Possessive Adjectives
Using Possessive Adjectives
You will now learn how to form and use possessive adjectives. Additionally, you will examine how to express possession and relationships with de. In this interactivity, you will study seven key points to remember when working with possessive adjectives. Click the player to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Differentiating between mon and ton, and votre and notre
You can remember to use mon/ma/mes with “Je” as the owner because the emphatic pronoun for “Je” is MOI (me) which begins with “m”.
Likewise, you can remember to use ton/ta/tes with “Tu” as the owner because the emphatic pronoun for “Tu” is TOI (you) which begins with “t”.
Notre/nos begin with “n” like NOUS (we) and votre/vos begin with “v” like VOUS. You can use this information to help you determine when to use these possessive adjectives.
Examples
Nous avons nos livres avec nous aujourd’hui.
Et toi, tu as ton crayon avec toi pour les maths?
Pronunciation Alert
When one word ends in an “n” or “s” and is followed by a word that starts with a vowel sound, you must pronounce the “n” as itself and the “s” as a “z”. This is called “liaison”. Liaison occurs with mon, ton, and son, as well as with all plural possessive adjectives.
Click on each of the following examples of liaison, and repeat the proper pronunciation after the speaker.
| mon oncle |
| nos amis |
| ton étudiante |
| vos oncles |
| son histoire |
| leurs écoles |
Note that if you come across a singular noun that starts with a vowel, and is of feminine gender, you should still use mon, ton, or son to make liaison. This is because it would sound less pleasant to use ma, ta, or sa followed by another vowel sound.
Possessive Adjectives Review
Now that you have learned how to use possessive adjectives, it is time to review. Using the information covered during this topic, complete this non-graded interactivity. You will be asked to complete a series of sentences, using the correct possessive adjective. Click the player to get started.