Possessive determiners

It’s important to note that in French, as with the definite and indefinite articles, the possessive determiner agrees with the noun that it precedes in number and gender:

My book.

Mon livre (m.).

My books.

Mes livres (plural).

Her cake is good!

Son gâteau (m.) est bon!

His cake is good!

Son gâteau (m.) est bon!

 

Mon is used both for singular masculine nouns and for singular female nouns beginning with a vowel or a silent “h”:

mon hôtel (m.) / mon* amie (f.)/ ma couverture (f.)  / mes oeufs (m.) / mes clés (f.)

my hotel / my (female ) friend / my blanket / my eggs / my keys

 

Ton is used both for singular masculine nouns and for singular female nouns beginning with a vowel or a silent “h”:

ton hôtel (m.) / ton* amie (f.)/ ta couverture (f.)  / tes oeufs (m.) / tes clés (f.)

your hotel / your (female ) friend / your blanket / your eggs / your  keys

 

Son is used both for singular masculine nouns and for singular female nouns beginning with a vowel or a silent “h”:

son hôtel (m.) / son* amie (f.)/ sa couverture (f.) / ses oeufs (m.) / ses clés (f.)

his (her, their) hotel / his (her, their) (female) friend / his (her, their) blanket / his (her, their) eggs / his (her, their) keys

 

De to express possession

Use the preposition de to express possession in French. De is the equivalent of both “ ‘s ”  and “of” in English. Notice the word order: “the thing that is possessed” + de + “the possessor”:

Here’s Maxime’s reservation.

Voici la réservation de Maxime.

Note that when de is followed by the definite masculine article le, these merge together to form a variation of de, du; when the definite plural article les follows de, these merge to form another variation of de, des.  Remember:

• de + le = du
• de + les = des

We’re in front of the door of the restaurant.

Nous sommes devant la port du restaurant.