possession

French Possessive Adjectives, Pronouns, Prepositions

French possessivesAdjectifs, pronoms et prépositions possessifs

Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but when it comes to grammar, expressing ownership leaves no room for interpretation. French expresses possession with adjectives, pronouns, and even two different prepositions – each construction offers a slightly different take on who owns what.

First person singular First person plural
Second person singular Second person plural
Third person singular Third person plural

  •  

   

   

Grammar Lessons

Possession

French possessionFrench has four different possessive constructions, which can seem daunting until you realize that English does too - you've probably just never thought about them before.

  •  

  • •  

Grammar Lessons

Possessive de

French possessive deIn English, we use 's (apostrophe s) to indicate that one noun possesses another. The French equivalent is the preposition de, with the order of the nouns reversed.

  • • •  

Grammar Lessons

Possessive Adjectives

French possessive adjectivesFrench possessive adjectives (mon, ma, mes, ton, ta ...) are used in front of nouns to indicate to whom or to what those nouns belong. They are considerably more complicated than English possessive adjectives because French has several different forms depending on the gender and number of the possessed noun.

  • • •  

   

   

   

Grammar Lessons

Possessive Pronouns

French possessive pronounsFrench possessive pronouns (le mien, la tienne, les siens ...) are used in place of nouns to indicate to whom or to what those nouns belong.

  • • •