What Are Possessive Adjectives?

Possessive adjectives tell you who owns something. In English: my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their. In French they must agree with the noun, not with the owner.

English: his sister / her sister — both use 'sister'. French changes the adjective.

The French Possessives — Singular

Each person has three forms: masc. singular · fem. singular · plural.

Person	Masc. sg	Fem. sg	Plural
my	mon	ma	mes
your (tu)	ton	ta	tes
his/her/its	son	sa	ses

mon frère (my brother) · ma sœur (my sister) · mes parents (my parents)

The French Possessives — Plural Subjects

Person	Masc. sg	Fem. sg	Plural
our	notre	notre	nos
your (vous)	votre	votre	vos
their	leur	leur	leurs

notre maison · nos enfants · leur voiture · leurs amis

The Vowel Trap: mon/ton/son Before Feminine Nouns

When a feminine noun begins with a vowel or silent h, use the masculine form — mon/ton/son — for easier pronunciation.

mon amie (my female friend) — NOT ~~ma amie~~
ton école (your school, feminine) — NOT ~~ta école~~
son histoire (his/her story) — NOT ~~sa histoire~~

His or Her? Context, Not Pronoun

French son/sa/ses means his, her, or its — the form depends on the noun, not on the owner's gender.

son frère = his brother OR her brother
sa mère = his mother OR her mother
Only context tells you whether the owner is male or female.

Quick Summary

• Possessives agree with the noun, not the owner.
• Use mon/ton/son before any noun starting with a vowel or silent h.
• son/sa/ses = his OR her — context decides.
• notre/votre/leur have only two forms (sg/pl).

mon livre (m) · ma robe (f) · mes affaires (pl) · mon ami(e) (vowel)

Common Mistakes

his sister

→

sa sœur

son/sa/ses agree with the noun — not the gender of the owner.

my female friend

→

mon amie

Feminine noun starting with vowel → use mon, not ma.

their house

→

leur maison

leur (singular noun) — no -s; leurs amis (plural).

her school

→

son école

Feminine vowel-initial noun → son, not sa.

Summary

mon / ma / mes

mon frère · ma sœur · mes livres

your (tu)

ton / ta / tes

ton chat · ta mère · tes amis

his/her/its

son / sa / ses

son fils · sa fille · ses enfants

our

notre / nos

notre maison · nos parents

your (vous)

votre / vos

votre voiture · vos clés

their

leur / leurs

leur chien · leurs enfants

vowel rule

mon/ton/son (not ma/ta/sa)

mon amie · ton école · son histoire

his or her?

son/sa/ses (context decides)

son frère = his OR her brother