If you’ve ever wondered how do you say their in French, the short answer is that it depends on what is being owned. Unlike English, where “their” stays the same whether you are talking about one book or ten books, French possessive adjectives change based on the gender and number of the noun being possessed. This small but important distinction trips up many English speakers, but once you understand the logic, using their in French becomes second nature. In this guide, you will learn the exact words to use, when to use them, and how to avoid the most common mistakes learners make Practical, not theoretical..
Why French Doesn’t Have One Simple Word for “Their”
In English, possessive adjectives like my, your, his, her, and their describe the person who owns something. French possessive adjectives agree with the thing being possessed, not with the person who possesses it. Which means french works differently. That means the word for “their” changes depending on whether the object is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
Because French nouns have grammatical gender, you cannot simply memorize one word and use it in every situation. You have to look at the noun that follows the possessive adjective. This is the foundational rule behind every French possessive construction, and it is the key to mastering how do you say their in French The details matter here..
Leur vs Leurs: The Standard Translation
When the owners are a group of people—they in English, or ils and elles in French—the possessive adjectives for “their” are leur and leurs. The choice between the two depends entirely on the noun that comes after them.
Using Leur with Singular Nouns
Use leur when the object being possessed is singular, regardless of whether that object is masculine or feminine.
- leur livre – their book
