Possessives and family

One sound, four spellings

In the present tense of -er verbs, four of six forms sound exactly the same:

The endings -e, -es and -ent are pure spelling. The -ent of the verb is never pronounced: ils parlent /il paʁl/, elles mangent /ɛl mɑ̃ʒ/, ils arrivent /il.za.ʁiv/. Think of German sie sprechen minus the -en: just the stem.

So in speech you hear the difference between il and ils only through liaison before a vowel: il aime /i.lɛm/ vs ils aiment /il.zɛm/.

Trap: -ent is silent only in verbs. In nouns, adjectives and adverbs it is a nasal /ɑ̃/: le moment /mɔ.mɑ̃/, souvent /su.vɑ̃/, important /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃/, le président /pʁe.zi.dɑ̃/. Context tells you: ils président (they preside) /pʁe.zid/ vs le président /pʁe.zi.dɑ̃/.

-er, -ez, -é: all [e]

The infinitive -er, the vous form -ez and the participle -é / -ée / -és / -ées all sound /e/, like the closed e in German See or Tee, but short and without the English glide (not say):

• parler /paʁ.le/, vous parlez /paʁ.le/, parlé /paʁ.le/
• préparer, vous préparez, préparé: all /pʁe.pa.ʁe/
• Also et /e/ (and), les, mes, tes, ses, ces /le, me, te, se, se/

The final r of -er verbs is silent. But in short words like mer, fer, hier, cher it is pronounced and the vowel is open /ɛʁ/: la mer /mɛʁ/, hier /jɛʁ/.

Practise

Read aloud and notice that each pair sounds the same:

• Il chante. / Ils chantent.
• Préparer / préparé / préparez
• Elle joue. / Elles jouent.

Tip for reading: since writing shows more than speech, French texts are easier to understand than French people talking. When listening, rely on the subject (nous, vous) and on liaison, not on the verb ending.

The full table

• mon frère, ma sœur, mes parents (my brother, my sister, my parents)
• notre maison, nos enfants (our house, our children)
• leur fils, leurs filles (their son, their daughters)

The key rule: agree with the THING, not the owner

This is the big difference from German and English. In German you choose sein or ihr according to the owner. In French, son / sa / ses agree with the thing owned; the owner's gender plays no role.

• Paul aime sa mère. Paul loves his mother.
• Marie aime sa mère. Marie loves her mother.
• Marie aime son père. Marie loves her father.
• Paul parle de ses enfants. Paul talks about his children.

So son livre can mean his book or her book (sein Buch or ihr Buch). Usually the context makes it clear. If not, add à lui / à elle: C'est son livre à elle. (It's her book.)

mon, ton, son before a feminine vowel

Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel or silent h, use mon / ton / son instead of ma / ta / sa. French hates the vowel clash ma amie:

• mon amie (my friend, female), ton école (your school), son histoire (his / her story), mon idée (my idea)
• But: ma meilleure amie (an adjective with a consonant comes first, so ma again)

In speech mon amie and mon ami sound identical: /mɔ̃.na.mi/.

Liaison

The plural forms link to a following vowel: mes amis /me.za.mi/, nos enfants /no.zɑ̃.fɑ̃/, leurs enfants /lœʁ.zɑ̃.fɑ̃/, son ami /sɔ̃.na.mi/.

leur or leurs?

leur = one thing for several owners, leurs = several things: Les Martin vendent leur maison (one house), Ils appellent leurs parents (two parents).

Don't confuse this with the pronoun leur (= to them), which never takes -s: Je leur parle. (I talk to them.)

Body parts: the article, not the possessive

When it is obvious whose body it is, French uses le / la / les, like German Ich wasche mir die Hände:

• J'ai mal au dos. My back hurts. (not à mon dos)
• Il lève la main. He raises his hand.
• Elle a les yeux bleus. She has blue eyes.

Saying whose it is: être à

• C'est à moi. It's mine. C'est à qui ? Whose is it?
• Ce sac est à ma sœur. This bag is my sister's. (French has no 's: say le sac de ma sœur.)
• la voiture de mon père = my father's car (Vaters Auto)

Formal vs informal

votre / vos goes with vous (polite or plural), ton / ta / tes with tu: Comment va votre mère, Madame ? vs Comment va ta mère ?

The rule

French nouns in -ence and -ance usually exist in English in the same form, and in German often as -enz or -anz. They are almost all feminine: la différence, la distance.

They often come from an adjective in -ent / -ant: différent → la différence, important → l'importance, indépendant → l'indépendance.

• Quelle est la différence ? What's the difference?
• La conférence commence à dix heures. The conference starts at ten.

Traps

• la chance = luck (Glück), not mainly chance: Bonne chance ! Good luck!
• la correspondance = also the connection between trains or metro lines: J'ai une correspondance à Lyon.
• la résidence = often a housing complex or student residence (une résidence universitaire).
• l'expérience = experience and experiment.
• la licence = a bachelor's degree (or a licence).
• Gender trap: le silence is masculine.