La possession en anglais : grammaire anglaise / définition
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La possession
• La notion de possession nécessite la connaissance de l'interrogatif whose (à qui... ?), du nom au génitif ('s), et des adjectifs et pronoms possessifs :
Whose office is this? A qui est ce bureau?
- It's Polly's (office). C'est celui de Polly. (génitif)
- It's her office. C'est son bureau. (adjectif possessif)
- It's hers. C'est le sien. (pronom possessif).
- It's Polly's (office). C'est celui de Polly. (génitif)
- It's her office. C'est son bureau. (adjectif possessif)
- It's hers. C'est le sien. (pronom possessif).
Whose is this? A qui appartient ceci? ('Whose' est ici un pronom)
- It's Bob's (briefcase). C'est à Bob. (ou C'est la sacoche de Bob)
- It's mine. C'est la mienne.
- It's my briefcase. C'est ma sacoche.
- It's Bob's (briefcase). C'est à Bob. (ou C'est la sacoche de Bob)
- It's mine. C'est la mienne.
- It's my briefcase. C'est ma sacoche.
• Adjectifs et pronoms possessifs :
my
mon, ma, mes
mine
le mien, la mienne, les miens
your
ton, ta, tes
yours
le tien, la tienne, les tiens
his/her/its
son, sa, ses
his/hers/its
le sien, la sienne, les siens
our
notre, nos
ours
le nôtre, la nôtre, les nôtres
your
votre, vos
yours
le vôtre, la vôtre, les vôtres
their
leur, leurs
theirs
le leur, la leur, les leurs
I left my cell phone at home. May I use yours? J'ai laissé mon téléphone portable à la maison. Puis-je utiliser le vôtre?
Polly does not own this car. It's not hers. It belongs to her father. Cette voiture n'est pas à Polly. Ce n'est pas la sienne. Elle appartient à son père.
• One's est employé pour les sujets non définis, dans un style impersonnel :
to mind one's own business s'occuper de ses propres affaires
• Remarques sur le génitif :
• Lorsque le possesseur est au pluriel, son nom est simplement suivi d'une apostrophe :
My parents' car. La voiture de mes parents.
The executives' bathroom. Les toilettes de la direction.
The women's locker room. Le vestiaire des dames. (pluriel irrégulier)
• Le génitif ne s'emploie généralement que pour des personnes ou animaux :
The pig's ear. L'oreille du cochon.
The steering wheel of the car. Le volant de la voiture.
ou The car steering wheel.
The steering wheel of the car. Le volant de la voiture.
ou The car steering wheel.
• Le génitif sous-entend parfois des noms tels que house, shop, store (etc.), même s'ils n'ont pas été évoqués auparavant. Cette construction correspond au Chez... français :
Luna is at the doctor's right now. Luna est chez le médecin en ce moment.
I bought this bag at Warbuckle's. J'ai acheté ce sac chez Warbuckle.
We are having dinner at the Kennedys' tonight. Nous dînons chez les Kennedy ce soir.
• Courantes dans les magasins, dans les annonces publicitaires, certaines expressions figées omettent l'apostrophe, les deux éléments peuvent même être collés :
Sports wear ( ou Sportswear). Vêtements de sport.
Salesman. Vendeur, commercial.
Exercice 1
Luna: Hello Horatio. I found this pipe on the laboratory floor. I thought it might be .
Luna: Hello Horatio. I found this pipe on the laboratory floor. I thought it might be yours.
yours: 'Yours' is the possessive pronoun which replaces 'pipe'.
your: We must add an 's' to the end of the word, otherwise it is a possessive adjective and not a pronoun, which the sentence requires.
you: This choice does not make sense here. You is a personal pronoun, and the sentence requires a possessive pronoun to replace the 'pipe' (an object).
Exercice 2
Use the following words to fill in the blanks below. Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all:
my | your| his | her | our | their
Philip: I just checked my computer, and I think there is a virus in the system!
Bob: Have you scanned machine for viruses?
Philip: I can't because PC won't start anymore!
Bob: How long has it been broken?
Philip: It crashed right after I sent an email to everyone in the Sales department.
Bob: Oh no...
Philip: Is that bad? Do you think I can use computer to check my messages? I have a date tonight...
my | your| his | her | our | their
Philip: I just checked my computer, and I think there is a virus in the system!
Bob: Have you scanned machine for viruses?
Philip: I can't because PC won't start anymore!
Bob: How long has it been broken?
Philip: It crashed right after I sent an email to everyone in the Sales department.
Bob: Oh no...
Philip: Is that bad? Do you think I can use computer to check my messages? I have a date tonight...
Use the following words to fill in the blanks below. Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all:
my | your| his | her | our | their
Philip: I just checked my computer, and I think there is a virus in the system!
Bob: Have you scanned your 1 machine for viruses?
Philip: I can't because my 2 PC won't start anymore!
Bob: How long has it been broken?
Philip: It crashed right after I sent an email to everyone in the Sales department.
Bob: Oh no...
