Possessive adjectives 1 Definitions Possessives adjectives are
adjectives
which are used to indicate possession:
Ma voiture est italienne tandis
que sa voiture est allemande
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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
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She has forgotten her book ).
Table 42.2.1a: Possessive adjectives
masc sing fem sing plural my mon ma mes your ton ta tes his/her son sa ses our notre notre nos your votre votre vos their leur leur leurs
Veux-tu lire mon magazine /
mes notes?
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Do you want to read my magazine
/ my notes?
Il s'entend bien avec son beau-père
/ sa belle-mère
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He gets on well with his stepfather
/ his stepmother
Elle a perdu sa montre / ses
lunettes
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She's lost her watch / her
glasses
Carole a laissé son sac dans l’appartement de Marie.
Carole left her bag in Marie’s flat.
Je ne sais pas où j’ai rangé ma ceinture.
I don’t know where I put my belt.
Le soir il lit son journal.
In the evening he reads his newspaper.
Sa ténacité lui a permis de surmonter cette épreuve.
His tenacity helped him to overcome this ordeal.
Elle a réussi ses examens.
She’s passed her exams.
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
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my idea
ton autre soeur
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Your other sister
son habitude
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his / her habit
Son intervention lors de la réunion a sauvé la situation.
Her words during the meeting saved the situation.
Son éloquence a aidé à convaincre le jury.
His eloquence helped to convince the jury.
Elle a oublié son écharpe dans la voiture.
She left her scarf in the car.
Mon fils se plaît bien dans son école.
My son is very happy in his school.
Ma mère est en train de regarder son émission préférée.
My mother is just watching her favourite programme.
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
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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
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She closed her eyes to concentrate
better
Elle marchait les yeux fermés
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She was walking with her eyes
shut
Aïe! Je me suis cogné le genou dans le tiroir de mon bureau.
Ow! I’ve bumped my knee against the draw of my desk.
Elle appuya les mains sur le rebord de la fenêtre.
She leant her hands on the windowsill.
Il est tombé dans l’escalier et s’est cassé la jambe.
He’s fallen down the stairs and broken his leg.
Massez le pied pour que la pommade pénètre bien dans la peau.
Rub your foot well so that the ointment penetrates well into the skin.
En reculant il a failli lui rouler sur le pied.
While reversing he nearly drove over his foot.
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
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You have the right to do your military service abroad
Avant d'aller à l'université il faut
d'abord avoir son bac
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Before going to university you must first have your baccalaureate
Pour y aller on peut prendre le bus ou encore mieux sa voiture.
To get there you can take the bus or better still your car.
On n’apprécie pas toujours de voir sa photo dans le journal.
You don’t always appreciate seeing your photo in the paper.
On se souvient rarement de ses rêves quand on se réveille.
You rarely remember your dreams when you wake up.
Que faire quand on est à l’étranger et qu’on a perdu ses papiers?
What can you do when you’re abroad and have lost all your papers?
En France on peut prendre sa retraite à soixante ans.
In France you can retire at sixty.
