How people celebrate: 'son, sa, ses' meaning 'his', 'her', 'your (in general)' | French

Starter quiz

Match the French and English.
- le frère
  
  ⇔
  
  the brother ✓
- la sœur
  
  ⇔
  
  the sister ✓
- l'amie
  
  ⇔
  
  the friend ✓
- le chien
  
  ⇔
  
  the dog ✓
- la famille
  
  ⇔
  
  the family ✓
- l'animal
  
  ⇔
  
  the animal ✓
Match the French and English.
- la fête
  
  ⇔
  
  the party, celebration ✓
- les vacances
  
  ⇔
  
  holidays ✓
- le cadeau
  
  ⇔
  
  the present ✓
- la maison
  
  ⇔
  
  the house ✓
Which words are adjectives?
- bonne ✓
- bâtiment
- jardin
- nouvelle ✓
Put the first six months of the year in order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  janvier
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  février
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  mars
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  avril
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  mai
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  juin
Which word is missing in this date? '______ cinq mai'
- 'le' ✓
Write in French: 'the first of January'.
- 'le premier janvier' ✓

Exit quiz

Put the last six months of the year in the correct order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  juillet
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  aout
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  septembre
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  octobre
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  novembre
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  décembre
Match the French and English.
- organiser
  
  ⇔
  
  to organise, organsing ✓
- chacun
  
  ⇔
  
  each person ✓
- général
  
  ⇔
  
  general ✓
- anniversaire
  
  ⇔
  
  birthday ✓
What types of words are: 'son', 'sa', 'ses', 'mon', 'ma', 'mes'?
- 'possessive adjectives' ✓
In which of these sentences does 'son, sa, ses' mean 'your' or 'their'?
- On célèbre son anniversaire chaque année. ✓
- Il a ses amis à la maison.
- Chacun a son jour préféré. ✓
- J'aime beaucoup sa voiture.
Match the correct possessive adjective to each noun.
- mon
  
  ⇔
  
  amie (my) ✓
- son
  
  ⇔
  
  cadeau (his) ✓
- mes
  
  ⇔
  
  sacs (my) ✓
- sa
  
  ⇔
  
  voiture (her) ✓
- ses
  
  ⇔
  
  vêtements (his) ✓
- ma
  
  ⇔
  
  sœur (my) ✓
Write in French: 'His garden and her church'.
- 'Son jardin et son église.' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The SSC [om] is the same sound as [on], like in 'non' and 'nom'.
When this sound appears in front of the letters -p or -b, it is spelled with [om] instead of [on].
To say 'his', 'her' we use the possessive adjectives 'son' (masculine) 'sa' (feminine) or 'ses' (plural).
Possessive adjectives agree with the noun that follows so we often need context to identify the 'possessor'.
'Son', 'sa' 'ses' can also mean 'your' or 'their' when talking about things belonging to people in general.

Common misconception

The possessive adjective 'son, sa, ses' matches the person who owns the noun that follows. So 'his' is 'son, 'her' is 'sa' and 'their' is 'ses'.

In French, the possessive pronoun matches the noun that follows it, not the person to whom the object belongs. This is why sometimes you cannot tell whether the owner is male or female because the words for 'his' and 'her' are the same in French.

Keywords

[om] - SSC like the [om] sound in 'nom' which means 'name'
[on] - SSC like the [on] in 'non' which means 'no'
Possessive adjective - a word that goes before a noun to show ownership or belonging
Son, sa, ses - possessive adjectives for 'his, her' and 'your, their' (in general)