Family, Friends and Relationships - Vocabulary and Possessives
Talk about the people in your life in French. Learn the words for family and friends, each with its article, and master the little words for my and your: mon, ma, mes.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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The people in your life
To talk about the people in your life in French, you need two things: the vocabulary for family and friends, and the little words for my and your, the possessive determiners. This module gives you both. Each French word is shown with its article, so you learn its gender as well.
Words for the family
Learn each word WITH its article, so you know if it is masculine or feminine:
le or la
Every French noun is masculine or feminine, and the article tells you which.
Match each word to its meaning
- le père
- la mère
- le frère
- la sœur
- father
- mother
- brother
- sister
The French word for sister
Which French word means sister?
- la sœur
- la mère
- la fille
- la femme
Saying my in French
To say my in French, the word changes to match the noun. Use mon before a masculine noun (mon père), ma before a feminine noun (ma mère), and mes before any plural (mes parents). One trick: use mon before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel, so it is mon amie, not ma amie.
Match each possessive
- mon
- ma
- mes
- Used before a masculine noun, like mon père
- Used before a feminine noun, like ma mère
- Used before any plural noun, like mes parents
Correct or not?
Select the TWO correct ways to say my in French.
- mon père
- mes parents
- ma père
- mon mère
Oldest to youngest
Put these family members in order, from the oldest generation to the youngest.
- les grands-parents, the grandparents
- les parents, the parents
- moi, me
- ma petite sœur, my little sister
Say it in French
My father is _____ père. My mother is _____ mère. My parents are _____ parents. Your father is _____ père. Your parents are _____ parents.
French possessives follow the noun
French possessives change with the noun they describe, not with the person who owns it. That is the opposite of how English works: - J'aime mon frère et ma sœur = "I like my brother and my sister". frère is masculine so it takes mon; sœur is feminine so it takes ma. The same word "my" in English, two different words in French. - Mon père est grand et ma mère est petite = "my father is tall and my mother is short". The same mon and ma, and the describing word changes too: grand for the masculine père, petite for the feminine mère.
French possessives agree with the noun
French possessives agree with the noun. Which of these says "I like my brother and my sister"?
- J'aime mon frère et ma sœur
- J'aime ma frère et mon sœur
- J'aime mon frère et mon sœur
- Mon père est grand et ma mère est petite
French possessives
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- mon is used before a masculine noun, like mon père.
- mes is used before any plural noun, like mes parents.
- ma is used before a masculine noun.
- la sœur means brother.
- French uses the same word for my before every noun.
Choose my
Choose the right French word for my. Choose each time.
- You want to say my brother. The word frère is masculine. Which word do you use?
- You want to say my sister. The word sœur is feminine. Which word do you use?
- You want to say my grandparents. The word grands-parents is plural. Which word do you use?
Explain my
In English, explain how the French word for my changes depending on the noun, and give an example of each form. This is written in English and is not auto-marked.
- Explain when to use mon
- Explain when to use ma
- Explain when to use mes
- Give a French example of each, with its English meaning