French Grammar: Possessive Pronouns
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Identify:
French Grammar: Possessive Pronouns
la grammaire française: les pronoms possessifs
- Indicates possession. Points out whose possessions.
- Agree in number and gender with the noun they replace.
Review:
Study:
Like Possessive Adjectives, Possessive Pronouns indicate possession. They let us know what is mine, yours, his, hers, or ours.
Possessive Pronouns are used to replace a possessive adjective + a noun. French possessive pronouns have two parts: a definite article + a specific possessive word. Just like with Possessive Adjectives, Possessive pronouns must agree in number (singular and plural) with the OBJECT(S) they are possessing (that is, with the thing/s that are being possessed), and NOT with the person/people possessing the object(s).
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| Masc. Singular | Fem. Singular | Plural (Masc. / Fem.) | |
| mine | le mien | la mienne | les miens / les miennes |
| yours (informal) | le tien | la tienne | les tiens / les miennes |
| his/hers/its | le sien | la sienne | les siens / les miennes |
| ours | le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres / les nôtres |
| your s(formal/plural) | le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres / les vôtres |
| theirs | le leur | la leur | les leurs / les leurs |
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C’est ta tasse de café ou la mienne?
Is this your (informal) cup of coffee or mine?
Ce sont vos livres ou les nôtres?
Are these your (plural) books or ours?
When the preposition à precedes the le or les of a possessive pronoun construction, it must contract to au or aux, respectively. When the preposition de precedes the le or les of a possessive pronoun construction, it must contract to du or des, respectively.
Vous parlez à vos enfants ou aux miens?
Are you all talking to your children or to mine?
Il se plaint de ses voisins ou des leurs?
Is he complaining about his neighbors or about theirs?
Adapt:
Voilà ma voiture. Où est la tienne?
Here is my car. Where is yours (informal)?
La mienne est à l’autre côté du parking.
Mine is on the other side of the parking lot.
Vous avez vos livres?
Do you all have your books?
David a le sien mais nous avons pas les nôtres.
David has his but we don’t have ours.
Fais tes propres devoirs! Ne copie pas les leurs!
Do your (informal) own homework! Don’t copy theirs!
