Possessive and demonstrative pronouns

Kurz erklärt

Possessive pronouns replace a noun and show who it belongs to: le mien, la tienne, les leurs. Demonstrative pronouns point to a specific person or thing: celui, celle, ceux, celles. Both kinds agree in gender and number with the noun they replace, not with the owner or speaker.

Bildung

Possessive: definite article + mien/tien/sien/nôtre/vôtre/leur, with the required gender and number. Demonstrative: celui (masculine singular), celle (feminine singular), ceux (masculine plural), celles (feminine plural), normally followed by -ci, -là, de + noun, or a relative clause.

Verwendung

• Use a possessive pronoun to avoid repeating a noun already identified: ma veste et la tienne.
• Choose the possessive form according to the possessed item: son sac becomes le sien, but sa valise becomes la sienne.
• Use celui, celle, ceux, or celles to select or identify someone or something from context.
• Add -ci or -là to distinguish items, or use de or a relative clause to specify which one.

Beispiele

• Mon téléphone est chargé, mais le tien ne l’est pas. — My phone is charged, but yours isn’t.
• Leurs places sont près des nôtres. — Their seats are near ours.
• Je préfère cette chemise à celle-là. — I prefer this shirt to that one.
• Ceux qui arrivent tôt peuvent choisir leur table. — Those who arrive early can choose their table.

Typischer Fehler

❌ C’est le mien voiture.

✅ C’est ma voiture. / Cette voiture est la mienne.

Unlike English “mine,” le mien is a pronoun and replaces the noun; it cannot directly modify voiture. Use the possessive determiner ma before the noun.

Merke

Match the pronoun to the noun it replaces. A possessive pronoun includes a definite article; celui, celle, ceux, and celles usually need something that identifies the referent.