Philip: Is that bad? Do you think I can use your 3 computer to check my messages? I have a date tonight...
my | your| his | her | our | their
Philip: I just checked my computer, and I think there is a virus in the system!
Bob: Have you scanned your 1 machine for viruses?
Philip: I can't because my 2 PC won't start anymore!
Bob: How long has it been broken?
Philip: It crashed right after I sent an email to everyone in the Sales department.
Bob: Oh no...
Philip: Is that bad? Do you think I can use your 3 computer to check my messages? I have a date tonight...
1 your: 'Your computer' is the best choice here because Bob Carter is asking about Philip's computer.
2 my: 'My PC' is the best choice here because Philip is talking about his own computer.
3 your: 'Your computer' is the best choice. Because Philip's computer is broken, we can assume he wants to use Bob's computer to check his email.
Exercice 3
Horatio: Yes Luna. That pipe is indeed . But what were you doing in laboratory? Hmm?
Luna: Well, I was sitting in Polly's office yesterday, and I just felt like office had a lot of negative energy, so I decided to take a walk.
Horatio: stories are always fascinating, but where did you find this pipe?
Luna: Well, I was sitting in Polly's office yesterday, and I just felt like office had a lot of negative energy, so I decided to take a walk.
Horatio: stories are always fascinating, but where did you find this pipe?
Horatio: Yes Luna. That pipe is indeed mine 1. But what were you doing in my 2 laboratory? Hmm?
Luna: Well, I was sitting in Polly's office yesterday, and I just felt like her 3 office had a lot of negative energy, so I decided to take a walk.
Horatio: Your 4 stories are always fascinating, but where did you find this pipe?
Luna: Well, I was sitting in Polly's office yesterday, and I just felt like her 3 office had a lot of negative energy, so I decided to take a walk.
Horatio: Your 4 stories are always fascinating, but where did you find this pipe?
1 mine: 'Mine' is the best choice here, because Horatio is referring to his own pipe.
1 my: 'My' describes an object. It is a possessive adjective, and must precede a noun.
2 my: 'My' describes an object. It is a possessive adjective, and must precede a noun.
2 mine: 'Mine' is a possessive pronoun, and replaces a noun. Because we see the noun 'laboratory', we cannot use 'mine' here.
2 me: The personal pronoun 'me' doesn't make sense here.
3 her: 'Her' is the best choice here, because Luna is talking about Polly's office, and we can see that the word precedes a noun.
3 hers: 'Hers' is a possessive pronoun, and replaces a noun. Because we see the noun 'office', we cannot use 'hers' here.
3 she: The personal pronoun 'she' doesn't make sense here.
3 she's: 'She's' is actually a contraction for 'she is'. We cannot use it here.
4 Your: 'Your' is the best choice here, because Horatio is talking to Luna, about Luna's stories, we can see that the word precedes a noun.
4 Yours: 'Yours' is a possessive pronoun, and replaces a noun. Because we see the noun 'stories', we cannot use 'yours' here.
4 You're: 'You're' is actually a contraction for 'you are'. We cannot use it here.
4 You: The personal pronoun 'you' doesn't make sense here.
Exercice 4
Johnny: Is this Ms. DeLune's stereo?
Petey: Yes, it's . But if you want it, I'll sell it to you.
Petey: Yes, it's . But if you want it, I'll sell it to you.
Johnny: Is this Ms. DeLune's stereo?
Petey: Yes, it's hers. But if you want it, I'll sell it to you.
Petey: Yes, it's hers. But if you want it, I'll sell it to you.
hers: 'Hers' is the possessive pronoun used to refer to the possession of a female. As Ms. DeLune is a woman, 'her stereo' can be replaced by the pronoun 'hers'. Example: -Does this dog belong to your family? -Yes, it's ours.
his: 'His' is the wrong gender for Luna DeLune, who is a woman.
her: 'Her' is a personal pronoun. 'Her' describes 'to whom the stereo belongs', but it cannot replace the object 'the stereo'.
theirs: 'Theirs' is incorrect. 'Theirs' represents more than one person, while Luna is just one woman.
Exercice 5
Jean: pipe is this?
Bob: That must be Horatio's.
Jean: Oh, I didn't know it was .
Bob: That must be Horatio's.
Jean: Oh, I didn't know it was .
Jean: Whose 1 pipe is this?
Bob: That must be Horatio's.
Jean: Oh, I didn't know it was his 2.
Bob: That must be Horatio's.
Jean: Oh, I didn't know it was his 2.
1 Whose: We use 'whose?' to ask a question about possession. This is the best choice here.
1 Who: We cannot use 'who' here because the question is about possession, and not about identity.
1 His: 'His' is grammatically incorrect here, because we are asking a question, and so we must use an interrogative term to begin the construction.
2 his: We use 'his' here because we are talking about Horatio's pipe, and Horatio is a male. The possessive pronoun must agree with the gender of the person or subject in question.
2 hers: We cannot use 'hers' here because the pronoun must agree with the subject Horatio, who is a male.
2 its: We cannot use 'its' here because the pronoun must be agree with the subject Horatio, who is a male.
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