Possessive determiners
| The person who is possessing | In English | For singular masculine nouns | For singular feminine nouns | For plural nouns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | my | mon | ma | mes |
| tu | your | ton | ta | tes |
| il / elle | his / her | son | sa | ses |
| vous | your (sing, polite form) | votre | votre | vos |
| nous | our | notre | notre | nos |
| vous | your | votre | votre | vos |
| ils / elles | their | leur | leur | leurs |
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.