Dialogue
Le mien, la tienne, les leurs: whose belongings are these?
Practise French possessive pronouns in a lost-belongings dialogue. Includes the full forms, picture cards, notre versus nôtre and a short quiz.
- B1
- 8 lines
- Practice mode
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
A possessive pronoun replaces a whole noun phrase: mon sac → le mien, ta veste → la tienne. Choose the possessive family from the owner, then the gender and number from the item. Keep the article: C’est le mien, Ce sont les leurs.
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Lina and Sam are tidying up after a group meeting. In practice mode, take Sam’s part. The bag, jacket, keys and notebook stay the topic even when their nouns disappear from the reply.
- Lina
Ce sac bleu est à toi ?
English
Is this blue bag yours?
- Sam
Oui, c’est le mien. Le tien est près de la porte.
Say the bag is yours, then say where Lina’s bag is.
English
Yes, it’s mine. Yours is by the door.
- Lina
Et cette veste rouge ? La mienne est noire.
English
And this red jacket? Mine is black.
- Sam
C’est celle de Nora. La sienne est rouge.
Identify Nora as the owner. Refer to her jacket with a possessive pronoun.
English
It’s Nora’s. Hers is red.
- Lina
Ces clés sont à Nora et à Malik ?
English
Do these keys belong to Nora and Malik?
- Sam
Oui, ce sont les leurs. Les miennes sont dans ma poche.
Confirm whose keys they are. Say your own keys are in your pocket.
English
Yes, they’re theirs. Mine are in my pocket.
- Lina
Notre carnet est vert. Celui de leur équipe aussi ?
English
Our notebook is green. Is their team’s notebook green too?
- Sam
Non, le leur est jaune. Le nôtre est sur la table.
Say their notebook is yellow and your team’s is on the table.
English
No, theirs is yellow. Ours is on the table.
Four nouns to keep in mind
Find:
How do you use le mien, la mienne and les miens?
| Owner | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mine | le mien | la mienne | les miens | les miennes |
| yours (tu) | le tien | la tienne | les tiens | les tiennes |
| his / hers | le sien | la sienne | les siens | les siennes |
| ours | le nôtre | la nôtre | les nôtres | les nôtres |
| yours (vous) | le vôtre | la vôtre | les vôtres | les vôtres |
| theirs | le leur | la leur | les leurs | les leurs |
For le sien and la sienne, context tells you whether the owner is male or female. The ending follows the belonging. Nora’s notebook is le sien; Malik’s jacket is la sienne. Several owners can share one notebook, so le leur remains singular.
What is the difference between notre and le nôtre?
| Before a noun | Replacing the noun phrase |
|---|---|
| notre carnet | le nôtre |
| votre veste | la vôtre |
| leurs clés | les leurs |
The circumflex belongs in nôtre and vôtre when they are possessive pronouns. After à or de, the article contracts as usual: à + le mien → au mien, de + le mien → du mien.
Ton carnet ressemble au mien. La couverture du mien est verte.
Your notebook looks like mine. Mine has a green cover.
Both au mien and du mien refer to masculine singular carnet.