Les adjectifs possessifs / Possessive Adjectives

French possessive adjectives change based on the gender and number of the noun they describe,
not the owner. A man says ma mère (my mother) and a woman says mon père (my father).

All Possessive Adjectives

English	Masc. Sing.	Fem. Sing.	Plural
my	mon [mɔ̃]	ma [ma]	mes [me]
your (tu)	ton [tɔ̃]	ta [ta]	tes [te]
his/her	son [sɔ̃]	sa [sa]	ses [se]
our	notre [nɔtʁ]		nos [no]
your (vous)	votre [vɔtʁ]		vos [vo]
their	leur [lœʁ]		leurs [lœʁ]

Mon / Ton / Son — Examples

• mon livre [mɔ̃ livʁ] — my book / ma maison [ma mɛ.zɔ̃] — my house / mes amis [me.z‿a.mi] — my friends
• ton père [tɔ̃ pɛʁ] — your father / ta mère [ta mɛʁ] — your mother / tes sœurs [te sœʁ] — your sisters
• son livre [sɔ̃ livʁ] — his/her book / sa maison [sa mɛ.zɔ̃] — his/her house / ses enfants [se.z‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃] — his/her children

Note: Son/sa/ses means both “his” and “her” — context makes it clear.

Notre / Votre / Leur — Examples

• notre maison [nɔtʁ mɛ.zɔ̃] — our house / nos amis [no.z‿a.mi] — our friends
• votre nom [vɔtʁ nɔ̃] — your name / vos enfants [vo.z‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃] — your children
• leur fils [lœʁ fis] — their son / leurs parents [lœʁ pa.ʁɑ̃] — their parents

Special Rule: Feminine + Vowel

Before feminine nouns starting with a vowel or silent h, use mon/ton/son instead of ma/ta/sa:

• mon amie [mɔ̃n‿a.mi] — my friend (f.) (not *ma amie)
• ton école [tɔ̃n‿e.kɔl] — your school (not *ta école)
• son histoire [sɔ̃n‿is.twaʁ] — his/her story (not *sa histoire)

Common Mistakes

Incorrect	Correct	Explanation
*ma ami	mon ami	Use mon before vowels
*mon maison	ma maison	Maison is feminine, starts with consonant
*leur enfants	leurs enfants	Use leurs for plural nouns
*notre livres	nos livres	Use nos for plural nouns

Practice Sentences

1. Mon père travaille à Paris. [mɔ̃ pɛʁ tʁa.vaj a pa.ʁi] — My father works in Paris.
2. Elle cherche son sac. [ɛl ʃɛʁʃ sɔ̃ sak] — She is looking for her bag.
3. Notre maison est grande. [nɔtʁ mɛ.zɔ̃ ɛ ɡʁɑ̃d] — Our house is big.
4. Votre passeport, s’il vous plaît. [vɔtʁ pas.pɔʁ sil vu plɛ] — Your passport, please.
5. Leurs parents sont gentils. [lœʁ pa.ʁɑ̃ sɔ̃ ʒɑ̃.ti] — Their parents are kind.

Exercise

Fill in with the correct possessive adjective:

1. ___ livre est sur la table. (my book)
2. Où est ___ amie? (my friend – female)
3. Marie adore ___ chat. (her cat)
4. Où sont ___ clés? (your keys – formal)
5. ___ enfants jouent dehors. (their children)

Answers

1. Mon livre — masculine
2. Mon amie — feminine but vowel
3. son chat — masculine
4. Vos clés — plural
5. Leurs enfants — plural