Un 3.5
Possession with the preposition ‘de’
The preposition ‘de’ is used when the possessor of a noun is not yet known or needs to be clarified.
Possession with the preposition ‘de’ – La possession avec la préposition « de »
For possessive adjectives, the possessor is already implicitly understood and/or previously explicitly mentioned. When this is not the case, the possessor needs to be mentioned directly so as to avoid confusion, particularly when the 3rd person is involved. This is achieved with the preposition ‘de’, which is placed in the sentence after the ‘possessed’ and before the ‘possessor’. This type of possession typically translates into English using ‘s or ‘of’.
e.g.
|
C’est une amie de ma mère. |
It’s a friend of my mother. |
|
C’est le cousin de Milana. |
It’s Milana’s cousin. |
Any additional information needed to identify the possessor or possessed can be added in.
e.g.
|
C’est le stylo bleu de ton camarade de classe favori. |
It’s your favourite classmate’s blue pen. |
Contraction occurs if the preposition ‘de’ encounters certain articles.
e.g.
|
C’est l’anniversaire d’un ami. (de + un) |
It’s a friend’s birthday. |
|
C’est la spécialisation du professeur. (de + le) |
It’s the professor’s specialization. |
