les pronoms possessifs

forms and uses

A possessive pronoun replaces a noun preceded by a possessive determiner like mon, ton, son, etc.

In French, possessive pronouns indicate both the possessor and the number and the gender of the object possessed: le mien indicates that the possessor is 'I' and that the possession is masculine singular.

In the following table, the choice between the singular or plural form and between the masculine or feminine form  depends on the number and gender of the item possessed. (Note the difference in spelling and in pronunciation between the possessive determiners notre and votre and the possessive pronouns nôtre and vôtre.) 

Depending on the context, le sien, la sienne, les siens, les siennes may mean 'his', 'hers', or 'its'. Note that for the others, all four forms of each possessive pronoun have one English translation.

Note that à + the definite articles le et les form the contractions au and aux respectively. For example: 

Note that à + the definite articles le et les form the contractions au and aux respectively. For example: 

other ways of expressing possession

Possessive pronouns are one way to express possession of things or people. However, you may also use the construction [être + à + disjunctive pronoun], the possessive determiners or [de + noun]: 

The masculine plural forms of the possessive pronouns may be used alone to refer to parents, friends, allies etc. Être des nôtres, être des vôtres are common phrases with such a meaning of the possessive pronoun.