Apart from [object Promise], there are several possessive pronouns in French - let's take a closer look at them and find out how exactly they work.
French
English
Ce livre est le mien.
This book is mine.
Possessive Pronouns - the Usage
Rule 1: Possessive pronouns are used instead of nouns to show that someone or something belongs to the other. In English, the possessive pronouns are mine, yours, hers, his, ours, and theirs. In French, the situation is a little bit more complicated.
French
English
Ces clés sont les leurs.
These keys are theirs.
Ce vélo est le sien.
This bike is hers.
Forming the Possessive Pronouns
There are quite a few possessive pronouns in French, but they are pretty easy to remember. Here's a table that should help you with that:
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
Rule 2: Possessive pronouns are always used with a definite article.
Rule 3: Possessive pronouns must agree with the nouns they replace in terms of gender and number and not the person who owns this thing. If in English, we will have This house is his, in French, we will have Cette maison est la sienne.
French
English
Ce n’est pas son chat, c’est le mien.
It's not his cat, it's mine.
Ce n’est pas sa voiture, c’est la tienne.
It's not his car, it's yours.
Ce ne sont pas ses enfants, ce sont les leurs.
These are not your children, they are theirs.
Rule 4: Remember that when used with à or de, definite articles contract:
French
English
Je préfère votre café au mien.
I prefer your coffee to mine.
J'aime le bon café. J'ai entendu parler du tien.
I like good coffee. I've heard about yours.
Quiz
1/3
Translate: This is my friend's mug. This is her mug.
0
correct answers.