FlexiLingoIn one line
Replace possessive + noun with a single pronoun — and that pronoun always carries an article.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
le mien | mine — it replaces a masculine noun | /lə mjɛ̃/ |
la tienne | yours — it replaces a feminine noun | /la tjɛn/ |
The table
| Owner | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. pl. | Fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mine | le mien /lə mjɛ̃/ | la mienne /la mjɛn/ | les miens /le mjɛ̃/ | les miennes /le mjɛn/ |
| yours | le tien /lə tjɛ̃/ | la tienne /la tjɛn/ | les tiens /le tjɛ̃/ | les tiennes /le tjɛn/ |
| his · hers | le sien /lə sjɛ̃/ | la sienne /la sjɛn/ | les siens /le sjɛ̃/ | les siennes /le sjɛn/ |
| ours | le nôtre /lə notʁ/ | la nôtre /la notʁ/ | les nôtres /le notʁ/ | les nôtres /le notʁ/ |
| yours (pl.) | le vôtre /lə votʁ/ | la vôtre /la votʁ/ | les vôtres /le votʁ/ | les vôtres /le votʁ/ |
| theirs | le leur /lə løʁ/ | la leur /la løʁ/ | les leurs /le løʁ/ | les leurs /le løʁ/ |
The accent on
nôtreandvôtreis what separates the pronoun from the adjective:
notre maison— adjective, no accent, /nɔtʁ/la nôtre— pronoun, with accent, /notʁ/ with a closed "o"
English has one word for each of these — mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs — and French has four. Two things change:
1. It agrees with the thing owned, not the owner — exactly as the possessive adjective does.
le sienis "his" and "hers"; what decides is whether the noun was masculine. 2. It carries an article. English "mine" is one word; French is two,le mien.
How it works
Remove the noun, and the pronoun agrees with it:
| With the noun | Without it |
|---|---|
C'est mon livre. /sɛ mɔ̃ livʁ/ | C'est le mien. /sɛ lə mjɛ̃/ |
C'est ta voiture. /sɛ ta vwa.tyʁ/ | C'est la tienne. /sɛ la tjɛn/ |
Ce sont ses clés. /sə sɔ̃ se kle/ | Ce sont les siennes. /sə sɔ̃ le sjɛn/ |
The agreement is with the deleted noun, not with the owner — just as with the possessive adjective.
Contracting with à and de
| Example | |
|---|---|
à + le mien | Je pense au mien. /ʒə pɑ̃s o mjɛ̃/ |
de + le mien | Je parle du mien. /ʒə paʁl dy mjɛ̃/ |
à + les miens | aux miens /o mjɛ̃/ |
de + les miennes | des miennes /de mjɛn/ |
Its rival — à moi
In speech, être à usually replaces the possessive pronoun:
| Possessive pronoun | With à |
|---|---|
Ce livre est le mien. /sə livʁ ɛ lə mjɛ̃/ | Ce livre est à moi. /sə livʁ ɛ.t‿a mwa/ |
Cette voiture est la sienne. /sɛt vwa.tyʁ ɛ la sjɛn/ | Cette voiture est à lui. /sɛt vwa.tyʁ ɛ.t‿a lɥi/ |
à moiis more colloquial and far more common. The possessive pronoun comes into its own when there is a comparison:
Mon livre est plus vieux que le tien.— hereà toidoes not work.English has the same split without noticing it: "that's mine" and "that belongs to me" are both available, and "older than yours" allows only the first.
Fixed expressions
| Phrase | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
les miens les siens | /mjɛ̃/ · /sjɛ̃/ | my / his family and close ones |
À la vôtre ! | /a la votʁ/ | cheers! |
y mettre du sien | /i mɛtʁ dy sjɛ̃/ | to do one's bit |
faire des siennes | /fɛʁ de sjɛn/ | to be up to one's old tricks |
Il a encore fait des siennes.— he's been at it again
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| It's mine. | C'est le mien. | /sɛ lə mjɛ̃/ |
| It's yours. | C'est la tienne. | /sɛ la tjɛn/ |
| Mine are here. | Les miennes sont ici. | /le mjɛn sɔ̃.t‿i.si/ |
| My book is older than yours. | Mon livre est plus vieux que le tien. | /mɔ̃ li.vʁ‿ɛ ply vjø kə lə tjɛ̃/ |
| Ours is bigger. | Le nôtre est plus grand. | /lə no.tʁ‿ɛ ply ɡʁɑ̃/ |
| I'm thinking about mine. | Je pense au mien. | /ʒə pɑ̃s o mjɛ̃/ |
| Cheers! | À la vôtre ! | /a la votʁ/ |
| This is mine. | C'est à moi. | /sɛ.t‿a mwa/ |
| My family. | Les miens. | /le mjɛ̃/ |
| Theirs is more expensive. | Le leur est plus cher. | /lə lœ.ʁ‿ɛ ply ʃɛʁ/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
C'est mien. | C'est le mien. | The article is compulsory |
la notre | la nôtre | The pronoun takes the accent |
le mienne | la mienne | Agreement with the noun |
Je pense à le mien. | Je pense au mien. | The contraction is compulsory |
C'est le sien for "theirs" | C'est le leur. | sien is singular |
les miens for a feminine noun | les miennes | Agreement |
Why the article is compulsory
because the pronoun has to be definite
A possessive pronoun stands in for a definite noun phrase:
mon livre— one particular book, because the possessive is itself a determiner
So its replacement must be definite too — and in French definiteness is shown by an article.
English does not need this because mine, yours, hers are self-contained forms with the definiteness built in. They are historically the same words as my, your, her with an old ending fused on — which is why they need nothing else. French built its version out of two pieces instead of one, and both pieces have to be there.
And French has a third route as well, the one English lacks a single word for: à moi — literally "to me". The two divide the labour:
| Where | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|
le mien | written, comparative | /lə mjɛ̃/ |
à moi | spoken, declarative | /a mwa/ |
Both are correct in a written exam, but le mien shows a higher level — provided you get the agreement right.