Learn French: Cette valise rouge ressemble à la mienne.

Cette valise rouge ressemble à la mienne.

This red suitcase looks like mine.

Breakdown of Cette valise rouge ressemble à la mienne.

mine (masculine singular; also la mienne, les miens, les miennes)

rouge

red

Questions & Answers about Cette valise rouge ressemble à la mienne.

Why is it la mienne instead of just mienne or le mien?

In French, possessive pronouns like 'mine' always include a definite article (le, la, or les). They must match the gender and number of the noun they replace. Because it replaces la valise (a feminine singular noun), we use the feminine singular form la mienne.

Why is there an à before la mienne?

The verb ressembler (to look like) is almost always followed by the preposition à. When you want to say 'looks like [something]', you have to use the structure ressembler à [something]. You cannot just say ressemble la mienne.

Why do we use cette at the beginning of the sentence?

Cette is the demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' for feminine singular nouns. Since valise (suitcase) is feminine, we use cette instead of the masculine ce or the plural ces.

Why does the color rouge come after valise?

Unlike English, where we say 'red suitcase', French places color adjectives after the noun they describe. That is why it is valise rouge.