Language/French/Grammar/Possessive-determiners

French Grammar - Possessive determiners

Summary table of possessive determiners

First person	masc	mon my	notre our
	fem	ma my
	plur	mes my	nos our
Second person	masc	ton your	votre your
	fem	ta your
	plur	tes your	vos your
Third person	masc	son his, her, its	leur his, her, its
	fem	sa his, her, its
	plur	ses his, her, its	leurs their

Possessive determiners agree in gender and number with the nouns they precede:

French	English
Elle a levé son verre	She raised her (or his) glass
Il a rempli sa tasse	He filled his (or her) cup
Il a cassé ses lunettes	He broke his (or her) glasses

The feminine singular forms ma, ta, sa become mon, ton, son when they immediately precede a noun or adjective beginning with a vowel or 'silent h' (h muet):

French	English
ma classe	my class	BUT	mon école	my school
sa permission	her permission	BUT	son approbation	her approval
ta hardiesse	your audacity	BUT	ton hésitation your	hesitation

The determiners votre, vos can both be used to refer to more than one possessor:

• Messieurs et mesdames, votre table est prête

Ladies and gentlemen, your table is ready

and as a polite form:

• Suivez-moi, monsieur, votre table est prête

Follow me, sir, your table is ready