French Possessives: Mon, Ma, Mes, Son or Sa, and Le Mien

French possessives: mon, ma, mes, and why sa voiture can be his

Short answer: a French possessive agrees with the thing owned, never with the owner. Son, sa, ses all mean “his” or “her”: sa voiture is his car or her car, because voiture is feminine. Before a feminine word starting with a vowel sound, ma, ta, sa become mon, ton, son to keep the sound smooth: mon amie. To say “mine”, use le mien, la mienne, or simply c’est à moi.

The full table

Mon, ma, mes · notre, nos · leur, leurs

Three columns for “my, your, his/her”, two for “our, your, their”: notre, votre, leur are the same for masculine and feminine. Tap a row to hear it.

Owner	masculine	feminine	plural
jemy	mon	ma	mes
tuyour	ton	ta	tes
il / ellehis / her	son	sa	ses
nousour	notre	notre	nos
vousyour	votre	votre	vos
ils / ellestheir	leur	leur	leurs

His or her

Son or sa? Ask the thing, not the owner

English picks “his” or “her” from the owner. French picks son or sa from the thing. So the same French phrase can mean either; add à lui or à elle if it really matters.

sa voituresa vwa-TÜRhis car / her carVoiture is feminine: sa, whoever owns it.

son véloson vay-LOHhis bike / her bikeVélo is masculine: son.

ses parentssay pa-RONhis parents / her parentsPlural: ses.

sa voiture à luisa vwa-TÜR a LWEEhis car (not hers)À lui / à elle removes any doubt.

Ma becomes mon before a vowel

Mon amie, ton école, son histoire

French avoids two vowels clashing. Before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h, use the masculine-looking form and link the n to the next word (a liaison). The noun stays feminine: adjectives still agree, mon amie est contente.

Mine, yours, theirs

Le mien, la tienne, c’est à moi

Two ways to say “mine”. Le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes replace a noun and match its gender. C’est à moi (“it’s to me”) is the everyday way to claim something.

Ce n’est pasit isn’tmon stylo,my penc’estit’sle tien.the yours

suh nay pa mon stee-LOH, say luh TYAN · “That isn’t my pen, it’s yours.”Le tien: masculine, like le stylo.

Ta maisonyour houseestisplus grande quebigger thanla nôtre.the ours

ta may-ZON ay plü GROND kuh la NOHTR · “Your house is bigger than ours.”Nôtre with a circumflex and a long o; notre without one is the possessive.

C’estit’sà qui,to whomce manteau ?this coat

say ta KEE, suh mon-TOH · “Whose coat is this?”À qui: “to whom”, the natural question.

C’estit’sà moi !to me

say ta MWA · “It’s mine!”The everyday answer: à moi, à toi, à lui, à elle.

Fixed phrases

Mon Dieu, à mon avis, mon chéri

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