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 housethe house of Mariela maison de Marie
Pierre’s carthe car of Pierrela voiture de Pierre
the children’s dogthe dog of the childrenle chien des enfants
the school’s doorthe door of the schoolla porte de l’école
the man’s bookthe book of the manle 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 headmasterthe headmaster of the schoolle directeur de l’école
the men’s departmentthe department of the menle service des hommes
tomorrow’s weatherthe weather of tomorrowle 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’hôtelthe hotel’s address (the address of the hotel)
l’adresse de PierrePierre’s address (the address of Pierre)
l’adresse du restaurantthe 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 womanla femme
the carla voiture
the manl’homme
the housela maison
the addressl’adresse
the hotell’hôtel
the restaurantle restaurant
the doorla porte
the bookle livre
the spinele dos
the childl’enfant
the teacherle professeur
the boyle garçon
the catle chat

  1. The woman’s car
  2. The man’s car
  3. The girl’s dog
  4. Pierre’s house
  5. The hotel’s address
  6. The restaurant’s address
  7. The house’s door
  8. The book’s spine
  9. The children’s teacher
  10. The boy’s cat

ANSWERS

  1. La voiture de la femme
  2. La voiture de l’homme
  3. Le chien de la fille
  4. La maison de Pierre
  5. L’adresse de l’hôtel
  6. L’adresse du restaurant
  7. La porte de la maison
  8. Le dos du livre
  9. Le professeur des enfants
  10. Le chat du garçon