Do French possessive adjectives agree with the owner or the thing owned?

With the thing owned. Son vélo is masculine because vélo is masculine, whether the owner is a man or a woman. English works the other way, which is why his car and her car both come out as sa voiture in French.

How do I know whether son means his or her?

You cannot tell from the word itself, only from context. Marie a perdu son sac is her bag; Paul a perdu son sac is his. If the sentence is genuinely ambiguous, French adds à elle or à lui: c'est son sac à elle.

Why is it mon amie when amie is feminine?

Because ma before a vowel would produce an awkward clash, French substitutes mon. The noun's gender is unchanged, so everything else agrees as feminine: mon amie est arrivée, my friend has arrived. The same swap happens with ton and son.

What's the difference between leur and leurs?

Leur goes with a singular noun and leurs with a plural one. Leur voiture is their car, one car between them; leurs voitures is their cars. The number of owners never affects the choice, only the number of things owned.

Why does French say je me lave les mains instead of mes mains?

With body parts French prefers the definite article and shows the owner with a pronoun, so the reflexive me already tells you the hands are yours. Adding a possessive as well would be redundant. The same applies to il s'est cassé la jambe, he broke his leg.

French grammar · Beginner

French Possessive Adjectives: Mon, Ton, Son, Notre, Votre, Leur

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Mon, ton, son, notre, votre, and leur are the French possessive adjectives. Unlike English my and his, they agree with the thing owned rather than with the owner, which is why son vélo can mean either his bike or her bike depending on who is speaking.

Mon frère a perdu ses clés dans notre voiture.

My brother lost his keys in our car.

What it is

A French possessive adjective does two jobs at once. It says who the owner is, like English my or their, and it also agrees with the noun it sits in front of, like any other French adjective. The second job is the one that catches English speakers out, because the owner's own gender never shows up anywhere.

mon frère, ma sœur, mes parents — my brother, my sister, my parents

How to spot it

Pick the row from the owner and the column from the noun. The owner tells you whether you need the mon family or the notre family; the noun tells you which form in that family.

mon vélo — my bike (vélo is masculine)
ma bicyclette — my bicycle (bicyclette is feminine)
mes affaires — my things (plural)
mon école — my school (feminine, but starts with a vowel)

Notre, votre, and leur have no separate feminine form at all, so notre maison and notre jardin look identical.

Possessive Adjectives Quick Reference

The full set of forms

Owner	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Plural
je	mon frère	ma sœur	mes parents
tu	ton fils	ta fille	tes enfants
il / elle / on	son mari	sa femme	ses amis
nous	notre chien	notre maison	nos voisins
vous	votre billet	votre place	vos bagages
ils / elles	leur bureau	leur adresse	leurs collègues

Common Possessive Adjectives Examples in French

The forms in ordinary sentences:

One Owner

Mon frère habite à Nantes.: My brother lives in Nantes.
Ta sœur est très drôle.: Your sister is very funny.
Il a oublié son parapluie.: He forgot his umbrella.
Elle cherche ses lunettes.: She's looking for her glasses.

Son and ses give no clue about the owner. Only the surrounding sentence tells you whether it is his or hers.

Several Owners

Notre appartement est au troisième étage.: Our flat is on the third floor.
Nos voisins sont adorables.: Our neighbours are lovely.
Vos bagages arrivent demain.: Your luggage arrives tomorrow.
Leurs enfants sont à l'école.: Their children are at school.

These forms only distinguish singular from plural, so there is one fewer decision to make.

Before a Vowel Sound

mon amie Claire: my friend Claire (feminine, but mon not ma)
ton adresse électronique: your email address
son histoire préférée: her favourite story
mon horrible erreur: my terrible mistake

Ma, ta, and sa are replaced by mon, ton, and son before a vowel or a mute h, purely to avoid two vowels colliding.

Where the Article Wins Instead

Je me lave les mains.: I'm washing my hands.
Il a mal à la tête.: He has a headache.
Elle s'est cassé le bras.: She broke her arm.
Ferme les yeux.: Close your eyes.

With parts of the body, French uses the definite article and lets a reflexive pronoun or the context show whose they are.

How the Possessive Adjectives Work

Two independent decisions are folded into a single word, and separating them makes the whole set predictable.

They Agree With the Thing Owned

The form is chosen by the noun that follows, not by the person who owns it. Sa voiture is her car if a woman owns it and his car if a man does, because the a comes from voiture being feminine.

Paul a vendu sa voiture et son appartement.

Paul sold his car and his flat.

The noun decides the ending.

Ma, Ta, and Sa Give Way Before a Vowel

French avoids the clash of ma amie by switching to the masculine-looking mon amie. The noun is still feminine, so any adjective attached to it agrees as feminine: mon amie est française.

Mon amie italienne arrive ce soir.

