Lesson 10: Family & Possessive Adjectives

Ma famille — Family & Possessive Adjectives · A0 → A1 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life

You will learn family vocabulary with its article, and the possessive adjectives mon, ma, mes, ton, ta, tes, son, sa, ses. You will learn the most important rule of possessives: they agree with the THING OWNED, not with the owner. You will also know why French says mon amie and not 'ma amie'.

In this lesson

• family vocabulary
• mon / ma / mes
• ton / ta / tes
• son / sa / ses

Vocabulary

Pronunciation

Grammar

mon / ma / mes — the possessive agrees with the thing owned

In English you say 'my' for everything: my father, my mother, my parents. In French 'my' has three shapes: mon, ma, mes. Which one you use depends on the noun that comes AFTER it — the thing that is owned — and never on you, the owner. mon before a masculine noun (mon père), ma before a feminine noun (ma mère), mes before any plural noun (mes parents). The same three-shape pattern repeats for ton / ta / tes (your, informal) and son / sa / ses (his or her). Notre / nos and votre / vos work the same way with only two shapes: one for singular, one for plural. And because the shape follows the noun, sa mère can mean 'his mother' OR 'her mother' — French simply does not say which. Only context tells you.

son = his OR her — and why it is mon amie, not 'ma amie'

Two things confuse beginners here. First, son / sa / ses do not tell you the gender of the OWNER. They only tell you the gender of the thing owned. So son père = his father or her father. sa mère = his mother or her mother. ses parents = his parents or her parents. If you need to be clear, you add the person's name: sa mère à Ali = Ali's mother. Second, there is a sound rule. ma, ta and sa cannot stand in front of a word that begins with a vowel or a silent h. They change to mon, ton and son. So it is mon amie (my female friend), mon école (my school) and mon oncle (my uncle) — even though amie and école are feminine. This is not about gender at all; it is purely about the sound.

Examples

Dialogue: Regarde, ma famille !

Say it out loud

• Voilà ma famille. — Here is my family. famille is feminine, so ma famille.
• Mon père et ma mère. — My father and my mother. Hear the difference: mon + masculine, ma + feminine.
• Mon frère a vingt ans. — My brother is 20. Age uses avoir — recall lesson 9.
• Ma sœur est étudiante. — My sister is a student. étudiante with -e for a female student.
• Mes parents sont ici. — My parents are here. Plural noun → mes.
• C'est mon amie. — This is my friend. (a woman) mon amie — never 'ma amie'.
• Sa mère est professeur. — His / her mother is a teacher. sa tells you mère is feminine, not who the owner is.
• Notre maison est à Karachi. — Our house is in Karachi. notre = our, one shape for both genders.
• Votre fils a dix ans ? — Is your son 10 years old? fils = 'fees'. The l and s are silent.

Listening practice: Ali shows a photo of his family

Remember this

• Family nouns are learnt with their article: le père, la mère, le frère, la sœur, le fils, la fille.
• la famille = the family. In French les parents = both parents together.
• The possessive agrees with the THING OWNED, not the owner: mon père / ma mère / mes parents.
• mon / ma / mes = my; ton / ta / tes = your (informal); son / sa / ses = his or her.
• notre / notre / nos = our; votre / votre / vos = your (polite); leur / leurs = their.
• son and sa never tell you whether the owner is a man or a woman — only context does.
• Before a vowel or silent h, ma / ta / sa become mon / ton / son: mon amie, mon école, mon oncle.
• fils = 'fees' and fille = 'fee' — the l and s of fils are silent, and the ll of fille is silent.
• Recycled from earlier lessons: age uses avoir (mon frère a vingt ans) and nouns keep their article.

Common mistakes

Practice questions

• Which is correct for 'my mother'? mon mère / ma mère / mes mère / ma mon mère — ma mère
• Which is correct for 'my father'? ma père / mon père / mes père / mien père — mon père
• 'mes parents' means: my father / my parents / my mother / their parents — my parents
• Which is correct for 'my friends' (a group of men and women)? mon amis / ma amis / mes amis / mes ami — mes amis
• 'sa mère' can mean: only his mother / only her mother / his mother or her mother / our mother — his mother or her mother
• Which is correct before a feminine noun starting with a vowel? ma amie / mon amie / mes amie / ma amies — mon amie
• The possessive adjective agrees with: the owner / the thing owned / the speaker / the verb — the thing owned
• Which is correct for 'our house'? notre maison / nos maison / votre maison / notre maisons — notre maison
• What is 'the wife' in French? le mari / la femme / la fille / la mère — la femme
• Which is the correct plural of 'le chien'? le chiens / des chien / des chiens / la chiens — des chiens

Homework (15 minutes)

1) Write the names of six people in your family in French with the correct possessive: mon père, ma sœur, mes cousins, etc. 2) Say each one out loud and check the gender of the noun, not the person. 3) Write three sentences with avoir about their ages: Ma mère a cinquante ans. 4) Record yourself saying mon amie, mon école and mon oncle and notice you never say 'ma amie'.

Lesson 10 of 45 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2