French Grammar in Context

(lu) #1
Possessives 95

b The possessive adjective normally occurs before each noun to which it applies, e.g. Ils perdent
leur confiance ils perdent leur lumière(line 6). It would have been necessary to use leurbefore
lumièreeven if there had been no second occurrence of perdent, thus: Ils perdent leur confiance
et leur lumière.


c The forms of the possessive adjectives are:


1st person masc. mon(= my) notre(= our)
fem. ma notre
plural mes nos
2nd person masc. ton(= your) votre(= your)
fem. ta votre
plural tes vos
3rd person masc. son(= his, her, its) leur(= their)
fem. sa leur
plural ses leurs

2 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

a The possessive pronoun stands in the place of a noun and agrees with the noun to which it
refers, e.g. la tienne(line 16) referring to vie(line 15).


b The forms of the possessive pronouns are:


1st person masc. sing. le mien le nôtre
fem. sing. la mienne la nôtre
masc. pl. les miens les nôtres
fem. pl. les miennes les nôtres
2nd person masc. sing. le tien le vôtre
fem. sing. la tienne la vôtre
masc. pl. les tiens les vôtres
fem. pl. les tiennes les vôtres
3rd person masc. sing. le sien le leur
fem. sing. la sienne la leur
masc. pl. les siens les leurs
fem. pl. les siennes les leurs

c The definite article forms part of the possessive pronoun and must always be present. The
normal contracted form of the article will be used with the prepositions àor de.
e.g. au tien(line 20)

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