What these pronouns do
A possessive pronoun replaces a possessive and its noun together: mon vélo → le mien. It is French for mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. If a noun follows, use the determiner (mon vélo); if not, the pronoun.
English mine never changes, whatever you own. French has four forms for each owner and always adds a definite article.
Ton vélo est neuf, le mien est vieux.
Your bike is new, mine is old.
J'ai oublié mes clés, tu me prêtes les tiennes ?
I've forgotten my keys, will you lend me yours?
Ce n'est pas ma place, c'est la sienne.
That's not my seat, it's hers.
The forms
Two things decide the form: who owns it (this picks the stem) and what is owned (this picks the article and ending).
All the forms at a glance
| Owner | masc. sg. | fem. sg. | masc. pl. | fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| tu | le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| il / elle | le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| nous | le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| vous | le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| ils / elles | le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
Owner (rows) and noun owned (columns)
For nous, vous and ils / elles there is only one singular and one plural form. Only the article shows gender: le nôtre, la nôtre.
Watch the accent: the determiner notre / votre has none, the pronoun le nôtre / le vôtre has a circumflex and a closed o.
notre maison
our house (determiner)
la nôtre
ours (pronoun)
Agreement with the thing owned, not the owner
Article and ending follow the thing, not the person who owns it. English marks the owner (his against hers) and ignores the thing; French does the opposite. So le sien means both his and hers, and only context tells you which.
Ce parapluie ? C'est le sien.
This umbrella? It's his or hers.
Cette écharpe ? C'est la sienne.
This scarf? It's his or hers.
The article merges with à and de
The article merges with à and de as usual: à + le → au, à + les → aux, de + le → du, de + les → des. With la nothing merges: à la mienne.
Mon projet ressemble beaucoup au tien.
My project is a lot like yours.
Je m'occupe de mes affaires, pas des vôtres.
I mind my own business, not yours.
The alternative with à moi
To say only who something belongs to, people mostly use être à + a stressed pronoun. You need the possessive pronoun when you compare two owners.
Ce manteau est à moi.
This coat is mine.
C'est à qui, ce sac ? À elle.
Whose bag is this? Hers.
Ton appartement est clair, le mien est sombre.
Your flat is bright, mine is dark.
J'ai fini mon travail, elle a fini le sien.
I've finished my work, she's finished hers.
