French · A1 · Grammar

French Possessive Adjectives: Mon, Ma, Mes and the Whole Set

French possessive adjectives agree with the thing owned, not the owner. Use mon, ton or son before a masculine singular noun, ma, ta or sa before a feminine singular noun, and mes, tes or ses before any plural. Notre, votre and leur cover our, your and their, becoming nos, vos and leurs in the plural.

English picks "his" or "her" by who owns something. French does the opposite: the word for "my", "your" or "his/her" changes to match the noun it sits in front of. That is why it is mon frère but ma sœur, and why son can mean both "his" and "her". Here is the whole set, sorted so you always know which form to reach for.

Published 8 November 2026

The whole set

A possessive adjective is the little word that marks who something belongs to — "my", "your", "our". In French each one has to agree with its noun, which means it takes a form that matches the noun's gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This table is the entire system on one screen:

If you already know how le, la and les work, this is the same gender-and-number choice, just with a different little word in front.

Agreement is with the thing, not the owner

This is the rule English speakers trip over most. In English "his" and "her" tell you about the owner. In French the possessive tells you about the noun, so the owner's own gender does not show up at all:

So sa voiture is "his car" or "her car" — voiture is feminine, so you use sa whoever the driver is. The context of the conversation tells you whose it is. If you truly need to be explicit, French adds à lui (his) or à elle (her): C'est sa voiture à elle, "it's her car."

Mon, ton, son before a feminine vowel

There is one neat exception. Before a feminine noun that begins with a vowel sound (or a silent h), French swaps ma / ta / sa for mon / ton / son, purely so two vowel sounds don't collide:

The noun is still feminine — you'd say une amie, une belle histoire — but the possessive borrows the masculine-looking form for the sound. The plural is untouched: mes amies, mes écoles.

Notre, votre and leur have one singular form

The "our", "your-plural" and "their" words are easier: each has a single singular form used for both genders, and one plural form. You never pick between a masculine and feminine version here:

• notre maison, notre jardin → our house, our garden
• votre nom, votre adresse → your name, your address
• leur fils, leur fille → their son, their daughter

Then, in front of a plural noun, they become nos, vos and leurs: nos enfants (our children), vos clés (your keys), leurs amis (their friends). Note that leur only takes an -s when the thing owned is plural — one family, two children: leurs enfants.

Put it to work: your family and your things

Possessives and a little of être and avoir are enough to introduce the people and objects around you:

• Voici ma famille. — This is my family.
• Mon père s'appelle Marc et ma mère s'appelle Claire. — My father is called Marc and my mother is called Claire.
• J'ai un frère et deux sœurs ; mes grands-parents habitent à Lyon. — I have one brother and two sisters; my grandparents live in Lyon.
• C'est mon téléphone, et ce sont tes clés. — This is my phone, and these are your keys.

Try it

Fill in the right possessive adjective. Answers below.

1. ___ (my) sœur
2. ___ (my) amie
3. ___ (his/her) parents
4. ___ (our) maison
5. ___ (their) enfants

Show answers

1. ma sœur (feminine singular)
2. mon amie (feminine, but starts with a vowel → mon)
3. ses parents (plural → ses, whoever the owner is)
4. notre maison (our, one singular form)
5. leurs enfants (their + plural noun → leurs)

Questions people actually ask

Does son mean "his" or "her"? Both. Son, sa and ses agree with the thing owned, not the owner, so son livre is "his book" or "her book". Context tells you whose it is; to force the point, add à lui or à elle.

Why is it mon amie and not ma amie? Amie is feminine, so you'd expect ma, but ma amie would be two vowels in a row. French uses mon, ton, son before any feminine noun beginning with a vowel or silent h.

What's the difference between notre and nos? Notre, votre and leur go before a singular noun (either gender); nos, vos and leurs go before a plural one.

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