Talking About Loss and Theft in French

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your belongings – like your phone, bag, or passport – and how to say if you’ve lost them or had them stolen. You’ll also learn how to use possessive adjectives such as mon, ma, mes and son, sa, ses.

Sentence Builder
Qu’est-ce que vous avez perdu ? What have you lost?
Start with
J’ai perdu… I have lost…
Il a perdu… He has lost…
Elle a perdu… She has lost…
Nous avons perdu… We have lost…
Belongings
mon passeport my passport
mon portable my mobile phone
mon portefeuille my wallet
ma montre my watch
mes clés my keys
mes bijoux my jewellery
Add detail
à l’hôtel at the hotel
dans le train on the train
dans le bus on the bus
à la gare at the station
à l’aéroport at the airport
perdre means “to lose”.
J’ai perdu… means “I have lost…” or “I lost…”.
mon / ma / mes mean “my”, but the form changes with the thing owned.

Talking About Theft

Sentence Builder
Qu’est-ce qu’on vous a volé ? What has been stolen from you?
Start with
On m’a volé… Someone stole my… / My… was stolen.
On lui a volé… Someone stole his / her…
Quelqu’un a volé… Someone stole…
Belongings
mon passeport my passport
mon portable my mobile phone
mon portefeuille my wallet
mon sac my bag
ma montre my watch
mes clés my keys
Add detail
dans le métro on the metro
dans le train on the train
dans la rue in the street
à la gare at the station
à l’aéroport at the airport
voler means “to steal”.
On m’a volé… A natural way to say “my… was stolen”.
Quelqu’un a volé… means “someone stole…”.

Grammar Focus: Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives show who owns something.
In French, they agree with the noun, not the person.

French
Used with
Example
mon
Masculine singular nouns
mon passeport my passport
ma
Feminine singular nouns
ma montre my watch
mes
Plural nouns
mes clés my keys
son
His / her masculine singular nouns
son portable his / her mobile phone
sa
His / her feminine singular nouns
sa valise his / her suitcase
ses
His / her plural nouns
ses bijoux his / her jewellery
Remember: In French, the possessive word agrees with the thing owned, not the person who owns it. So son portable can mean either “his phone” or “her phone”.

Grammar Tip: “Mon” before a Feminine Word Starting with a Vowel

If a feminine word begins with a vowel or silent “h”, you use mon instead of ma to make pronunciation easier.

✅ mon amie (not ma amie) → my (female) friend
✅ mon oreille → my ear
✅ mon alliance → my wedding ring

Useful Sentences and Phrases

French
English
J’ai perdu mon passeport.
I have lost my passport.
J’ai perdu mon portefeuille.
I have lost my wallet.
J’ai perdu mon portable.
I have lost my mobile phone.
J’ai perdu mes clés.
I have lost my keys.
On m’a volé mon sac.
My bag was stolen.
On m’a volé mon portefeuille.
My wallet was stolen.
Quelqu’un a volé mon portable.
Someone stole my mobile phone.
Je voudrais déclarer un vol.
I would like to report a theft.
Je voudrais faire une déclaration.
I would like to make a statement / report.
Où est le commissariat ?
Where is the police station?
Pouvez-vous m’aider ?
Can you help me?
C’est urgent.
It is urgent.

Grammar Tip: “Perdu” — The Past Participle of Perdre

  • Perdre → to lose
  • J’ai perdu → I’ve lost
  • Il/Elle a perdu → He/She has lost

Perdu stays the same – it doesn’t change for gender or number because avoir is used as the auxiliary verb.

Try It Yourself: Loss and Theft Translate each sentence into French. Think of your answer first, then reveal the model answer.
Question 1
Give the following in French: I have lost my passport.
J’ai perdu mon passeport.
Question 2
Give the following in French: She has lost her suitcase at the airport.
Elle a perdu sa valise à l’aéroport.
Question 3
Give the following in French: My wallet was stolen on the train.
On m’a volé mon portefeuille dans le train.
Question 4
Give the following in French: Someone stole my mobile phone.
Quelqu’un a volé mon portable.
Question 5
Give the following in French: I would like to report a theft.
Je voudrais déclarer un vol.

Cultural Note

When reporting a loss or theft in France, you can say:

J’ai perdu mon passeport. → I’ve lost my passport.
On m’a volé mon sac. → My bag was stolen.

You’ll usually be asked to make a déclaration de perte (loss report) or a déclaration de vol (theft report) at a commissariat de police.