◄Previous: 2.3.2 La date de votre anniversaire

# 2.3.3 Bonne fête!

On French calendars, most days commemorate a particular saint. When the saint's name is the same as yours, some people like to say Bonne fête! Children might receive a small present or you might be expected to buy a round of drinks for your friends. On some television channels, the weather forecaster concludes with the statement Bonne fête à tous les…! (for example for 6 September s/he would say Bonne fête à tous les Bertrand!)

Birthdays are celebrated, often with special meals, cakes, candles and (usually) champagne. You say Bon anniversaire!

## Activité 22

To practise saying dates, look at the calendar below and answer the following questions. The names are printed in bold.

Le calendrier français

Répondez aux questions.

Exemple

La Saint-Michel, c'est quand?

C'est le 29 septembre.

1. La Saint-Matthieu, c'est quand?

2. La Sainte-Sylvie, c'est quand?

3. La Saint-Jacques, c'est quand?

4. La Sainte-Thérèse, c'est quand?

5. La Saint-Nicolas, c'est quand?

6. La Saint-Laurent, c'est quand?

### Answer

1. La Saint-Matthieu, c'est le 21 septembre.

2. La Sainte-Sylvie, c'est le 5 novembre.

3. La Saint-Jacques, c'est le 25 juillet.

4. La Sainte-Thérèse, c'est le 1er octobre.

5. La Saint-Nicolas, c'est le 6 décembre.

6. La Saint-Laurent, c'est le 10 aoŭt

## Using ‘votre’, ‘mon’, ‘son’

To ask about somebody's birthday, we asked Quelle est la date de votre anniversaire?

To ask somebody's name you can say Votre nom s'il vous plaît?

Votre is a possessive adjective which means ‘your’. Most possessive adjectives have a masculine and a feminine form, corresponding to un or une.

- Une serviette de bain a bath towel

- Ma serviette de bain my bath towel

- Un verre de bière a glass of beer

- Mon verre de bière my glass of beer

In contrast with English, the possessive does not change depending on whether the owner is a man or a woman. Its form depends on the word it is linked to.

- Sa valise can therefore mean ‘his or her suitcase’

- Son chat means either ‘his or her cat’.

You can usually deduce from the context whether the possessive adjective refers to a man or a woman, for example son mari means ‘her husband’, sa femme means ‘his wife’.

Votre only has one form for both masculine and feminine:

- Votre journal your newspaper (un journal)

- Votre femme your wife (une femme)

##

Vocabulaire
elle s'appelle | her name is
sale | dirty

## Activité 23

Fill the gaps in the following dialogues with the correct word.

Complétez les phrases.

- 1. Quelle est la date de ___________ anniversaire?

- ___________ anniversaire est le 4 août.

- 2. C'est la valise de Thierry?

- Non, ________ valise est rouge.

- 3. Comment s'appelle __________ cousine?

- Elle s'appelle Michèle et_______________mari s'appelle Jean-Louis.

- 4. ___________ chambre est sale!

- Voulez-vous changer de chambre?

### Answer

1. votre, mon

2. sa

3. sa, son

4. ma

◄Contents►Next: 2.3.4 Using ‘quel’, ‘quelle’

OpenLearn - Beginners' French: A trip to Avignon
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