also "Ma" becomes "mon" with feminine nouns starting with a vowel or mute h (French Possessive Adjectives) and Using son/sa/ses to express possession with personne/tout le monde/chacun/il faut (French Possessive Adjectives)
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why is I am waiting FOR my girlfriend translated in French to 'I am waiting for girlfriend' why no FOR/POUR
Hi Rebecca,
In French the verb 'attendre' is ' to wait for'. There is no need for the 'pour'.
J'attends mon père à la gare = I am waiting for my father at the station
Il attend ses amis = He is waiting for his friends
Bonne Continuation !
why is I am waiting FOR my girlfriend translated in French to 'I am waiting for girlfriend' why no FOR/POUR
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There is a typo in the video in the last slide - Their Books
Their Books should be Leurs Livres and not Leur livres as mentioned in the video or am I wrong?
Hi Shanti,
You are correct and it should be -
Leurs livres = their books
However, as it is a third-party resource we cannot alter it .
Bonne continuation!
Hi Shanti,
On the face of it, no I don't think that you are wrong.
This possessive adjective should accord with the plural noun.
On the lesson site, you should report this point by using the "Report a problem" facility.
Jim
It is a bit more complicated : https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/possessive-adjectives-plural-possessions/
See section on leur/leurs depending on shared/unshared possessions
The video is an external link, not one kwiziq can modify.
There is a typo in the video in the last slide - Their Books
Their Books should be Leurs Livres and not Leur livres as mentioned in the video or am I wrong?
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Why is this answer marked as incorrect
Les filles aiment ________________ yeux. The girls like your eyes.
Why is my "bien tes" answer marked as incorrect, and the correct answer as aiment. The girls like his eyes, they don't love his eyes.
Thank you
Hi Eric,
It is because the lesson is testing possessive adjectives and not he verb ‘aimer’ .
We only test one grammatical point at a time.
Although your answer isn’t wrong but -
Vous cherchez midi à quatorze heures...
Bonne Continuation!
Why is this answer marked as incorrect
Les filles aiment ________________ yeux. The girls like your eyes.
Why is my "bien tes" answer marked as incorrect, and the correct answer as aiment. The girls like his eyes, they don't love his eyes.
Thank you
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For "our parents" (ie. it is my brother and my parents), why do we say "nos parents" instead of "notre parents" since it is the same parents?
Hi Kimia,
Take a look at the following Kwiziq lesson on plural possessive adjectives -
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/use-notre-nos-votre-vos-leur-leurs-to-say-our-your-and-their-possessive-adjectives
Hope this helps!
For "our parents" (ie. it is my brother and my parents), why do we say "nos parents" instead of "notre parents" since it is the same parents?
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avec sa canne dans la main.. why don't we say sa main?
You would only use "sa main" if there were a need to clarify which hand the cane was actually in. In English you could say, "cane in hand" and wouldn't need to say which hand it was either. When there's no potential of misunderstanding, the French use the definite article instead of the possessive pronoun.
avec sa canne dans la main.. why don't we say sa main?
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In ‘waiting for his girlfriend’ why is there no word for ‘for’, but simply ‘attend sa petite amie”?
Hi Terry,
To wait for is just ‘attendre’ in French and there is no need to translate the ‘for’ as it is already there in essence.
Hope this helps!
Thank you.
In ‘waiting for his girlfriend’ why is there no word for ‘for’, but simply ‘attend sa petite amie”?
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Uses of au and en for masculine and ferminine countries
Hi Lizbety,
What is your specific question regarding the above?
Uses of au and en for masculine and ferminine countries
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When would you use the masculine form of a pronoun for a feminine noun
Hi A,
"Sa petite amie"(his girlfriend) is correct and the possessive adjective agrees with the possessed (petite amie) not the possessor (the person whose girlfriend it is) .
Hope this helps!
And you would also use the masculine form if the noun starts with a vowel:
Son amie but sa petite amie.
Even though amie is feminine, you use son because it starts with a vowel. With petite there's no need for this anymore because it starts with a consonant.
so in the case of amie, you would not need the 'n' as the adjective does not begin with a vowel.
the pronoun changes as a result of the word following it and not the noun?
sa petite amie
son amie
When would you use the masculine form of a pronoun for a feminine noun
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what is the difference between using votre and ton. For example why in " Les filles aiment ________ yeux." I should use tes why cant I use vos
Bonjour Raghad !
The difference is the same as between "tu" and "vous" :
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/tu-and-vous-are-used-for-three-types-of-you
In the context of this specific question, you were given the hint: "Use the 'tu' form", which meant only "tes yeux" was correct there.
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
what is the difference between using votre and ton. For example why in " Les filles aiment ________ yeux." I should use tes why cant I use vos
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Why do they use 'mon chat' when chat is feminine?
Bonjour George !
Actually the word "chat" is masculine in French : un chat.
The feminine equivalent would be "une chatte" = a female cat
Bonne journée !
Why do they use 'mon chat' when chat is feminine?
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Son amie
The ending of the possessive adjective is determined by the word directly following it, therefore you will say "ma petite amie" :)
I've now added a note about this case to the relevant lesson.
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne Année !
Son amie
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