My Italian friend is arriving this evening.

mon amie, not ma amie.

The Plural-Owner Forms Ignore Gender

Notre, votre, and leur have one singular form each, whatever the gender of the noun, and one plural form: nos, vos, leurs. That halves the number of choices when the owner is more than one person.

Notre fille et notre fils partagent leur chambre.

Our daughter and our son share their room.

notre / nos, votre / vos, leur / leurs.

Leur or Leurs Depends on the Noun Too

Leur is singular and leurs is plural, and again the noun decides, never the number of owners. Twenty people sharing one office still gives leur bureau, and each of them offering one opinion gives ils ont donné leur avis.

Les voisins ont repeint leur maison et vendu leurs meubles.

The neighbours repainted their house and sold their furniture.

One thing → leur, several → leurs.

Every Noun in a List Needs Its Own

English can say my brother and sister with one possessive covering both. French repeats it: mon frère et ma sœur, because each noun needs the form that matches its own gender.

J'ai invité mon frère et ma sœur.

I invited my brother and sister.

Repeat it for each noun.

Common Mistakes with Possessive Adjectives

Incorrect: Je te présente ma amie Sophie. — Let me introduce my friend Sophie.

Correct: Je te présente mon amie Sophie. — Let me introduce my friend Sophie.

Ma cannot stand before a vowel, so it becomes mon. Amie is still feminine, which is why any adjective attached to it stays feminine.

Incorrect: Elle a laissé sa livre à la maison. — She left her book at home.

Correct: Elle a laissé son livre à la maison. — She left her book at home.

The possessive agrees with livre, which is masculine, not with the woman who owns it. Her book and his book are both son livre.

Incorrect: Je lave mes mains avant de manger. — I wash my hands before eating.

Correct: Je me lave les mains avant de manger. — I wash my hands before eating.

With body parts French uses the definite article and marks the owner with a reflexive pronoun. Mes mains is not wrong in every context, but it is not how you describe washing them.

Incorrect: Ils ont vendu leurs maison. — They sold their house.

Correct: Ils ont vendu leur maison. — They sold their house.

Leur takes an s only when the thing owned is plural. Several owners sharing one house still gives leur maison; leurs maisons would mean several houses.

Where French Leaves the Possessive Out

Two situations behave nothing like English, and a third uses the possessive in places English would find odd.

Parts of the body

French uses the definite article with body parts and shows ownership through a reflexive or indirect pronoun instead.

Je me brosse les dents.: I'm brushing my teeth.
Elle a levé la main.: She raised her hand.
Il s'est foulé la cheville.: He sprained his ankle.
On lui a coupé les cheveux.: They cut his hair.

The possessive comes back if the body part is the subject or carries a description: ma main tremble, mes longs cheveux.

Clearing up his or her

Because son and sa hide the owner's gender, French adds à lui or à elle when it genuinely matters, or uses propre for emphasis.

C'est sa voiture à elle, pas à lui.: It's her car, not his.
Il a sa propre chambre.: He has his own room.
Chacun a ses propres raisons.: Everyone has their own reasons.

Most of the time the context does the work and no clarification is needed. Add à lui or à elle only when a real confusion is possible.

Address and set expressions

A number of fixed phrases keep a possessive where English would not, especially in address and in the military.

Mon Dieu, quelle surprise !: Good heavens, what a surprise!
Bien sûr, mon colonel.: Of course, colonel.
Écoute, mon vieux.: Listen, mate.
À votre santé !: Cheers!

In the French army a subordinate says mon capitaine to a superior; the superior answers without the possessive.

Possessive Adjectives FAQs

Do French possessive adjectives agree with the owner or the thing owned?: With the thing owned. Son vélo is masculine because vélo is masculine, whether the owner is a man or a woman. English works the other way, which is why his car and her car both come out as sa voiture in French.
How do I know whether son means his or her?: You cannot tell from the word itself, only from context. Marie a perdu son sac is her bag; Paul a perdu son sac is his. If the sentence is genuinely ambiguous, French adds à elle or à lui: c'est son sac à elle.
Why is it mon amie when amie is feminine?: Because ma before a vowel would produce an awkward clash, French substitutes mon. The noun's gender is unchanged, so everything else agrees as feminine: mon amie est arrivée, my friend has arrived. The same swap happens with ton and son.
What's the difference between leur and leurs?: Leur goes with a singular noun and leurs with a plural one. Leur voiture is their car, one car between them; leurs voitures is their cars. The number of owners never affects the choice, only the number of things owned.
Why does French say je me lave les mains instead of mes mains?: With body parts French prefers the definite article and shows the owner with a pronoun, so the reflexive me already tells you the hands are yours. Adding a possessive as well would be redundant. The same applies to il s'est cassé la jambe, he broke his leg.