Lecture 3 (Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns) Flashcards
They risked their lives.
Ils ont risqué leur vie
They were smoking their pipes
Ils fumaient leur pipe
J’ai pris mes responsabilités; prenez —–
J’ai pris mes responsabilités; prenez les vôtres.
Nous avons nos documents; ont-ils —- ?
Nous avons nos documents; ont-ils les leurs.
J’ai téléphoné à mes parents; et vous, avez-vous téléphoné —-
J’ai téléphoné à mes parents; et vous, avez-vous téléphoné aux vôtres?
• Il a mal à — tête. Fermez —- bouche. Elle a —conscience tranquille.
la, la, la
• We replace the possessive adjective by a definite article when we talk about body parts or mental abilities (memory, consciousness etc.) and the identity of the possessor is obvious
• Levez — main droite. Elle a —- cheveux longs.
la, les
We replace the possessive adjective by a definite article when the noun is followed by the adjectives “gauche” and “droite” or when it is complement of the auxiliary “avoir”
—- bouche est bien dessinée.
Sa
We keep the possessive adjective when the possession is ambiguous or when the noun is the subject of the sentence.
Elle a fermé —- yeux
elle a fermé —- grands yeux noirs
les, ses
We keep the possessive adjective when the noun, the direct object of a verb other than “avoir” is followed by an adjective.
He cut his finger
Il s’est coupé le doigt
He had his moustache shaved off
On lui a rasé la moustache
We brush our teeth three times a day
Nous nous lavons les dents trois fois par jour
He sleeps with his mouth open
Il dort la bouche ouverte
When it comes to translating an attitude or a way of
dressing, French language requires to use a definite article instead of a possessive adjective if the identity of the possessor is clearly indicated by the general meaning of the sentence (while in English, one uses the possessive adjective and the preposition “with”)
They were sitting with their arms crossed
Elles étaient assises les bras croisés
Il marchait — mains sur la tête
les
Jacques a —- cheveux gris
les
even though ‘cheveux’ is followed by an adjective which isn’t gauche or droite, it is preceded by an auxiliary of avoir so the definite pronoun is needed here.
Il s’est foulé — cheville gauche.
la
the use of the reflexive verb removes the need for a possessive pronoun, and with body parts/ the adjective ‘gauche’ the definite pronoun is used.
I come to this park because I like its tranquillity
Je viens dans ce parc parce que j’en apprécie la tranquilité.
Note the use of this construction as an alterative to the possessive pronoun.
a friend of mine
- Un(e) de mes ami(e)s
* Un(e) ami(e) à moi.
this book is mine
Ce livre est à moi. Ce livre est le mien.
Ce livre m’appartient. C’est mon livre.
• I have met her previous and current husband. I prefer the former than the latter.
J’ai rencontré son ancien mari et son mari actuel. Je préfère celui- là à celui-ci
I don’t if it’s true but it seems odd
Je ne sais pas si c’est vrai mais cela semble bizarre
this hasard
ce hasard
pay attention to ‘h’ muet and aspiré
They spent their lives working
Il ont passé leur vie à travailler
They all left on their motorcycles
Ils sont tous partis sur leur moto
They washed their heads.
Ils se sont lavé la tête
His grandfather has lots his memory
Son grand-père a perdu la mémoire
I know the way with my eyes closed.
Je connais le chemin les yeux fermés
the former
celui-là
the latter
celui-ci
