French Grammar: Possession with the Verb ÊTRE (ÊTRE + À)

French Grammar: Possession with the Verb ÊTRE (ÊTRE + À)
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French Grammar: Possession with the Verb ÊTRE (ÊTRE + À)
la grammaire française: la possession avec le verbe ÊTRE (ÊTRE + À)

The verb ÊTRE means “to be” (I am, you are, he/she is, etc. …). ÊTRE is one of the first French verbs you’ll need to know.

ÊTRE will help you indicate possession when used with the preposition À + possessor.

Study:

The verb ÊTRE means “to be” (I am, you are, he/she is, etc. …). ÊTRE is one of the first French verbs you’ll need to know.

ÊTRE will help you indicate possession when used with the preposition À + possessor. When used in this way, ÊTRE + À means “belong(s) to”. This structure is most often used with things rather than with people. Note that À must be repeated before each noun – that is, before each ‘possessor’ or ‘owner’:

Ce stylo est à Valérie.
This pen belongs to Valérie.
(This pen is Valérie’s.)

Ces livres sont à Anne et à Éric.
These books belong to Anne and to Éric.
(These are Anne’s and Éric’s books.)

Note that À contracts with the definite article LE to become AU, and with the definite article LES to become AUX:

À + LE –> AU

À + LES –> AUX

Ce stylo est au professeur.
This pen belongs to the professor.
(This is the professor’s pen.)

Les jouets sont aux enfants.
The toys belong to the children.
(The toys are the children’s.)

The construction ÉTRE + À can also be used with a stressed (disjunctive) pronoun to indicate possession

Cette veste est à moi.
This jacket belongs to me.
(This jacket is mine.)

Ces crayons sont à lui?
Do these pencils belong to him?
(Are these his pencils?)

In a question, ÊTRE + À is used as follows:

À qui est ce téléphone portable?
Whose cellphone is this?

À qui sont ces clés?
Whose keys are these?

Adapt:

Ce livre est à Jeanne?
Does this book belong to Jeanne?
(Is this Jeanne’s book?)

Non, ce livre est à Pierre.
No, this book belongs to Pierre.
(No, this is Pierre’s book.)

Le vélo est à toi?
Does the bicycle belong to you (informal)?
(Is the bicycle yours?)

Non, le vélo est à elle.
No, the bicycle belongs to her.
(It is her bicycle.)

Ces sacs à dos sont aux étudiants?
Do these backpacks belong to the students?
(Are these the students’ backpacks?)

Oui, ces sacs à dos sont aux étudiants.
Yes, these backpacks belong to the students.
(Yes, these are the students’ backpacks.)

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