Son, sa, ses: his, her and its in French

Son, sa and ses can all mean “his”, “her” or “its”. The form does not tell you the owner’s gender. It agrees with the thing owned: son before a masculine singular noun, sa before a feminine singular noun, and ses before any plural noun. So son frère can mean “his brother” or “her brother” because frère is masculine.

The owned noun decides the form

English changes “his” and “her” according to the owner. French changes son, sa and ses according to the noun that follows.

Marie cherche son frère et sa sœur.
Marie is looking for her brother and her sister.

Marie is the owner in both phrases. The forms change because frère is masculine and sœur is feminine.

Son before a feminine vowel sound

Before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel sound or silent h, use son instead of sa for pronunciation.

son amie, son école, son histoire
his/her friend, his/her school, his/her story

The noun is still feminine. French chooses son to avoid the awkward sound of sa amie.

How to know whether it means his or her

Context tells you the owner. If the owner is unclear, French adds a name or a phrase like à lui or à elle.

Paul prend son sac. Marie prend son sac.
Paul takes his bag. Marie takes her bag.

C’est son livre à elle.
It is her book.

Most of the time, the previous sentence or the person’s name makes the meaning clear.

Common mistakes

Matching son and sa to the owner

Do not use sa just because the owner is female.

Marie voit sa frère. → Marie voit son frère.
Marie sees her brother.

Saying sa amie

Before a feminine vowel sound, use son.

sa amie → son amie
his/her female friend

Using ses for one thing

Ses is plural only.

ses voiture → sa voiture
his/her car

If the broader possessive system is still new, review mon, ma and mes first; son/sa/ses follows the same noun agreement logic. Fluera practices these possessives in family and daily-object sentences, so son frère, sa sœur and ses amis become tied to the noun. Try it when you practice French.

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