Module 6 of 10
My, your, his and hers
Possessives agree with the thing owned, not with the owner.
Son père is his father and also her father. French possessives agree with the thing owned, not with the person owning it, which is the opposite of the English instinct and takes a fortnight to stop fighting. Père is masculine, so it takes son whoever the owner is; mère is feminine, so it takes sa. If you need to be clear about whose, you say it another way — le père de Marie — rather than hoping the possessive will carry it.
The exception is worth knowing before you meet it: a feminine word starting with a vowel takes mon, ton, son rather than ma, ta, sa, purely because ma amie is unpleasant to say. So it is mon amie, mon adresse, mon école, and the word is still feminine for every other purpose. This is the same impulse behind d'Inde in module two — French will bend a rule to avoid two vowels knocking together, and it does it often enough that you should expect it rather than be surprised.
Played by your device’s own French voice. It is a synthetic voice, not a recording of a teacher — close enough to learn the shape of a word, not close enough to copy exactly.
- Mon frèreMy brother
- Ma sœurMy sister
- Mes parentsMy parents
- Ton pèreYour father — the familiar form
- Votre mèreYour mother — the polite form
- Son filsHis son, or her son — French does not tell you which
- Sa filleHis daughter, or her daughter
- Mon amieMy friend — a woman, but mon, because amie starts with a vowel
The possessive matches the thing, not the owner — son père is his or her father. Feminine words starting with a vowel take mon, not ma.