Learn French: Sa mère est inquiète. - His mother is worried.

Sa mère est inquiète.

His mother is worried.

Breakdown of Sa mère est inquiète.

être

to be

son

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

Questions & Answers about Sa mère est inquiète.

The translation says "His mother", but doesn't sa mean "her"?

In French, possessive adjectives agree with the noun being possessed, not the owner. Because mère is feminine, we must use sa. Sa mère can mean "his mother" or "her mother"—you would usually know which one from the surrounding context.

Why is the adjective spelled inquiète here?

Inquiète is the feminine form of the adjective, agreeing with sa mère. The masculine form is inquiet. Notice how the feminine form adds an -e and changes the spelling with a grave accent (è), which means you pronounce the final "t" sound.

How does this phrase relate to the subjunctive, which we are learning in this lesson?

Expressions of emotion trigger the subjunctive. If you want to state exactly what she is worried about using a new clause, you use que followed by the subjunctive. For example: Sa mère est inquiète qu'il soit malade (His mother is worried that he is sick).

Could I use the verb s'inquiéter instead?

Yes, you could also say Sa mère s'inquiète. Using the reflexive verb s'inquiéter (to worry) focuses slightly more on the action of worrying, while est inquiète (is worried) describes her state of being. Both are very common and mean essentially the same thing.