reflexive possession

Michael H.A0Kwiziq community member

reflexive possession

Nous nous étonnons de ses bonnes notes.

...the exercise gives the translation of this sentence as 'We are astonished at his good marks' ...however, I don't see how you can tell the gender of the person with the good marks from this sentence...so surely the translation should be 'We are astonished at his/her good marks' ...? Unless you can tell the person described by the verb 'étonnons' ...but then I am sure this has no connection to the person being referred to in the sentence...

Look forward to your answer...


Asked 3 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Michael, 

Thank you for pointing this out, I have added 'her' to the English.

Bonne Continuation!

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Yes, you're right. The gender of the person with the good marks is only determined by context. Still, he is as good a translation as she.

reflexive possession

Nous nous étonnons de ses bonnes notes.

...the exercise gives the translation of this sentence as 'We are astonished at his good marks' ...however, I don't see how you can tell the gender of the person with the good marks from this sentence...so surely the translation should be 'We are astonished at his/her good marks' ...? Unless you can tell the person described by the verb 'étonnons' ...but then I am sure this has no connection to the person being referred to in the sentence...

Look forward to your answer...


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