Use of Nos and Notre

Question

In the test Nous voyageons dans ________ propre voiture – ‘notre’ is stated as the
correct answer, not ‘nos’

However, in the learn and discuss - Nous avons nos passeports
is stated as correct.

What is the difference?

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Bruce,

the form of possessive adjectives used in French is determined both by the possessor and by the number of possessions. This is obviously different to the English use of possessive adjectives.

When the subject pronoun (possessor) is ‘ nous ‘, the 2 options are

‘ notre ‘ for a singular possession - ‘ notre propre voiture ‘ ( there is only one car )

and

‘ nos ‘ for plural possessions - nos passeports ( there are 2 or more passports )

Have another look at the summary table in the lesson and the note below.

From the lesson :

IMPORTANT: The first letter is determined by the owner (n =our; v =your, l =their) etc. but the rest of the adjective is related to the number of the thing that is possessed.

Bruce Aboudara · Answer

Thank you.  I was focused on the Pronoun obviously.