La Famille
Family & Possessives

In French, mon/ma/mes depend on the noun's gender, NOT the speaker's gender:

✅ A woman says: mon père (my father) — père is M, so use MON

✅ A man says: ma mère (my mother) — mère is F, so use MA

💡 This confuses English speakers! Always think "what gender is the NOUN?" not "who is speaking?"

Use mon (not ma) before feminine nouns starting with a vowel:

✅ mon amie (my friend — F, starts with vowel)

✅ mon école (my school — F, starts with vowel)

💡 This prevents the awkward "ma amie" sound — French loves smooth pronunciation!

For "our", "your (formal/plural)", "their":

✅ notre père / notre mère — our father / mother

✅ votre famille — your family (formal)

✅ leur fils / leurs enfants — their son / their children

Use avoir (to have) when describing family:

✅ J'ai un frère et deux sœurs. — I have a brother and two sisters.

✅ Elle a trois enfants. — She has three children.

✅ Il est fils unique. — He is an only child. (use être for "being")