Possessive adjectives are the words used in place of articles to indicate to whom or to what something belongs. French possessive adjectives are used in similar ways to English possessive adjectives.
A possessive adjective shows that a noun belongs to a specific person. In English, possessive adjectives translate to my, your, his/her/its, our, your, and their.
Unlike in English, the gender of the object being possessed is very important in French. The correct possessive adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun being possessed and not with the possessor.
| Before a masculine singular noun | Before a feminine singular noun | Before a plural noun | Meaning |
| mon | ma | mes | my |
| ton | ta | tes | your |
| son | sa | ses | his/her/its |
| notre | notre | nos | our |
| votre | votre | vos | your |
| leur | leur | leurs | their |
Note: When a feminine singular noun begins with a vowel or a silent h, the masculine singular possessive adjective is used.
Mon appartement (masc.) → My apartment
Mon histoire (fem.) → My story
The questions you should ask yourself before choosing a possessive adjective are:
- “What is being possessed?”
- “Is that person or thing a masculine, feminine, or plural word in French?”
- “If it’s feminine singular, does it come before a vowel?”
Other Examples:
Note the gender and number of each word that is possessed and how the possessive adjective changes. This concept is consistent in French grammar whether or not people are being talked about, as all objects have an assigned gender.
Mon frère = My brother Ton père = Your father Son oncle = His/Her uncle
Ma soeur = My sister Ta mère = Your mother Sa tante = His/Her aunt
Notre famille = Our family Vos amis = Your friends Leurs cousins = Their cousins
Like English, the French language has a special group of adjectives that indicate possession of the nouns that follow. Possession, as you probably already know, indicates who owns an object or who that object belongs to. In French grammar, there are three forms of the possessive for each singular person (I, you, he/she/it). The gender, number, and first letter of the noun possessed determine which form to use.