A1
mon, ma, mes — possessives
How French possessive adjectives work, why they agree with the possession rather than the possessor, and the trap in son and sa.
| masculine | feminine | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma | mes |
| your | ton | ta | tes |
| his / her | son | sa | ses |
| our | notre | notre | nos |
| your | votre | votre | vos |
| their | leur | leur | leurs |
They agree with what is owned
This is the rule that has to displace the English one. Son does not mean his — it means the thing owned is masculine.
son livre
his-or-her book
his book / her book
sa table
his-or-her table
his table / her table
Both could belong to a man or a woman. French does not say, and if it matters you add à lui or à elle.
Marie et sa mari
Marie et son mari
Mari is masculine, so it takes son even though the owner is Marie. The owner’s gender is irrelevant.
ma becomes mon before a vowel
For sound, not for gender. Amie is feminine and still takes mon.
mon amie
my (m. form) friend (f.)
my friend
Ma amie is unpronounceable in French, so the masculine form stands in. The same applies to ton and son: ton école, son histoire.
Body parts usually take the article
Where English says my hand, French normally says the hand and leaves ownership to context.
Je me suis lavé les mains.
I myself am washed the hands
I washed my hands.
J’ai mal à la tête.
I-have pain at the head
I’ve got a headache.
Mes mains here would sound like you were being oddly specific about whose hands.