Gap-fill
French A1 gap-fill: a family video call across three homes
Fill possessive adjectives and subject pronouns in a short story about a family video call: mon, ma, mes, son, sa, ses, notre, leur. Check and read the translation.
- A1
- 11 gaps
- Translation included
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In short
French possessives agree with the thing owned, not the owner: son frère (his or her brother), sa sœur (his or her sister), ses parents. Before a feminine word starting with a vowel, use mon, ton, son: mon amie.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
| Owner | masc. | fem. | plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | mon | ma | mes |
| tu | ton | ta | tes |
| il / elle | son | sa | ses |
| nous | notre | notre | nos |
| vous | votre | votre | vos |
| ils / elles | leur | leur | leurs |
L'appel du dimanche
Chaque dimanche, Léa appelle (her (fem.)) famille en vidéo. Elle habite à Montréal, (her (plural)) parents habitent à Lille et (her (masc.)) frère Hugo habite à Berlin.
« Bonjour ! » dit (her (fem.)) mère. « Tu es avec (your (masc.)) chat ? » Léa rit et montre Moka à la caméra. « Oui, c'est (my (masc.)) assistant ! »
Hugo arrive en retard. « Désolé, (my) ordinateur est très lent. » Derrière lui, on voit (his (fem.)) copine, Anna, et (their) nouveau canapé.
Le père de Léa demande : « Et (your (plural)) projets pour l'été ? » Léa et Hugo répondent ensemble : « On vient chez vous, dans (our) maison de famille ! »
Read it in English
Every Sunday, Léa calls her family on video. She lives in Montreal, her parents live in Lille and her brother Hugo lives in Berlin.
"Hello!" says her mother. "Are you with your cat?" Léa laughs and shows Moka to the camera. "Yes, he's my assistant!"
Hugo arrives late. "Sorry, my computer is very slow." Behind him, you can see his girlfriend, Anna, and their new sofa.
Léa's father asks: "And your plans for the summer?" Léa and Hugo answer together: "We're coming to you, to our family house!"
Why these answers
- Son frère means her brother here: son agrees with frère (masculine), not with Léa.
- Mon ordinateur: ordinateur is masculine; even a feminine noun starting with a vowel takes mon (mon amie).
- Leur nouveau canapé: one sofa belonging to two people, so leur (singular).
- Vos projets: the father speaks to both children, so vos.
English speakers often choose son or sa according to the owner's gender. French ignores the owner: Léa et son père, Hugo et sa mère. Context tells you whose it is.