Unit 43: Possessive pronouns
1 Definition
Possessive pronouns are pronouns which are used to indicate possession:
On a tous les deux une voiture de sport: la mienne est italienne tandis que la sienne est allemande
We both have sports cars: mine is Italian whilst his / hers is German
2 Use 
2.1 General
As with possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns must agree in gender gender and in number with the noun to which they refer. Note that they are always used with the definite article le, la or les and that there is no hyphen.
Je peux emprunter ton sèche-cheveux? Le mien est cassé.
Could I borrow your hairdrier? Mine is broken.
Ta voiture est plus économique que la sienne
Your car is cheaper to run than his / hers
C'est son problème, non le nôtre
It's his / her problem, not ours
Note also that le nôtre / le vôtre have a circumflex accent, unlike the possessive adjectives notre / votre . This creates a difference in pronunciation, changing the vowel sound from one similar to that in the English word got to that in goat.
2.2 On and le sien
The impersonal pronoun on and other impersonal expressions take the possessive pronoun le sien:
La literie n'est pas fournie, on doit / il faut apporter la sienne
Bedding is not provided, you must bring your own
3 Other structures for expressing possession
3.1 Être à + someone:
Il est à qui ce manteau? - Il est à Marie
Whose is this coat? - It's Marie's
3.2 Celui etc. + de + noun:
Il est à qui ce manteau? - C'est celui de Marie
Whose is this coat? - It's Marie's
3.3 Appartenir à
Ce livre appartient à Richard
This book belongs to Richard
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