The Saxon Genitive
In English, if we want to show that something belongs to somebody, we can use an apostrophe and an S. The apostrophe S doesn’t exist in French, though, so how do they show belonging?
Apostrophe S
In English, as I said, we can put an apostrophe and an S after a person’s name or a noun to say that the next noun belongs to them:
Marie’s house
Pierre’s car
the children’s dog
the school’s door
the man’s book
The proper name for the apostrophe S in English is the Saxon Genitive. In French, the apostrophe S doesn’t exist.
Showing belonging in French
In French, you can show belonging by using the word “de”, which means “of”. You say it’s the thing of somebody.
Marie’s house – the house of Marie – la maison de Marie
Pierre’s car – the car of Pierre – la voiture de Pierre
the children’s dog – the dog of the children – le chien des enfants
the school’s door – the door of the school – la porte de l’école
the man’s book – the book of the man – le livre de l’homme
Just remember that the word “de” contracts with some of the words for “the”:
de + le = du
de + la = de la
de + l’ = de l’
de + les = des
Not just belonging
The apostrophe S doesn’t always show a clear belonging. Have a look at these examples:
the school’s headmaster
the men’s department
tomorrow’s weather
These examples don’t show belonging or possession; the school doesn’t own the headmaster and tomorrow doesn’t own the weather. But the rule about using “de” in French in place of an apostrophe S still stands.
the school’s headmaster – the headmaster of the school – le directeur de l’école
the men’s department – the department of the men – le service des hommes
tomorrow’s weather – the weather of tomorrow – le temps de demain
So, if you want to say something like, “the hotel’s address”, in French, you would have to change it around and say, “the address of the hotel”
l'adresse de l’hôtel – the hotel’s address (the address of the hotel)
l’adresse de Pierre – Pierre’s address (the address of Pierre)
l’adresse du restaurant – the restaurant’s address (the address of the restaurant)
Let's practise
Have a go at saying the sentences below in French. Firstly, here’s some vocabulary you may need:
the woman – la femme
the car – la voiture
the man – l’homme
the house – la maison
the address – l’adresse
the hotel – l’hôtel
the restaurant – le restaurant
the door – la porte
the book – le livre
the spine – le dos
the child – l’enfant
the teacher – le professeur
the boy – le garçon
the cat – le chat
- The woman’s car
- The man’s car
- The girl’s dog
- Pierre’s house
- The hotel’s address
- The restaurant’s address
- The house’s door
- The book’s spine
- The children’s teacher
- The boy’s cat
ANSWERS
- La voiture de la femme
- La voiture de l’homme
- Le chien de la fille
- La maison de Pierre
- L’adresse de l’hôtel
- L’adresse du restaurant
- La porte de la maison
- Le dos du livre
- Le professeur des enfants
- Le chat du garçon
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