Possessive Adjectives
உடைமைப் பெயரடைகள்
French possessives (mon, ton, son...) agree with the noun being possessed, not with the owner — the opposite logic from what English and Tamil speakers instinctively expect.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Agreement with the thing owned, not the owner
son livre (his book or her book), sa maison (his house or her house)
அவனுடைய/அவளுடைய புத்தகம், அவனுடைய/அவளுடைய வீடு
This is the single biggest trap for English and Tamil speakers: son/sa/ses agree with the gender of the noun that follows, not the gender of the owner. son livre can mean 'his book' or 'her book' — you cannot tell the owner's gender from the possessive alone. Tamil's அவனுடைய/அவளுடைய, by contrast, marks the owner's gender directly, so this is a genuinely different logic to internalize, not a direct swap.
The full paradigm
mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs
என், உன், அவனுடைய/அவளுடைய, எங்களுடைய, உங்களுடைய, அவர்களுடைய
Singular owners (my/your/his-her) have three forms each — masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural — while plural owners (our/your/their) only distinguish singular vs. plural, not gender: notre chien / notre maison (masc./fem. both notre), nos chiens (plural).
mon, not ma, before a feminine noun starting with a vowel
mon amie (my [female] friend) — not ma amie
என் தோழி
For euphony, the masculine forms mon/ton/son are used even before a feminine noun if that noun starts with a vowel sound: mon amie, ton école, son histoire. This is purely about avoiding two vowel sounds colliding — the noun is still grammatically feminine.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| French | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| mon père | mohn pair | என் அப்பாeṉ appā | my father |
| ma mère | mah mair | என் அம்மாeṉ ammā | my mother |
| mes parents | may pah-RAHN | என் பெற்றோர்கள்eṉ peṟṟōrgaḷ | my parents |
| ton frère | tohn frair | உன் சகோதரன்uṉ sagōdharaṉ | your brother (informal) |
| ta sœur | tah suhr | உன் சகோதரிuṉ sagōdhari | your sister (informal) |
| son livre | sohn LEE-vruh | அவனுடைய/அவளுடைய புத்தகம்avaṉuḍaiya/avaḷuḍaiya puththagam | his / her book |
| sa maison | sah may-ZOHN | அவனுடைய/அவளுடைய வீடுavaṉuḍaiya/avaḷuḍaiya vīṭu | his / her house |
| notre famille | NOH-truh fah-MEE | எங்களுடைய குடும்பம்eṅgaḷuḍaiya kuḍumbam | our family |
| votre chien | VOH-truh shee-AHN | உங்களுடைய நாய்uṅgaḷuḍaiya nāy | your dog (formal/plural) |
| leur enfant | luhr ahn-FAHN | அவர்களுடைய குழந்தைavargaḷuḍaiya kuḻandhai | their child |
| leurs enfants | luhr zahn-FAHN | அவர்களுடைய குழந்தைகள்avargaḷuḍaiya kuḻandhaigaḷ | their children |
| mon amie | moh nah-MEE | என் தோழிeṉ thōḻi | my [female] friend |