Latest / Learn French with Fexingo / French Possessives – Leur, Leurs
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey, Luna, welcome back to Learn French with Fexingo. Luna: Hey Lucas! Ready to dive in again. What are we learning today? Lucas: So we've covered mon, ma, mes, ton, ta, tes, son, sa, ses, notre, vos, leurs... but we still have one more possessive set to go. Luna: Oh right! I remember we did 'leur' and 'leurs' briefly in the last episode. But I want to really nail them. Lucas: Perfect. So 'leur' means 'their' for singular nouns, and 'leurs' for plural nouns. Let's start with 'leur'. Luna: Okay, leur. Like 'their book'? Lucas: Exactly. So 'C'est leur livre.' That's 'This is their book.' Say it with me: C'est leur livre. Luna: C'est leur livre. Lucas: Good. Notice 'leur' doesn't change with gender. It's the same for masculine and feminine singular. Luna: Oh, that's nice. So 'their house' would be 'C'est leur maison'? Lucas: Yes. C'est leur maison. Try it. Luna: C'est leur maison. Lucas: Great. Now for plural nouns, we use 'leurs'. So 'their books' is 'Ce sont leurs livres.' Repeat after me: Ce sont leurs livres. Luna: Ce sont leurs livres. Lucas: And 'their keys' is 'Ce sont leurs clés.' Say it. Luna: Ce sont leurs clés. Lucas: Excellent. So let's practice a bit. Imagine you're talking about your friends Pierre and Marie. You say 'C'est leur chat.' What does that mean? Luna: That's their cat. Lucas: Right. And if they have multiple cats? Luna: Ce sont leurs chats. Lucas: Perfect. You're getting it. Luna: So 'leur' is for one thing, 'leurs' for many. Simple. Lucas: Exactly. And it's always before the noun. No exceptions. Luna: I like that. No gender changes to worry about. Lucas: Let's do a quick drill. I'll say an English phrase, you say it in French. 'Their car.' Luna: Leur voiture. Lucas: Their cars. Luna: Leurs voitures. Lucas: Their friend. Luna: Leur ami. Lucas: Their friends. Luna: Leurs amis. Lucas: Nice. You've got it. Luna: It's actually pretty easy. So 'leur' never changes, and 'leurs' always has an 's'. Lucas: Right. And remember, it's 'leurs' only when the noun is plural. Not when the owners are plural. Luna: Ah, that's an important distinction. So 'their' is always 'leur' or 'leurs' depending on the object. Lucas: Exactly. Now let's use it in a little story. Imagine you're at a park and you see a couple with a dog. You say 'C'est leur chien.' Luna: That's their dog. Lucas: Then you see they also have two kids. Luna: Ce sont leurs enfants. Lucas: Perfect. And then you see their bicycles nearby. Luna: Ce sont leurs vélos. Lucas: You're a natural. So we've covered the last possessive set. How do you feel about all of them now? Luna: Better. I think with practice, they'll stick. Especially 'leur' and 'leurs' because they're so straightforward. Lucas: Yeah. And you know, if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with French, and today's lesson was worth a coffee to you, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Absolutely. Every little bit helps us keep making these episodes ad-free. And it really makes a difference. Lucas: So let's do one more round of practice. I'll say a sentence in English, you translate to French. 'This is their garden.' Luna: C'est leur jardin. Lucas: These are their gardens. Luna: Ce sont leurs jardins. Lucas: Great. And just to be thorough, what's 'their idea'? Luna: Leur idée. Lucas: And 'their ideas'? Luna: Leurs idées. Lucas: Beautiful. You're ready to use 'leur' and 'leurs' in conversation. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. This was really helpful. Lucas: You're welcome. Keep practicing, and we'll see you next time on Learn French with Fexingo. Luna: Bye bye!