Adjectifs et pronoms possessifs(Possessive adjectives and pronouns)

Possessive adjective

They are always come before a noun. Like other adjectives, they agree in gender and number with the noun, the masculine and feminine plural are identical

-j'ai mis mon argent et mes affaires dans mon sac(I have put my money and my things in my bag)
-comment va ton frère? et ta soeur ? et tes parents?(how is your brother? and your sister? and your parents?)
-notre rue est assez calme(our street is fairly quiet)
-ce sont vos amis(they are your friends)

Note: mon/ton/son are used instead of ma/ta/sa when the next word start with a vowel or silent h

-mon ancienne maison(my old house)
-ton amie Christine(you friend Christine)
-son haleine sentait l'alcool(his breath smelled of alcohol)

• The possessive adjective is repeated before each noun and agrees with it:

    -mon père et ma mère sont sortis(my mother and father have gone out)
  

• son/sa/ses

son, sa and ses can all means 'his', 'her' or 'its'. In French, the form of the adjective is determined by gender and number of the noun that follows, and not by the possessor

-il m'a prêté sa mobylette et son casque(he lent me his moped and his helmet)
-elle s'entend bien avec sa mère, mais pas avec son père(she gets on well with her mother, but ot with her father)
-il cire ses chaussures ; elle repasse ses chemisiers(he is polishing his shoes; she is ironing her shirts)

• ton/ta/tes and votre/vos

The two sets of words for 'your', ton/ta/tes and votre/vos, correspond to the two different forms tu and vous; they must not be used together with same person

-Papa, tu as parlé à ton patron?(Dad, have you spoken tou your boss?)
-Monsieur! votre brochure! vous ne la prenez pas?(Sir! your brochure! aren't you taking it?)

• In French, the possessive adjective is replaced by the definite article (le/la/les) with the following

  • parts of the body

    -il s'est essuyé les mains(he wiped his hands)
    -elle a haussé les épaules(she shrugged her shoulders)
    

  • descriptive phrases tagged on to the end of a clause, where English adds with

    -il marchait lentement, les main dans les poches(he was walking slowly, with his hands in his pockets) 
    -elle l'a regardé partir les larmes aux yeux(she watched him leave with tears in her eyes)
    

Possessive pronouns

They are used instead of possessive adjective + noun. They agree in gender and in number with noun they stand for, and not with the possessor (it is particularly important to remember this when translating 'his' and 'her')

-j'aime bien ton chapeau, mais je préfère le mien(I quite like your hat, but I prefer mine)
-on prend quelle voiture ? la mienne ou la tienne?(which car do we take? mine or yours?)
-comment sont vos profs? les nôtres sont sympas(what are your teacher like? ours are nice)
-j'ai pris mon passeport, mais Brigitte a oublié le sien(I brought my passpert, but Brigitte forgot hers)
j'ai gardé ma moto, mais Paul a vendu la sienne(I have kept my motobike but Paul has sold his)

à or de + possessive pronoun

The prepositions à or de combine with the articles le and les in the usual way

à + le mien      ->      au mien     
à + les miens    ->      aux miens     
à + le miennes   ->      aux miennes     
de + le mien     ->      du mien     
de + les miens   ->      des miens     
de + le miennes  ->      des miennes     

-demande à tes parents, j'ai déjà parlé aux miens(ask your parents, I have already spoken to mine)
-leur appartement ressemble beaucoup au nôtre(their flat is very similar to ours)
-j'aime bien les chiens, mais j'ai peur du tien(I like dogs, but I am afraid of yours)

Note; after the verb être, the possessive pronoun is often replaced by à + emphatic(disjuctive pronoun)- (last chapter)

à qui est cette écharpe?- elle est à moi(whose scarf is this? - it's mine)(scarf belongs to)
-ce livre est à toi? - non, il est à elle(is this book yours?- no, it's hers)(this book belongs to)
-c'est à qui? à vous ou à lui?(whose is this? yours or his?)(this belongs to whom)