In French most adjectives come after the noun. Get to grips with constructing sentences containing adjectives and how to ‘agree’ them with the nouns they describe.
Possessive adjectives show who something or someone belongs to
To express who something belongs to (my, your, our), use a possessive adjectiveAdjectives that show ownership, eg my, your, his, our. They are placed before a noun, eg my book, your jacket.. In French, the possessive adjective agrees with the genderNouns in French or Spanish are classified into two groups: masculine or feminine. Each noun therefore has a 'gender'. of the thing owned, not the owner.
English
masculine
feminine
plural (masculine and feminine)
my
mon
ma
mes
your (familiar singular)
ton
ta
tes
his/her/its
son
sa
ses
our
notre
notre
nos
your (formal/plural)
votre
votre
vos
their
leur
leur
leurs
English
my
masculine
mon
feminine
ma
plural (masculine and feminine)
mes
English
your (familiar singular)
masculine
ton
feminine
ta
plural (masculine and feminine)
tes
English
his/her/its
masculine
son
feminine
sa
plural (masculine and feminine)
ses
English
our
masculine
notre
feminine
notre
plural (masculine and feminine)
nos
English
your (formal/plural)
masculine
votre
feminine
votre
plural (masculine and feminine)
vos
English
their
masculine
leur
feminine
leur
plural (masculine and feminine)
leurs
Mon, ton and son are used instead of ma, ta and sa before a feminineAll nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. word starting with a vowel or silent -h. This makes pronunciation easier.
Mon amie est très belle. - My (female) friend is very pretty.
Choose the correct possessive adjective to complete these sentences.
Question
[Mon/Ma/Mes] copains sont très amusants.
Mes copains sont très amusants. - My friends are very funny.
Copains is plural, so mes is needed.
Question
As-tu trouvé [ton/ta/tes] pull ?
As-tu trouvé ton pull ? - Have you found your jumper?
Pull is masculine and singular, so ton is needed.
Question
Nous avons parlé avec [notre/nos] grand-mère hier.
Nous avons parlé avec notre grand-mère hier. - We spoke to our grandmother yesterday.
Grand-mère is singular, so notre is correct, regardless of whether it is masculine or feminine.
Question
Ils ne veulent pas vendre [leur/leurs] maison.
Ils ne veulent pas vendre leur maison. - They don’t want to sell their house.
Maison is singular and feminine, and leur is correct regardless of gender.