Possessive & Demonstrative Pronouns in French: A2 flashcards

Question 1

Rule: What does a possessive pronoun replace?

Accepted Answer

A possessive adjective + noun, to avoid repeating the noun.
Ton sac est bleu, mon sac est noir. → Ton sac est bleu, le mien est noir. (Your bag is blue, my bag is black. → Your bag is blue, mine is black.)

Question 2

Rule: What are the possessive pronouns for “mine”, “yours” (informal) and “his / hers”?

Accepted Answer

le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes (mine) / le tien, la tienne, les tiens, les tiennes (yours) / le sien, la sienne, les siens, les siennes (his / hers)

Question 3

Rule: What are the possessive pronouns for “ours”, “yours” (formal or plural) and “theirs”?

Accepted Answer

le nôtre, la nôtre, les nôtres (ours) / le vôtre, la vôtre, les vôtres (yours) / le leur, la leur, les leurs (theirs)

Question 4

Rule: Does a possessive pronoun agree with the owner or with the thing owned?

Accepted Answer

With the thing owned, like « mon, ma, mes » (my).
Paul a sa clé. → Paul a la sienne. (Paul has his key. → Paul has his.)
Marie a son sac. → Marie a le sien. (Marie has her bag. → Marie has hers.)

Question 5

Replace with a possessive pronoun: C'est mon parapluie.

Accepted Answer

C'est le mien. / (It's my umbrella. → It's mine.)

Question 6

Replace with a possessive pronoun: Ce sont tes chaussures ?

Accepted Answer

Ce sont les tiennes ? / (Are these your shoes? → Are they yours?)

Question 7

Replace with a possessive pronoun: C'est sa valise.

Accepted Answer

C'est la sienne. / (It's his suitcase. → It's his.)

Question 8

Replace with a possessive pronoun: Ce sont nos billets.

Accepted Answer

Ce sont les nôtres. / (They're our tickets. → They're ours.)

Question 9

Replace with a possessive pronoun: C'est votre voiture ?

Accepted Answer

C'est la vôtre ? / (Is it your car? → Is it yours?)

Question 10

Replace with a possessive pronoun: Ce sont leurs enfants.

Accepted Answer

Ce sont les leurs. / (They're their children. → They're theirs.)

Question 11

Avoid repeating the noun: Ma chambre est grande, mais ta chambre est petite.

Accepted Answer

Ma chambre est grande, mais la tienne est petite. / (My room is big, but your room is small. → My room is big, but yours is small.)

Question 12

Avoid repeating the noun: Mon téléphone ne marche pas. Je peux prendre ton téléphone ?

Accepted Answer

Mon téléphone ne marche pas. Je peux prendre le tien ? / (My phone isn't working. Can I use your phone? → My phone isn't working. Can I use yours?)

Question 13

Rule: How else can you say who something belongs to?

Accepted Answer

être à (to belong to) + stressed pronoun or name. / À qui est cette veste ? Elle est à moi. (Whose jacket is this? It's mine.) / Ces livres sont à Julie. (These books are Julie's.)

Question 14

Answer (it's mine): À qui est ce livre ?

Accepted Answer

Il est à moi. / C'est à moi.

Question 15

Answer (they're Paul's): À qui sont ces clés ?

Accepted Answer

Elles sont à Paul.

Question 16

Answer (it's ours): À qui est cette maison ?

Accepted Answer

Elle est à nous. / C'est à nous. / C'est la nôtre.

Question 17

Rule: What are the demonstrative pronouns?

Accepted Answer

celui (masculine), celle (feminine), ceux (masculine plural), celles (feminine plural): “the one”, “the ones”.
They replace « ce, cette, ces » (this, that, these, those) + noun, and are never used alone. In this deck, they are followed by:
-ci or -là: celle-ci (this one), ceux-là (those ones)
de + a noun, to say whose it is: celui de Marc (Marc's)

Question 18

Rule: What do « -ci » and « -là » add to a demonstrative pronoun?

Accepted Answer

They point: « -ci » for the closer one (this one), « -là » for the one further away (that one). In everyday speech, « -là » is often used for both.
Quel pull préfères-tu ? Celui-ci ou celui-là ? (Which jumper do you prefer? This one or that one?)

Question 19

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun (that one): Tu veux ce gâteau ou ___ ?

Accepted Answer

Tu veux ce gâteau ou celui-là ? / (Do you want this cake or that one?)

Question 20

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun (those): J'aime ces chaussures, mais je préfère ___.

Accepted Answer

J'aime ces chaussures, mais je préfère celles-là. / (I like these shoes, but I prefer those.)

Question 21

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun (this one): Quelle chambre est libre ? ___.

Accepted Answer

Quelle chambre est libre ? Celle-ci. / (Which room is free? This one.)

Question 22

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun (those): Ces livres sont à moi, ___ sont à toi.

Accepted Answer

Ces livres sont à moi, ceux-là sont à toi. / (These books are mine, those are yours.)

Question 23

Rule: How do you say “the one of” or “someone's”?

Accepted Answer

celui / celle / ceux / celles + de + noun. / C'est le vélo de Marc ? Non, c'est celui de Julie. (Is it Marc's bike? No, it's Julie's.)

Question 24

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun: Ce n'est pas mon manteau, c'est ___ de Paul.

Accepted Answer

Ce n'est pas mon manteau, c'est celui de Paul. / (It's not my coat, it's Paul's.)

Question 25

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun: Ma maison est petite, ___ de mes parents est grande.

Accepted Answer

Ma maison est petite, celle de mes parents est grande. / (My house is small, my parents' is big.)

Question 26

Complete with a demonstrative pronoun: Mes enfants et ___ de ma sœur jouent ensemble.

Accepted Answer

Mes enfants et ceux de ma sœur jouent ensemble. / (My children and my sister's play together.)

Possessive & Demonstrative Pronouns in French A2

The rules

What does a possessive pronoun replace?

What are the possessive pronouns for “mine”, “yours” (informal) and “his / hers”?

What are the possessive pronouns for “ours”, “yours” (formal or plural) and “theirs”?

Does a possessive pronoun agree with the owner or with the thing owned?

How else can you say who something belongs to?

What are the demonstrative pronouns?

What do « -ci » and « -là » add to a demonstrative pronoun?

How do you say “the one of” or “someone's”?

Common mistakes

18 exercises

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