Mission: show a colleague photos of your family
Family words, mon / ma / mes, and adjectives that agree. Talk about your family and describe people.
FrenchA1 · About meAbout 6 min: 3 reading, 3 practiceUpdated
- Name family members
- Use mon, ma, mes (and ton, ta, tes
- son, sa, ses)
- Make adjectives agree: grand, grande, grands, grandes
- Describe someone with il est / elle est
About me: lesson 6 of 6
- A1 · About me
- Mission: introduce yourself to your new neighbour 5 min
- Mission: say who you are and what you have 5 min
- Mission: describe your family and your town 5 min
- Mission: tell a new colleague where you live and work 5 min
- Mission: say no politely to a street survey 5 min
- Mission: show a colleague photos of your family 6 min
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Level Level A1 (around the DELF A1 exam). Real French: showing family photos to a colleague.
What it is
Your mission: your colleague Étienne spots a photo on your phone and asks, « C'est qui, sur la photo ? Parlez-moi de votre famille ! ». Name four family members with mon, ma or mes, and describe one of them with adjectives that agree.
Family words:
| Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| le père (father) | la mère (mother) | les parents |
| le frère (brother) | la sœur (sister) | les frères et sœurs |
| le fils (son) | la fille (daughter) | les enfants |
| le mari (husband) | la femme (wife) | |
| le grand-père | la grand-mère | les grands-parents |
My, your, his/her agree with the thing owned, not the owner:
| Masc. | Fem. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma | mes |
| your | ton | ta | tes |
| his / her | son | sa | ses |
So: mon père, ma mère, mes parents.
Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel, use mon, ton, son: mon amie (my friend, female), son école.
Adjectives agree with the noun: add -e for feminine and -s for plural. They usually come after the noun.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | il est grand | ils sont grands |
| Feminine | elle est grande | elles sont grandes |
Adjectives already ending in -e don't change for feminine: il est jeune, elle est jeune.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
"My sister" is…
- sœur is feminine and starts with a consonant
- mes is plural
Show answer
ma sœur. ma + feminine noun.
Why it matters
Family is one of the first topics people raise (Vous avez des frères et sœurs ?), and you will often be asked to describe a person: a relative, a friend, someone you are meeting. Adjective agreement also shows up in everything you write.
Worked example
- Dans ma famille, nous sommes quatre : mon père, ma mère, mon frère et moi. There are four of us in my family: my father, my mother, my brother and me.
- Mon frère s'appelle Hugo. Il a vingt ans. Il est grand et brun. My brother is called Hugo. He's 20. He's tall and dark-haired.
- Ma mère est petite et blonde. Elle est très sympathique. My mother is short and blonde. She's very nice.
- Mes grands-parents habitent à Nantes. My grandparents live in Nantes.
Real French: at home people say papa and maman rather than mon père and ma mère, and mon copain / ma copine means "my boyfriend / girlfriend" (it can also just mean "my friend").
Listen to the change: grand ends silent, but grande sounds the d. Petit / petite: the t is heard only in the feminine.
Common mistake
Choosing son or sa by the owner, as in English his / her. In French it follows the noun: sa mère is "his mother" or "her mother", because mère is feminine. Son père is "his father" or "her father".
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
"Paul's mother" is…
- Paul is male, but mère is feminine: sa
- ses is plural
Show answer
sa mère. The possessive agrees with mère, not with Paul.
Key terms
- mon, ma, mes
- my (m, f, plural)
- son, sa, ses
- his or her (agrees with the noun)
- grand(e)
- tall, big
- petit(e)
- short, small
- brun(e) / blond(e)
- dark-haired / blonde
- jeune
- young (same in m and f)
- sympathique
- nice, friendly (same in m and f)
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 7 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| mon, ma, mes | my (m, f, plural) |
| son, sa, ses | his or her (agrees with the noun) |
| grand(e) | tall, big |
| petit(e) | short, small |
| brun(e) / blond(e) | dark-haired / blonde |
| jeune | young (same in m and f) |
| sympathique | nice, friendly (same in m and f) |
Practice
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
« … parents habitent à Lyon. » (my)
- parents is plural
- parents is plural
Show answer
Mes. mes + plural noun.
« Ma sœur est … » (tall)
- sœur is feminine: add -e
- sœur is singular
Show answer
grande. Feminine singular: grande.
"My friend (female) Léa" is…
- Before a vowel, ma becomes mon
- mes is plural
Show answer
mon amie Léa. mon before a feminine noun starting with a vowel.
Sort it
mon, ma or mes?
frère
masculineShow answer
mon. masculine
fille
feminineShow answer
ma. feminine
enfants
pluralShow answer
mes. plural
école
feminine, but starts with a vowelShow answer
mon. feminine, but starts with a vowel
femme
feminineShow answer
ma. feminine
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Étienne, a friendly French colleague looking at my family photos on my phone, at level A1. Speak slowly and clearly. Use only these words and patterns: vous avez des frères et sœurs, parlez de votre famille, comment s'appelle, il / elle s'appelle, il / elle a … ans, il / elle est, il / elle habite à, mon, ma, mes, père, mère, parents, frère, sœur, fils, fille, enfants, mari, femme, grand-père, grand-mère, grand(e), petit(e), brun(e), blond(e), jeune, sympathique, et. Ask me about my family one question at a time; I will make up a family. Then ask me to describe one person. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again; watch mon/ma/mes and adjective endings. When I have named four family members and described one person, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. Ask 8 questions. Explain corrections in English.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- mon / ma / mes, ton / ta / tes, son / sa / ses agree with the noun owned.
- mon, ton, son before a feminine noun starting with a vowel: mon amie.
- sa mère = his or her mother.
- Adjectives: + e for feminine, + s for plural, usually after the noun.
- Adjectives ending in -e stay the same: jeune, sympathique.
Mastery check
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Check yourself
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How do you say "my parents"?
Show answer
mes parents.
How do you say "Her brother is tall"?
Show answer
Son frère est grand.
What is the feminine of petit?
Show answer
petite (the t is now heard).
Further reading
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français, free A1 exercises: look for activities on the family and on describing people.
- RFI, Journal en français facile: listen for mon / ma / mes and son / sa / ses when interviewees talk about their families.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.