Latest / Learn French with Fexingo / French Possessives - Son, Sa, Ses (Ep. 105)
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, ready for another little French lesson? Luna: Yeah! I've been practicing my possessives from last time — mon, ma, mes — and I feel pretty good about those. Lucas: That's great. Today we're going to build on that with son, sa, and ses — they mean 'his', 'her', or 'its' depending on context. Luna: Oh, like when you're talking about someone else's stuff? Lucas: Exactly. And if Fexingo has been helping you make progress with French, listeners might consider supporting us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps the show ad-free and helps us keep making episodes like this. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps. So, son, sa, ses — same pattern as mon, ma, mes? Lucas: Right. Son for masculine nouns, sa for feminine nouns, and ses for plural nouns. Let's start with a simple one: son chat — his cat. Luna: Son chat. So if the cat is masculine, it's son chat — even if the owner is a woman? Lucas: Exactly. The gender of the owner doesn't matter. It's the noun that decides. So let's say: C'est son chat. That's his cat or her cat. Luna: C'est son chat. Got it. What about a feminine noun like maison? Lucas: That would be sa maison — his house or her house. C'est sa maison. Luna: C'est sa maison. Okay, and for plural, like livres? Lucas: Ce sont ses livres — these are his books or her books. Luna: Ce sont ses livres. So ses works for both masculine and feminine plurals? Lucas: Yes, always ses for plural. Let's practice with a little story. Imagine you're at a park and you see a cat. You say: C'est son chat. Luna: C'est son chat. The cat belongs to someone. Lucas: Then you see a house nearby: C'est sa maison. Luna: C'est sa maison. And maybe there are books on the porch: Ce sont ses livres. Lucas: Perfect. Now let's mix it up. If I say 'C'est son stylo', what does that mean? Luna: That's his pen — or her pen. Stylo is masculine, so son. Lucas: Right. And 'C'est sa chaise'? Luna: That's his chair or her chair — chaise is feminine, so sa. Lucas: Good. Now, let's try a sentence with all three. 'Son chat est sur sa chaise avec ses livres.' Luna: Whoa. That's 'his cat is on his chair with his books'? Lucas: Exactly. Son chat, sa chaise, ses livres. You can use them together like that. Luna: Son chat est sur sa chaise avec ses livres. I love that! It's like a little scene. Lucas: Exactly. And remember, if you're not sure about the gender, you can always use ses for plurals. So let's repeat: C'est son chat. Luna: C'est son chat. Lucas: C'est sa maison. Luna: C'est sa maison. Lucas: Ce sont ses livres. Luna: Ce sont ses livres. I think I've got it. But can you give me one more example where the owner is clearly a man or a woman? Lucas: Sure. 'Marie a un chat. C'est son chat.' Even though Marie is a woman, we say son chat because chat is masculine. Luna: Right, the owner doesn't change it. So 'Paul a une maison. C'est sa maison' — Paul's house, but sa because maison is feminine. Lucas: Exactly. You've got it. Let's do a quick review: son, sa, ses — what do they mean? Luna: Son for masculine nouns, sa for feminine, ses for plural — all meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'. Lucas: Perfect. And if you want to practice more, just think of things around you. Your friend's phone — son téléphone — your friend's bag — son sac — your friend's keys — ses clés. Luna: That's a great tip. I'll do that. Thanks Lucas! Lucas: You're welcome, Luna. And to all our listeners, keep practicing those possessives, and we'll see you next time on Learn French with Fexingo. Luna: See you next time!