Possessive pronouns
When you want to say "mine" or "yours" instead of repeating a noun (like "my suitcase" or "your bag"), you use a possessive pronoun.
In French, possessive pronouns always include a definite article (le, la, or les). They must agree in gender and number with the noun they are replacing—not with the owner!
| Owner | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Je (mine) | le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| Tu (yours) | le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| Il/Elle (his/hers/its) | le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| Nous (ours) | le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| Vous (yours) | le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| Ils/Elles (theirs) | le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
Let's look at the pronouns for singular owners first. Notice how the pronoun changes depending on whether the replaced noun is masculine (like un sac) or feminine (like une valise).
| No, mine is red. | Non, le mien est rouge. |
| This red suitcase looks like mine. | Cette valise rouge ressemble à la mienne. |
Just like in English, the "his" or "hers" pronoun depends on who the owner is. But remember, the gender of the French pronoun (le sien vs. la sienne) still matches the object being owned, not the person who owns it.
| This passenger is looking for a passport because he lost his. | Ce passager cherche un passeport parce qu'il a perdu le sien. |
Contractions with prepositions
Because possessive pronouns use the definite articles le and les, they follow the normal rules for contractions. If a pronoun follows the preposition à (to/at) or de (of/from), the preposition and article combine to form au, aux, du, or des.
| Your coat looks like mine, but yours is black. | Ton manteau ressemble au mien, mais le tien est noir. |
Ours, yours, and theirs
For plural owners, the spelling of the pronoun is slightly simpler. The word itself doesn't change for masculine or feminine objects—only the article in front of it does (e.g., le nôtre vs. la nôtre).
Notice the circumflex accent (ˆ) on le nôtre and le vôtre. This accent is required for the pronouns and helps tell them apart from the possessive adjectives notre and votre (which mean "our" and "your").
| Is this big black bag yours? | Est-ce que ce grand sac noir est le vôtre ? |
| Is your flight late like ours? | Est-ce que votre vol est en retard comme le nôtre ? |
To make these pronouns plural, simply change the article to les and add an -s to the end of the word.
| Are these suitcases yours or theirs? | Est-ce que ces valises sont les vôtres ou les leurs ? |
