This French A1 lesson explains family in French step by step, with examples in French and English. Then practise with the worksheet on family in French and check yourself with the quiz.
Quick answer: To talk about family in French, learn the relatives (la mère, le frère), the status words (marié, célibataire) and the possessives mon, ma, mes, son, sa, ses. A possessive agrees with the noun owned, never with the owner, so ma sœur works for a man or a woman.
Level: French A1 (CEFR beginner) · Standards: CEFR A1, Spoken production
Family in French: the lesson
Which words name the people in a French family?
Picture a first coffee break at a new job in Nantes: a colleague asks about your weekend, and family words come up right away. Learn each noun with its article, because the gender never changes.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le père / la mère | father / mother |
| le frère / la sœur | brother / sister |
| le grand-père / la grand-mère | grandfather / grandmother |
| l’oncle (m.) / la tante | uncle / aunt |
| le cousin / la cousine | cousin (male / female) |
| le mari / la femme | husband / wife |
| le fils / la fille | son / daughter |
| les parents, les enfants | parents, children |
Note that la fille means both daughter and girl, and la femme means both wife and woman. Les parents are the mother and father together. For the wider circle of relatives, say la famille.
How do you say that you are married, single or divorced?
Put the status word after Je suis. A woman adds an -e to marié and pacsé, and veuf becomes veuve.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je suis célibataire. | I am single. |
| Je suis marié / mariée. | I am married (man / woman). |
| Je suis pacsé / pacsée. | I am in a civil partnership. |
| Je suis divorcé / divorcée. | I am divorced. |
| Je suis veuf / veuve. | I am widowed. |
To mention children, use avoir: J’ai deux enfants. — I have two children. In a negative sentence, un, une and des all become de: Je n’ai pas d’enfants. — I have no children.
How do possessive adjectives work?
Rule
A possessive adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun that follows it, not with the owner.
| English | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma | mes |
| your (tu) | ton | ta | tes |
| his / her | son | sa | ses |
| our | notre | notre | nos |
| your (vous) | votre | votre | vos |
| their | leur | leur | leurs |
Examples
- mon frère, ma sœur, mes cousins — my brother, my sister, my cousins
- Voici notre fille Awa. — This is our daughter Awa.
- Leurs enfants habitent à Liège. — Their children live in Liège.
- mon amie, ton école — a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound takes the masculine form
Watch out
English his or her depends on the owner. French son, sa and ses depend on the noun: Karim présente sa sœur. and Inès présente son frère. Alone, sa mère can mean his mother or her mother, and the context decides.
How do you describe a relative?
Use s’appeler for the name, avoir for the age and être for looks and character: Mon oncle s’appelle Moussa. Il a 52 ans. Il est grand et très drôle. — My uncle’s name is Moussa. He is 52. He is tall and very funny. Adjectives agree with the person described.
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| grand | grande | tall |
| petit | petite | short |
| brun | brune | dark-haired |
| blond | blonde | fair-haired |
| sympa | sympa | nice (plural sympas) |
| drôle, timide | drôle, timide | funny, shy |
Zoé’s tip
Before choosing mon, ma or mes, ask which noun comes next. Then say the pair as one block, ma sœur, mon frère, until it sounds like a single word.
Culture note
In 1999 France created the PACS, a civil partnership open to couples of any gender, so forms list pacsé(e) beside marié(e). Also, belle-mère means both mother-in-law and stepmother.
Key points to remember
- Family nouns have a fixed gender: le frère, la sœur, l’oncle, la tante.
- Status words take -e for a woman: mariée, pacsée, divorcée; veuf becomes veuve.
- Possessives agree with the noun: mon père, ma mère, mes parents.
- Before a vowel sound, a feminine noun takes mon, ton, son: mon amie.
- After a negative, des enfants becomes pas d’enfants.
Talking About Your Family and Loved Ones: frequently asked questions
Why can sa mère mean both his mother and her mother?
French possessives agree with the noun that follows, not with the owner. Sa is feminine because mère is feminine. Only the context tells you whether the owner is a man or a woman.
When do you use mon with a feminine noun?
Use mon, ton or son before a feminine singular noun that begins with a vowel sound, such as mon amie or ton école. This avoids the clash of two vowels in ma amie.
How do you say that you are an only child?
A man says Je suis fils unique and a woman says Je suis fille unique. To give the number of siblings, say J’ai deux frères et une sœur.
Does femme mean wife or woman?
Both. Ma femme means my wife, while une femme is a woman. The possessive tells you which meaning is intended.
How do you answer a family question on a French form?
Look for Situation familiale and tick one box: célibataire, marié(e), pacsé(e), divorcé(e) or veuf / veuve. Then write the number of children.