Latest / Learn French with Fexingo / French Possessives Basics - Mon, Ma, Mes
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey everyone, welcome back to Learn French with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Episode 102, can you believe it? Lucas: I know, it's flown by. Today, we're tackling something super useful: possessive adjectives. You know, how to say 'my' in French. Luna: Oh yes, I've been waiting for this. Because I keep wanting to say 'my book' and I just point at it. Lucas: Well, no more pointing. So in French, 'my' changes depending on the gender and number of the thing you own. Let's start with 'mon'. Luna: 'Mon.' That's for masculine things, right? Lucas: Exactly. 'Mon' is used before masculine singular nouns. For example, 'mon livre' — my book. 'Livre' is masculine. Listen: mon livre. Luna: Mon livre. Lucas: Perfect. So if you say 'C'est mon livre', that means 'This is my book'. Luna: C'est mon livre. That feels good to say. Lucas: Now, for feminine singular nouns, we use 'ma'. Like 'ma maison' — my house. 'Maison' is feminine. Listen: ma maison. Luna: Ma maison. Lucas: And a full sentence: 'C'est ma maison'. Luna: C'est ma maison. So if I own a house, I say that. Lucas: Exactly. Now, what if you have more than one thing? For plural nouns, regardless of gender, we use 'mes'. Like 'mes clés' — my keys. Listen: mes clés. Luna: Mes clés. Lucas: And in a sentence: 'Ce sont mes clés'. Luna: Ce sont mes clés. Okay, so mon for masculine, ma for feminine, mes for plural. Got it. Lucas: But here's a little twist. If a feminine word starts with a vowel or a silent 'h', we use 'mon' instead of 'ma' for easier pronunciation. For example, 'mon amie' — my friend. 'Amie' is feminine but starts with a vowel, so it's 'mon amie'. Luna: Oh, so it's like a rule to avoid two vowels bumping into each other. Lucas: Exactly. So you'd say 'mon amie', not 'ma amie'. Luna: Mon amie. That makes sense. So now I can say 'C'est mon amie'. Lucas: Yes! Let's practice a few. I'll describe something, and you say the correct possessive. Ready? Luna: Ready. Lucas: You own a book. 'Livre' is masculine. How do you say 'my book'? Luna: Mon livre. Lucas: Nice. You own a bag. 'Sac' is masculine. 'My bag'? Luna: Mon sac. Lucas: Great. You own a house. 'Maison' feminine. 'My house'? Luna: Ma maison. Lucas: You own keys. Plural. 'My keys'? Luna: Mes clés. Lucas: Excellent. Now, let's put it in a little scene. Imagine we're at a market. Luna: Oh, I love market scenes. Lucas: So I see you have a beautiful scarf. In French, 'écharpe' is feminine. I say, 'C'est ton écharpe?' and you answer, 'Oui, c'est mon écharpe.' Luna: Wait, you said 'ton'? That's 'your', right? Lucas: Exactly. But for now, focus on 'mon'. So you answer: 'Oui, c'est mon écharpe.' Luna: Oui, c'est mon écharpe. But isn't 'écharpe' feminine? Shouldn't it be 'ma'? Lucas: Great catch. But 'écharpe' starts with a vowel sound, so we use 'mon'. So it's 'mon écharpe'. Luna: Right, the vowel rule. So 'mon écharpe'. Got it. Lucas: Then I say, 'Elle est jolie.' And you say, 'Merci! C'est mon écharpe préférée.' Luna: Merci! C'est mon écharpe préférée. Lucas: Perfect. Now, we've been using a lot of examples. Let's do a quick review. Repeat after me: mon. Luna: Mon. Lucas: Ma. Luna: Ma. Lucas: Mes. Luna: Mes. Lucas: C'est mon livre. Luna: C'est mon livre. Lucas: C'est ma maison. Luna: C'est ma maison. Lucas: Ce sont mes clés. Luna: Ce sont mes clés. Lucas: You know, if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with your French, we'd love it if you could support the show. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. You can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And it helps us keep making episodes like this one. Lucas: Exactly. So now, let's practice one more sentence. Imagine you have a new phone. 'Téléphone' is masculine. So 'my new phone' is 'mon nouveau téléphone'. Luna: Mon nouveau téléphone. And if I want to say 'This is my new phone'? Lucas: That would be 'C'est mon nouveau téléphone'. Luna: C'est mon nouveau téléphone. Lucas: And if you have new keys, plural? Luna: Ce sont mes nouvelles clés. Lucas: Perfect. 'Nouvelles' agrees with 'clés' feminine plural. You're a natural. Luna: Thanks! I think I'm getting the hang of it. So to wrap up, we've got mon for masculine singular, ma for feminine singular, mes for plural, and the vowel trick. Lucas: That's it. Keep practicing by pointing to things around you and saying 'mon', 'ma', or 'mes'. And we'll be back with more. Thanks for listening to Learn French with Fexingo. Luna: See you next time!