French possessive: why it is mon amie, not ma amie

French possessive words tell you whose something is: mon, ma and mes for “my”, and the same pattern up to leur and leurs for “their”. This page gives you the full table, the one rule that surprises English speakers (the word matches the thing owned, not the owner) and the vowel trap behind mon amie. You can hear some of the words, then play a short quiz. For the nouns these words sit in front of, see French articles and gender. For more adjectives, see French adjectives. For family words, where you will use these every day, see family in French.

What is a French possessive?

A French possessive is a short word before a noun that links that noun to a person, as in mon livre, “my book”. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) calls it a déterminant possessif and says it links a “possessor” to a thing “possessed” [1].

The OQLF adds that the link is often not true ownership. In mon employeur, “my employer”, it only means “the employer I work for” [1].

What are the French possessive adjectives?

There are six sets, one for each person. Pick the column that matches the thing owned.

This is the OQLF’s table, with its column headings shortened [1]. The OQLF also notes that the plural does not mark gender: ses réussites and ses échecs use the same ses [1]. For nous, vous and ils or elles, gender is not marked in the singular either: notre maison and notre chalet [1].

Does a French possessive agree with the owner or the thing owned?

It agrees with the thing owned. The OQLF says the possessive takes the gender and number of the noun for the thing owned, and varies in person with the possessor [1]. English works the other way round: “his car” and “her car” differ because of the owner.

So a man and a woman both say ma voiture, because voiture is feminine. Both say mon livre, because livre is masculine. The owner shows only in the person: mon for me, ton for you, son for him or her [1][2]. If you do not know a noun’s gender, look it up first; French articles and gender shows how.

Leur has one more rule. The OQLF says leur stays singular when one thing is shared by all the owners, and leurs is used when each owner has several things [3]. Its example: Mes parents sont très satisfaits de leur nouvelle maison (one house, shared) [3].

Why is it mon amie and not ma amie?

Before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h, French uses mon, ton and son instead of ma, ta and sa. The OQLF says this avoids two vowels meeting when you speak, the same reason la becomes l’ [2]. Its examples include mon amie and ton ancienne maison [2].

The OQLF lists exceptions where the feminine form stays: before onze and its derivatives, and before yole. Before hyène and ouate either form is allowed [2]. The rule follows the next word. A feminine noun that starts with a consonant, such as ma mère, keeps ma.

Does son mean his or her?

Both. Son, sa and ses can each mean “his” or “her”, because they agree with the thing owned [1]. Context decides. The OQLF gives an example: Marie a invité Paul à son restaurant préféré could mean Marie’s favourite restaurant or Paul’s [1].

What are the French possessive pronouns?

A French possessive pronoun replaces the noun: le mien is “mine”. The OQLF defines it as a pronoun made of a definite article such as le and a form such as mien, and lists le mien, les tiennes, les siens, le nôtre, les vôtres and la leur as examples [4]. It agrees with the thing it replaces in gender and number, and with the owner in person [4].

Its example: Son tableau est réussi, mais le tien est poignant, where le tien means your painting [4]. Hear le tien.

Common mistakes

• Making the possessive match the owner. It matches the thing owned. A woman still says mon père [1].
• Saying ma amie. Before a vowel or a silent h, the OQLF says to use mon in most cases [2].
• Using mon before every feminine word that starts with a vowel. The OQLF lists exceptions such as ma onzième tentative [2].
• Writing leur and leurs by feel. One shared thing takes leur, and several things per owner take leurs [3].
• Assuming son means only his. It can mean his or her. The OQLF warns that the sentence can be ambiguous [1].
• Mixing up the pronoun and the adjective. Mon livre has a noun after it; le mien stands alone [4].
• Relying on a grammar page from a blog, including this one. Rules and examples change. Check the official page’s date against the date at the top of this one.

Sources