Possessive adjectives

1 Definitions

Possessives adjectives are adjectives which are used to indicate possession:

Ma voiture est italienne tandis que sa voiture est allemande

My car is Italian whilst his / her car is German

2 Use

2.1 General

In French, possessive adjectives agree with the noun they precede (i.e. Elle a oublié son livre ). This is unlike English where possessive adjectives agree with the possessor (i.e. She has forgotten her book).

Veux-tu lire mon magazine / mes notes?

Do you want to read my magazine / my notes?

Il s'entend bien avec son beau-père / sa belle-mère

He gets on well with his stepfather / his stepmother

Elle a perdu sa montre / ses lunettes

She's lost her watch / her glasses

2.2 Masculine forms with feminine nouns / adjectives

The masculine forms mon, ton and son are used before a feminine singular noun or adjective beginning with a vowel or unaspirated h:

mon idée

my idea

ton autre soeur

Your other sister

son habitude

his / her habit

2.3 Repetition

Unlike in English, possessive adjectives are usually repeated before each noun they apply to:

Il a apporté son chapeau, son pardessus et son parapluie

He brought his hat, overcoat and umbrella

2.4 Nouns referring to parts of the body

Here the definite article is often used where English would use a possessive (e.g his, her):

Elle ferma les yeux pour mieux se concentrer

She closed her eyes to concentrate better

Elle marchait les yeux fermés

She was walking with her eyes shut

2.5 On etc.

Note that the impersonal pronoun on and other impersonal expressions take son / sa / ses:

On a le droit de faire son service militaire à l'étranger 

You have the right to do your military service abroad

Avant d'aller à l'université il faut d'abord avoir son bac 

Before going to university you must first have your baccalaureate