If you want to sound more natural and less repetitive as you learn to speak French, knowing how to use possessive pronouns is key. French pronoms possessifs (possessive pronouns) are commonly used to talk about who owns an object or other possession. As you engage with Rosetta Stone lessons, you can practice using possessive pronouns and get real-time feedback from TruAccent.
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What are les pronoms possessifs (possessive pronouns)?
Possessive pronouns express ownership of something and take the place of a possessive adjective or a noun in a sentence. In English, we use the possessive pronouns “mine,” “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs.”
See how possessive pronouns are used in the following example in French:
- Ce crayon est mon crayon, pas ton crayon. = This pencil is my pencil, not your pencil.
- Ce crayon est le mien, pas le tien. = This pencil is mine, not yours.
The second sentence uses possessive pronouns in French, which allows your speech to sound less repetitive and more like a native speaker.
List of possessive pronouns in French
As with all things related to French nouns, possessive pronouns in French must agree in gender and in number with the noun they modify. Knowing how to use French pronouns (especially subject pronouns) is extremely helpful when deciding which French possessive pronoun to use.
| Subject Pronoun | Masculine/Feminine Singular Forms | Masculine/Feminine Plural Forms | English |
| je (first person singular) |
(le) mien/(la) mienne | (les) miens/(les) miennes | mine |
| tu (second person singular informal) |
(le) tien/(la) tienne | (les) tiens/(les) tiennes | yours |
| il/elle/iel (third person singular) |
(le) sien/(la) sienne | (les) siens/(les) siennes | his/hers/theirs |
| nous (first person plural) |
(le)/(la) nôtre | (les) nôtres | ours |
| vous (second person plural and/or formal) |
(le)/(la) vôtre | (les) vôtres | yours |
| ils/elles/iels (third person plural) |
(le)/(la) leur | (les) leurs | theirs |
The following example sentences help you better understand how French possessive pronouns are used:
- Cette maison est plus grande que la nôtre. = This house is bigger than ours.
- Utilisez cette chaise-ci; celle-là est la mienne. = Use this chair here; that one is mine.
- Son travail ? Elle l’aime bien, mais elle préférait faire le tien. = Her work? She likes it enough, but she would prefer to do yours.
All of these examples use the definite article that agrees with the noun they’re describing.
When to use possessive pronouns in French
There are a variety of situations for using possessive pronouns in French, but they all include showing ownership (possession) and/or avoiding repetition.
Use possessive pronouns to avoid repetition
When using a possessive adjective and a noun like “my dog” or “their dog,” it would be repetitive to keep saying those phrases within a sentence or conversation. You can use the possessive pronouns “mine” and “theirs” to have a more natural-sounding conversation in a case like this.
All of these sentences are grammatically correct, but by using possessive pronouns, you can avoid repeating the phrases “my dog” and “their dog” as the conversation progresses.
- Mon chien est plus grand que leur chien. = My dog is bigger than their dog.
- Mon chien est plus grand que le leur. = My dog is bigger than theirs.
- Le mien est plus grand que le leur. = Mine is bigger than theirs.
Knowing possessive pronouns in French allows you to have more options when deciding how to respond, depending on the situation in front of you.
Use possessive pronouns to express ownership
The most basic usage for possessive pronouns is to talk about who or what something belongs to.
- Cette montre est la mienne. = This watch is mine.
- Ces baskets sont les siennes. = Those sneakers are his.
- Cette voiture est la vôtre. = This car is yours. (plural)
- Ce ballon est le leur. = This ball is theirs.
Use possessive pronouns to contrast different owners
Possessive pronouns can also be used to emphasize the contrast between different owners.
- Cette pizza est la mienne, pas la sienne. = This pizza is mine, not hers.
- Ces feutres sont les leurs, pas les nôtres. = These markers are theirs, not ours.
How to use possessive pronouns in French
Possessive pronouns in French can seem tricky at first, but you’ll be using them like a pro in no time using the following guidelines.
