Answers
Feb 04, 2021 - 12:36 PM
The possessive pronoun agrees with the word it modifies. So in the second sentence, even though the subject of the sentence is female, the "friend" is masculine. Thus, son ami.
Feb 10, 2021 - 01:47 AM
You're right James!
Unlike in English, in French possessives don't tell you if the "owner" is a man or a woman. They agree in gender and number with the person or object "possessed", so:
His colleague can be either: Son collègue if the colleague is a man, or Sa collègue if the colleague is a woman
His colleagues would be Ses collègues.
And her colleague can also be either: Son collègue if the colleague is a man, or Sa collègue if the colleague is a woman
Her colleagues would also be Ses collègues.
For "ami(e)" though, the possessive is always "son" since it starts with a vowel, so:
His or Her friend = Son ami
His or Her friend(f) = Son amie
His or Her friends = Ses amis
His or Her friends(f) = Ses amies
I know it can be confusing because it's reversed compared to English, and also because we always use "son" before words starting with vowels...so keep it up!
Hope it helps!
Unlike in English, in French possessives don't tell you if the "owner" is a man or a woman. They agree in gender and number with the person or object "possessed", so:
His colleague can be either: Son collègue if the colleague is a man, or Sa collègue if the colleague is a woman
His colleagues would be Ses collègues.
And her colleague can also be either: Son collègue if the colleague is a man, or Sa collègue if the colleague is a woman
Her colleagues would also be Ses collègues.
For "ami(e)" though, the possessive is always "son" since it starts with a vowel, so:
His or Her friend = Son ami
His or Her friend(f) = Son amie
His or Her friends = Ses amis
His or Her friends(f) = Ses amies
I know it can be confusing because it's reversed compared to English, and also because we always use "son" before words starting with vowels...so keep it up!
Hope it helps!
