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French Possessive Adjectives
French possessive adjectives are the words for my, your, his, her, its, our and their: mon, ma, mes; ton, ta, tes; son, sa, ses; notre, nos; votre, vos; leur, leurs. They agree with the noun that follows them, never with the owner — which is why sa mère means both his mother and her mother.
Il adore sa mère. Elle adore sa mère.
That one fact is the whole trap for English speakers, because English works the other way around: "his" and "her" describe the owner. Add two smaller rules — mon amie instead of ma amie, and leur without -s before a singular noun — and the system is complete.
In short
- Pick the form from the noun that follows: mon père, ma mère, mes parents.
- The owner never matters: sa mère = his mother and her mother.
- Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound, ma/ta/sa switch to mon/ton/son: mon amie, son école.
- Notre, votre and leur ignore gender; only a plural noun changes them: nos, vos, leurs.
masculine or default formfeminine formplural formarticle instead of possessive· hover a highlighted word for its label
The full chart
Read the chart by column, not by row. First ask what the following noun is — masculine, feminine, or plural — then pick the owner’s row. The noun’s own gender is the subject of noun gender; how adjectives copy that gender is adjective agreement.
| Owner | + masculine noun | + feminine noun | + plural noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | mon | ma | mes |
| tu | ton | ta | tes |
| il / elle | son | sa | ses |
| nous | notre | notre | nos |
| vous | votre | votre | vos |
| ils / elles | leur | leur | leurs |
Where are my keys? They’re in your bag!
— Clés is plural, so mes; sac is masculine, so ton.
He’s looking for his glasses and his jacket.
— Same owner, two forms: lunettes is plural → ses, veste is feminine → sa.
Sa mère: his mother and her mother
English possessives point at the owner: "his mother" tells you the child is male. French possessives are deaf to the owner — they only listen to the noun. Mère is feminine, so it takes sa whoever the parent belongs to. Context, not grammar, tells you whose mother it is.
Paul is inviting his mother to the restaurant.
— The owner is a man, but mère is feminine — sa.
Marie is inviting her mother to the restaurant.
— Same sa: switching the owner changes nothing.
Léa has lost her phone again.
— Téléphone is masculine, so son — even though Léa is a woman.
Mon amie: the vowel rule
Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound (including mute h: histoire), ma, ta and sa are impossible to pronounce smoothly, so French swaps in mon, ton, son. The noun stays fully feminine — mon amie is still a female friend. And the moment a consonant slips in between, the feminine form comes back: ma meilleure amie.
Do you know my friend Claire?
— Amie is feminine, but before a vowel sound French uses mon, never ma.
Léa loves her school.
— École starts with a vowel, so son — and it still means her school.
Notre, votre, leur: only two forms
The notre/votre/leur rows travel light: no feminine forms at all. Notre, votre and leur stand before any singular noun; nos, vos and leurs before any plural. In particular, leur never takes -s just because "they" are several people — only a plural noun earns the -s. Don’t confuse this leur with the verb pronoun in je leur parle, which is an indirect object pronoun and never takes -s at all.
Our apartment is small, but your house is big.
— Appartement is masculine and maison feminine, yet Notre and votre don’t change — gender is invisible here.
The neighbors sold their house and their two cars.
— Maison is singular → leur; voitures is plural → leurs.
Repeat it — and sometimes drop it
English says "my brother and sister" once; French repeats the possessive before every noun in the list, matching each one separately. The opposite surprise: with body parts, French often drops the possessive entirely when a reflexive verb already names the owner — je me lave les mains, not mes mains.
Let me introduce my brother and my sister.
— One possessive per noun: mon for frère, ma for sœur.
She brushes her teeth before going to bed.
— The reflexive se already says whose teeth, so English "her teeth" becomes les dents.
Common mistakes
✗C’est ma amie Julie.
✓C’est mon amie Julie.
Ma cannot stand before a vowel sound; feminine nouns like amie take mon, ton, son instead.
✗Paul cherche son mère à la gare.
✓Paul cherche sa mère à la gare.
Mère is feminine, so sa — the possessive agrees with the noun, not with Paul. "His mother" is still sa mère.
✗Elle met sa manteau parce qu’il fait froid.
✓Elle met son manteau parce qu’il fait froid.
Manteau is masculine, so son. "Her coat" is son manteau — the owner’s gender plays no role.
✗Ils ont vendu leurs maison.
✓Ils ont vendu leur maison.
Maison is singular; leurs appears only before a plural noun (leurs maisons), never because the owners are several.
✗Voici mon frère et sœur.
✓Voici mon frère et ma sœur.
French repeats the possessive before every noun in a list; English "my brother and sister" cannot be translated word for word.
Check yourself
1 / 5Voici Thomas et ___ sœur.
2 / 5J’adore ___ école.
3 / 5Les enfants cherchent ___ parents.
4 / 5Marie a perdu ___ livre.
5 / 5Nous aimons ___ ville.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it mon amie if amie is feminine?
Purely for pronunciation: ma amie would force two vowels together, so French uses mon before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound — mon amie, ton école, son histoire. The noun stays feminine, and ma returns as soon as a consonant intervenes: ma meilleure amie.
Does sa mean his or her?
Both. French possessives agree with the noun that follows, not with the owner, so sa mère is his mother or her mother depending on context. When context isn’t enough, French adds à lui or à elle: c’est sa mère à elle.
What is the difference between leur and leurs?
Before a noun, leur is singular (leur fils) and leurs is plural (leurs fils); neither changes for gender. The leur that stands before a verb (je leur parle) is a different word — an indirect object pronoun — and never takes -s.
Why do the French say je me lave les mains instead of mes mains?
With body parts and a reflexive verb, the pronoun me already says whose hands they are, so French uses the definite article: je me lave les mains, elle se brosse les dents. The pattern is covered under reflexive verbs.
What is the difference between notre and nos?
Only number: notre before a singular noun (notre ville), nos before a plural one (nos villes). The same split applies to votre/vos and leur/leurs; unlike mon/ma, these forms never change for gender.
Memory tip
Interrogate the noun, not the owner. Masculine noun → son, feminine → sa, plural → ses — and each of the three means both his and her.
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