Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives

Possessive words indicate ownership or belonging. French has two categories: possessive adjectives (which go before a noun) and possessive pronouns (which replace a noun). Both agree with the thing possessed, not with the possessor — this is a key difference from English.

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Part 1: Possessive Adjectives (mon, ma, mes, ton, ta, tes, etc.)

Possessive adjectives come before the noun and agree in gender and number with the noun they modify (not the owner):

Owner	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Plural
je	mon	ma	mes
tu	ton	ta	tes
il / elle / on	son	sa	ses
nous	notre	notre	nos
vous	votre	votre	vos
ils / elles	leur	leur	leurs

Examples

• mon livre — my book (masculine)
• ma maison — my house (feminine)
• mes amis — my friends (plural)
• ton idée — your idea
• sa voiture — his/her car (the car is feminine, regardless of owner's gender)
• notre professeur — our teacher
• vos enfants — your children
• leur chat — their cat
• leurs parents — their parents

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Special Rule: Feminine Nouns Starting with a Vowel or Silent H

Before a feminine noun beginning with a vowel or silent h, use the masculine form (mon, ton, son) for pronunciation reasons:

• mon amie (NOT ma amie) — my friend (f.)
• ton école (NOT ta école) — your school
• son histoire (NOT sa histoire) — his/her story

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Son/Sa/Ses: His or Her?

In French, son/sa/ses agrees with the thing possessed, not with the possessor. This confuses English speakers:

• Marie aime son chat. — Marie loves her cat. (son because chat is masculine)
• Pierre aime sa voiture. — Pierre loves his car. (sa because voiture is feminine)
• Elle adore ses enfants. — She loves her children. (ses because enfants is plural)

To clarify ambiguity, you can add à lui or à elle:

• C'est son livre à elle. — It's her book.
• C'est son livre à lui. — It's his book.

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Part 2: Possessive Pronouns (le mien, la mienne, les miens, etc.)

Possessive pronouns replace a noun phrase (possessive adjective + noun). They agree in gender and number with the thing possessed:

Owner	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Masculine Plural	Feminine Plural
je	le mien	la mienne	les miens	les miennes
tu	le tien	la tienne	les tiens	les tiennes
il / elle	le sien	la sienne	les siens	les siennes
nous	le nôtre	la nôtre	les nôtres	les nôtres
vous	le vôtre	la vôtre	les vôtres	les vôtres
ils / elles	le leur	la leur	les leurs	les leurs