Ma famille (Possessives & Family)
All possessive adjectives + complete family vocabulary with pronunciation.
In this lesson you learn possessive adjectives (my, your, his/her…) and the full family vocabulary. In French, the possessive agrees with the NOUN it describes (not with the owner). So a man says 'ma sœur' (my sister): because sœur is feminine.
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES: agree with the NOUN possessed (not the owner)
CRITICAL RULE: Before any noun starting with a VOWEL or SILENT H, use MON/TON/SON (never ma/ta/sa), even if the noun is feminine: mon amie (my friend (f.)) , ton école (your school) , son histoire (his/her story). Reason: euphony: ma amie is hard to say
Common mistake: ma ami: WRONG because ami starts with a vowel. mon ami (my friend (m.)) even though ami is masculine and amie (feminine) also takes mon
MY: mon (my (m.)) (m.sg) · ma (my (f.)) (f.sg) · mes (my (pl.)) (pl): mon père (my father), ma mère (my mother), mes parents (my parents)
YOUR (tu): ton (your (m. sg.)) · ta (your (f. sg.)) · tes (your (pl.)): ton frère (your brother), ta sœur (your sister), tes amis (your friends)
HIS, HER, ITS: son (his/her/its (m.)) · sa (his/her (f.)) · ses (his/her/its (pl.)): son livre (his/her book), sa maison (his/her house), ses enfants (his/her children). Note: son can mean HIS or HER: context tells you
OUR: notre (our) (m+f sg) · nos (our (pl.)) (pl): notre appartement (our apartment), notre famille (our family), nos voisins (our neighbours)
YOUR (vous): votre (your) (m+f sg) · vos (your) (pl): votre passeport (your passport), vos bagages (your luggage)
THEIR: leur (their/to them) (m+f sg) · leurs (their) (pl): leur fils (their son), leur fille (their daughter), leurs enfants (their children)
COMMON ERROR: son (his/her/its (m.)) can cause confusion: son père (his/her father) could be 'his father' or 'her father'. Only context clarifies. If clarity is essential, French speakers say le père de Marie (Marie's father) or le père de Pierre (Pierre's father)
Common mistake: saying 'leur's enfants' with a spurious apostrophe: leurs is a regular word: leurs enfants (their children). No apostrophe
- mon père / ma mère / mes parents — my father / my mother / my parents
- ton frère / ta sœur / tes enfants — your brother / your sister / your children
- son mari / sa femme / ses amis — his/her husband / his/her wife / his/her friends
- notre maison / nos voisins — our house / our neighbors
- votre appartement / vos collègues — your apartment / your colleagues
- leur fils / leurs filles — their son / their daughters
DESCRIBING YOUR FAMILY: essential sentence structures
NEGATION: je n'ai pas de (I don't have) + family member, no article: Je n'ai pas de frère (I do not have a brother), Je n'ai pas d'enfant (I do not have a child) (d' before a vowel)
Common mistake: 'Il appelle Paul' (dropping the reflexive): s'appeler is pronominal, you need the se: 'Il s'appelle Paul'
PROFESSION: Il/Elle est + profession (no article): Mon père est médecin (my father is a doctor). Ma mère est architecte (my mother is an architect).
- J'ai un frère et deux sœurs. Mon frère s'appelle Karim, il a 30 ans. — I have one brother and two sisters. My brother's name is Karim, he is 30.
- Mes parents habitent à Marseille. Mon père est médecin et ma mère est professeure. — My parents live in Marseille. My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher.
- Je n'ai pas de frère, mais j'ai une sœur. Elle s'appelle Léa et elle est étudiante. — I don't have a brother, but I have a sister. Her name is Léa and she is a student.
- Tu as des enfants ? - Non, pas encore. Et toi ? — Do you have children?- No, not yet. And you?