French possessive pronouns and nouns need to agree
As previously stated, a French possessive pronoun must agree in gender and number with the noun it is modifying. This is different than in English, where the possessive agrees with the person who owns the noun being described.
The following examples demonstrate the different forms of “mine” in French, depending on the noun that belongs to the person speaking:
- Ce portable, c’est le mien. = This phone, it’s mine. (masculine singular)
- Cette agrafeuse, c’est la mienne. = This stapler, it’s mine. (feminine singular)
- Ces cadeaux, ce sont les miens. = These gifts, they’re mine. (masculine plural)
- Ces lunettes, ce sont les miennes. = These glasses, they’re mine. (feminine plural)
In the plural forms “ours,” “yours,” and “theirs,” there is no difference for masculine and feminine nouns:
- Ces pulls, ce sont les nôtres. = These sweaters, they’re ours.
- Ces sandales, ce sont les nôtres. = These sandals, they’re ours.
French possessive pronouns must contract with the prepositions à and de
With the French prepositions à (to, in, at) and de (of, from), the definite articles le and les need to contract:
- On ne peut pas téléphoner à mon frère, peut-on téléphoner au tien ? = We can’t call my brother, can we call yours?
- J’ai déjà parlé de mes idées, peut-on parler des leurs ? = I already talked about my ideas, can we talk about theirs?
Some French grammar rules can be overwhelming, but if you try learning one part of speech at a time, it can feel manageable.
Avoid the ambiguity of le(s) sien(ne)(s)
In English, the possessive pronoun agrees with the owner of the object:
- This croissant is hers.
- This croissant is his.
Possessive pronouns in French aren’t used the same way. This can be especially tricky in the third person singular, as seen above, because, in French, there is no difference between “his” and “hers.”
- Ce croissant est le sien. = This croissant is hers.
- Ce croissant est le sien. = This croissant is his.
In French, because the word croissant is masculine singular, the possessive pronoun must agree with it—It does not matter who owns the croissant. You can use disjunctive pronouns with the preposition à (to/at) to add extra emphasis or simply à with the person’s name.
- Ce croissant est le sien, à elle. = This croissant is hers.
- Ce croissant est le sien, à Gustave. = This croissant is his (Gustave’s).
Use the French possessive pronoun vôtre to say “cheers”
A common expression in French to say “cheers” is à votre santé, which literally means “to your health.” To respond to this, you simply say à la vôtre (to yours). Because the word santé is feminine, you use the definite article la.
Possessive pronouns vs. possessive adjectives
It’s also important to know how to differentiate between French possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives when talking about who owns something.
Possessive adjectives in English are words like “my” and “your.” You can see this in the example from before:
- Ce crayon est mon crayon, pas ton crayon. = This pencil is my pencil, not your pencil.
Just like possessive pronouns, possessive adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they’re modifying (not the owner). Both of the above forms are in the masculine singular to agree with the word crayon (pencil).
This chart shows the possessive adjectives that are often confused with possessive pronouns:
| Subject Pronoun | Masculine/Feminine Singular Forms | Plural Form | English |
| je (first person singular) |
mon/ma | mes | my |
| tu (second person singular informal) |
ton/ta | tes | your |
| il/elle/iel (third person singular) |
son/sa | ses | his/her/their |
| nous (first person plural) |
notre | nos | our |
| vous (second person plural and/or formal) |
votre | vos | your |
| ils/elles/iels (third person plural) |
leur | leurs | their |
5 essential takeaways for possessive pronouns in French
Mastering possessive pronouns is a crucial part of learning French. Take your conversations to the next level by remembering:
- French possessive pronouns are equivalent to the English words “mine,” “yours,” “ours,” etc.
- Possessive pronouns are different from possessive adjectives “my,” “your,” etc.
- Possessive pronouns in French must agree in gender and number with the noun they’re describing (not the owner of the noun).
- Use the definite article with French possessive pronouns, which must also agree in gender and number.
- Use possessive pronouns in French to signify possession and to avoid repetition in your French speaking.
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