Learn French: C'est sa première voiture.

C'est sa première voiture.

It is his first car.

Breakdown of C'est sa première voiture.

la voiture

the car

son

his/her/its (son, sa, ses)

Questions & Answers about C'est sa première voiture.

Why does première have a grave accent and an 'e' at the end?

Voiture is a feminine noun, so the adjective describing it must also be feminine. The masculine word for 'first' is premier. To make adjectives ending in -er feminine, you change the ending to -ère. That is why it becomes première here.

If the translation says 'his first car', why does the sentence use the feminine word sa?

In French, possessive words like sa match the gender of the thing being owned, not the owner! Since voiture is feminine, you must use sa, even if the car belongs to a man. If the sentence meant 'her first car', the French would look exactly the same.

Why does première come before voiture? I thought adjectives usually go after the noun.

While most French adjectives go after the noun, a few common categories go before it. A helpful trick is the BANGS acronym: adjectives about Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size go before the noun. Première falls under 'Number', so it jumps to the front of voiture.

Why does the sentence start with C'est instead of Il est?