Building a strong foundation in French starts with mastering the small but essential words: articles, pronouns, possessive adjectives, demonstratives, and question words. This guide provides a clear French–English reference for these daily-use terms.
Articles (The / A / An)
- a → un, une
- an → un, une (used before a vowel sound in English, but in French it's still un/une)
- the → le, la, l', les
- some / any → des, du, de la, de l' (context dependent)
Note: French uses definite and indefinite articles much more frequently than English.
Demonstratives (This / That / These / Those)
- this / that → ce (masculine), cet (masculine before vowel), cette (feminine)
- these → ces (masculine/feminine plural), ceux-ci / celles-ci (emphatic)
- those → ces, ceux-là / celles-là
Example: ce livre (this/that book), cette maison (this/that house), ces enfants (these/those children).
Possessive Adjectives (My / Your / His / Her / Our / Their)
- my → mon, ma, mes
- your (singular informal) → ton, ta, tes
- his / her / its → son, sa, ses
- our → notre, nos
- your (plural/formal) → votre, vos
- their → leur, leurs
Important: son, sa, ses can mean 'his', 'her', or 'its' depending on context.
Possessive Pronouns (Mine / Yours / His / Hers / Ours / Theirs)
- his → le sien, la sienne, les siens, les siennes
- hers → le sien, la sienne, etc. (same as 'his')
- Others: le mien (mine), le tien (yours), le nôtre (ours), le vôtre (yours), le leur (theirs)
Subject Pronouns (I / You / He / She / It / We / They)
- I → je (j' before vowel)
- you (singular informal) → tu
- he → il
- she → elle
- it → il (masculine object), elle (feminine object), ce (impersonal)
- we → nous
- they (masculine/mixed) → ils
- they (feminine) → elles
- they (emphatic) → eux (masculine), elles (feminine)
Object Pronouns (Me / You / Him / Her / Us / Them)
- me → me (m' before vowel)
- you → te (t' before vowel) – singular informal; vous for plural/formal
- him → le (l' before vowel)
- her → la (l' before vowel)
- us → nous
- them → les (for direct objects); leur (for indirect objects)
Note: The image shows him = son, sa (possessive) and them = leur (indirect object/possessive plural), but careful distinction is needed between possessive and object pronouns.
Question Words
- how → comment
- what → quoi (after prepositions or informally), que (before a verb or in formal French), qu'est-ce que
- when → quand
- where → où
- why → pourquoi
- which → quel, quelle, quels, quelles
Important Distinctions & Examples
- a / an / one → un (masculine), une (feminine)
- any → tout / toute / tous / toutes (any = all), or n'importe lequel (any one)
- certain → certain / certaine / certains / certaines
- each / every → chaque, tous les + noun
- some → certain(e)(s) (specific but unnamed), or du / de la / de l' / des (partitive)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing possessive adjectives (son, sa, ses) with subject or object pronouns.
- Using ce only for masculine singular – remember cet before vowels and cette for feminine.
- Forgetting that French has two words for 'you': tu (informal singular) and vous (plural or formal).
- Using quoi instead of que in formal questions (e.g., Que veux-tu ? not Quoi veux-tu ?).
Practice Exercise
Translate into French:
- I see her. → Je ___ vois.
- This is my book. → ___ est ___ livre.
- Where is the school? → ___ est ___ école ?
- He gives them (to them) the keys. → Il ___ donne les clés.
Final Thoughts
These small words are the glue of French sentences. Memorizing them as pairs (French–English) and practicing in context will dramatically improve your reading, writing, and speaking. Focus on one category at a time – start with subject pronouns, then possessive adjectives, then question words – and practice daily.