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Les adjectifs possessifs
Forms and use
Broadly speaking, the adjectifs possessifs express ownership
or possession. They agree in gender and number with the noun that follows.
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Masculine singular |
Feminine singular |
Plural |
Translation |
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mon
ton
son
notre
votre
leur |
ma
ta
sa
notre
votre
leur |
mes
tes
ses
nos
vos
leurs |
my
your (informal)
his or her or its
our
your (formal or plural)
their |
- In pronunciation, it is important to make the liaison between the
plural forms and words that begin with a vowel or a mute h.
Mes amies, tes oranges,
ses habitudes, nos enfants,
vos images, leurs hésitations
- In front of feminine nouns beginning with a vowel or a mute h,
mon, ton, son are to be used instead of ma,
ta, sa.
Mon école, ton histoire,
son absence
- English distinguishes between his, her and its.
French does not: it has the same set of three possessive adjectives
for all. No reference is made to the gender of the owner (which is
usually clear from the context).
- Each noun in a list (even a list of two) must have its own possessive:
The only exception is when two nouns in succession refer to the same
entity (usually a person, as in speeches, when one talks about one's
"friend and colleague":
Quand notre cher ami et collègue a décidé de prendre
sa retraite, nous avons tous été sous le choc.
Use
of definite articles instead of possessives
- With nouns referring to parts of the body, French uses definite
articles (le, la, les, l') much more so
than possessives. English mostly relies on possessives, and articles
are used much more sparingly. In general, it can be said that when
articles (including those implicit in genitive constructions such
as Peter's hands = the hands belonging to Peter) are
allowed in English, they can also be used in French (and often must
be). The most important differences between English and French are
set out below. It can be safely assumed that possessives with body
parts are correct in French in cases not referred to in what follows.
If the body part is the subject of the verb, possessive adjectives
are allowed. Thus, it is possible to say:
Ses cheveux flottent dans le vent. (His hair is flying
in the wind.)
Mes joues ne tolèrent pas le froid. (My
cheeks can't stand the cold.)
This construction is best avoided when translating English
phrases containing the copular verb to be (not to be confused
with the auxiliary, as in the first example above). Instead,
French turns the body part into the direct object of the verb avoir,
or into the object of a preposition following the verb avoir
(see also points 4 and 5 below):
Elle a les cheveux blonds. (Her hair is blond.)
J'ai froid aux pieds. (My feet are cold.)
A literal translation of the latter example is excluded: when reference
is made to the body, the French counterpart of to be cold,
i.e. avoir froid, requires an animate subject (a
person or an animal). On the other hand, the only context in which
descriptions such as Ses cheveux sont blonds are
felicitous is after one or more avoir-constructions
also referring to a body part. Three different body parts are involved
in the first example below, but only one in the second.
Elle a les yeux verts et les cils noirs, mais ses cheveux
sont blonds.
Jules a mal aux pieds, car ses pieds
sont trop grands pour ses chaussures.
If the body part is the object of the verb or of a preposition
(as in the examples followed by an English translation above), the
possessive adjective used in English is normally translated by means
of a definite article, provided it is clear to whom the body part
belongs. This occurs:
- when the body part is the direct object of a non-pronominal
verb which expresses a common or typical action performed with
that body part. The body part itself is actively involved in the
action expressed by the verb.
Elle a haussé les épaules.
Il tend la main.
Nous avons élevé la voix.
There are various other expressions of the same kind: hocher
/ secouer la tête, baisser / lever les yeux, la tête (etc.),
bouger le bras. Note the difference between hocher
la tête, which is used to mark agreement ('to nod')
or disagreement ('to shake one's head'), and secouer la
tête, which is used to mark disapproval or to acknowledge
bad news (also 'to shake one's head').
If the action is not common or typical, French prefers the
possessive adjective (except in the case of figurative expressions
such as perdre la tête, which maintain
the definite article):
Elle a posé sa tête sur le lit.
Il a mis son doigt sur sa bouche.
Tu perds la tête ou quoi ? (Are
you going mad, or what?)
- when the body part is the direct object of a pronominal verb
which expresses an action that one performs on oneself.
In this case, the action is done to (as opposed to with)
the body part, which undergoes the action and is not actively
involved. The reflexive pronoun is an indirect object. There is
no past participle agreement because there is a following direct
object.
Tu t'es coupé le doigt.
Elle s'est brossé les cheveux.
Again, there are various other expressions of the same kind: se
casser le bras (etc.), se brûler le doigt (etc.), se
couper les ongles (etc.), se peigner les cheveux, se
tordre la cheville.
- when the action is performed upon someone else's body and this
other person is identified by means of an indirect object or a
prepositional phrase.
Elle lui a brossé les cheveux.
Le docteur a soigné le bras de Pierre.
- when the body part is the object of a preposition (mostly à
and de) and belongs
to the subject of the sentence. Some very common expression are
those that refer to sensations, e.g. avoir froid à, avoir
mal à, se faire mal à. Other expressions
include montrer du doigt, taper du pied
etc.
Il a froid aux mains. (His hands are cold.)
Nous avons mal aux genoux. (Our knees are sore /
Our knees hurt / We have sore knees.)
Je me suis fait mal au dos. (I hurt my back.)
Elles montrent tout le monde du doigt. (They point
fingers at everyone.)
Il tapait des pieds pour montrer son impatience.
(He stamped his feet to show his impatience.)
- when the body part is the direct object of the verb avoir
in a physical or mental description of the subject. In this case,
there is always an adjective following the body part.
Tu as les yeux bruns.
Pierre a les bras musclés.
Nous avons l'esprit ouvert.
When, after avoir, the adjective precedes the body
part, French - like English - uses an indefinite article:
Tu as de beaux yeux, tu sais....
Elle a de grandes oreilles.
Indefinite articles may be used instead of definite articles
even when the adjective follows the noun, but definite
articles are the preferred option, no matter how unidiomatic they
may sound to English ears.
- when the body part is used in a so-called apposition (see the
examples). The resulting phrase is often translated in English
by means of with.
Elle est arrivée, un pistolet au poing. (She
arrived with a pistol in her hands.)
Il est parti, l'œil fixé sur son camarade.
- When clothes and accessories (or parts of cloths, e.g. pockets)
are in apposition to the verb, they, too, are preceded by a definite
article.
Elle est partie, le chapeau sur la tête.
Il passait devant nous, les gants aux mains.
- If an object (rather than a person) possesses something (as in "its
colour" for "the dress's colour"), the thing possessed is preceded
by a definite article instead of a possessive, and the pronoun en
is placed before the verb.
J'adore cette robe, mais la couleur en est trop claire.
J'aime Paris et j'en connais tous les quartiers.
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