Log inSign up

Son bras blessé lui fait mal.

Son bras blessé lui fait mal.
His injured arm hurts him.
From Lesson 215:The body and appearance·French

Questions & Answers about Son bras blessé lui fait mal.

Could son also mean "her" in this sentence?
Yes! In French, possessive adjectives like son, sa, and ses agree with the thing being owned, not the owner. Because bras (arm) is a masculine noun, you must use son, regardless of whether the arm belongs to a man or a woman.
Why use the pronoun lui instead of le?
The French expression for "to hurt someone" is faire mal à quelqu'un. Because it uses the preposition à, the person being hurt is an indirect object. Lui is the indirect object pronoun for both "him" and "her".
How do we know bras is singular here, since it ends in an "s"?
The noun bras naturally ends in an "s" even in its singular form. We know it is singular in this sentence because it is paired with the singular possessive adjective son. If it were plural (his arms), the sentence would use ses bras.
Why is blessé placed after the noun?
Unlike English, French usually places descriptive adjectives after the noun they modify. This is especially true for adjectives describing a physical state or condition, such as blessé (injured).

Learn Son bras blessé lui fait mal and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →