Elision replaces the vowel of a short word with an apostrophe before a vowel; liaison makes a silent consonant heard before a vowel. Before a vowel or a mute h, le, la, je, ne, de and ce lose their vowel: l’ami, j’ai, c’est
Summary
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elision | before a vowel or a mute h: le / la → l’, je → j’, ne → n’, de → d’, ce → c’ | l’ami / j’ai faim | the friend / I'm hungry | |
| Elision, continued | me → m’, te → t’, se → s’, que → qu’; si → s’ before il and ils only | Je t’aime. / S’il vous plaît. | I love you. / Please. | |
| Liaison | a silent consonant is said before a vowel: s / x / z → /z/; t / d → /t/; n → /n/ | les amis /lezami/ · grand arbre /gʁɑ̃taʁbʁ/ | the friends / a big tree | |
| Required liaison | article or adjective and noun, pronoun and verb, short word and word | un ami / vous avez / en avion | a friend / you have / by plane | |
| Forbidden liaison | never after et, nor after a singular noun | Léa et Éric / un étudiant américain | Léa and Éric / an American student | |
| Optional liaison | after est, pas and most verbs; rarer in conversation | Il es(t) ici. / Pa(s) encore. | He is here. / Not yet. | |
| Enchaînement | a consonant that is always pronounced moves to the next syllable | elle aime /ɛ.lɛm/ · une amie /y.na.mi/ | she loves / a friend (woman) | |
| Mute h and aspirated h | mute h: elision and liaison; aspirated h: neither | l’hôtel / le héros | the hotel / the hero | |
| Trap | before a vowel, je always becomes j’ | J’habite ici. / J’aime ça. | I live here. / I like that. | |
| Trap | no liaison between et and the next word | un garçon et un homme | a boy and a man |
Elision
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Word | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| le / la → l’ | before a vowel or a mute h | l’ami / l’école / l’hôtel | the friend / the school / the hotel | |
| je → j’ | before a vowel or a mute h | J’ai faim. / J’habite ici. | I'm hungry. / I live here. | |
| ne → n’ | before a vowel or a mute h | Il n’est pas là. / Je n’ai pas faim. | He isn't here. / I'm not hungry. | |
| de → d’ | before a vowel or a mute h | un verre d’eau / beaucoup d’amis | a glass of water / many friends | |
| ce → c’ | before est and était | C’est un ami. / C’était bien. | It's a friend. / It was good. | |
| me → m’, te → t’, se → s’ | before a vowel or a mute h | Il m’aime. / Je t’appelle. / Elle s’appelle Léa. | He loves me. / I'm calling you. / Her name is Léa. | |
| que → qu’ | before a vowel or a mute h | Je sais qu’il vient. / Qu’elle est belle ! | I know he's coming. / How beautiful she is! | |
| si → s’ | only before il and ils; before elle, on, un, you write si | S’il vient, je reste. / Si elle vient, je reste. | If he comes, I'll stay. / If she comes, I'll stay. | |
| jusque → jusqu’ | before à and ici | jusqu’à demain / jusqu’ici | until tomorrow / up to here |
- Before a consonant, the word stays whole. le chat / la table / je parlethe cat / the table / I speak
Liaison: the consonants
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- Liaison makes the final consonant of a word heard before a vowel or a mute h, where it stays silent elsewhere. les amis /lezami/ · vous êtes /vuzɛt/the friends / you are
| Sound | Spelling | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /z/ | s, x, z | les amis / deux ans / chez elle | the friends / two years / at her place | |
| /t/ | t, d | petit ami / grand arbre | boyfriend / a big tree | |
| /n/ | n | un ami / mon ami / en avion | a friend / my friend / by plane | |
| /p/ | p | trop aimable / beaucoup aimé | too kind / much loved |
- The nasal vowel stays nasal after un, mon, en, but becomes oral after bon. mon ami /mɔ̃nami/ · bon ami /bɔnami/my friend / a good friend
Required liaison
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| Case | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Determiner and noun | the article, possessive, demonstrative or number links to the noun | les amis / mon ami / ces enfants / deux ans | the friends / my friend / these children / two years | |
| Adjective and noun | a short adjective placed before the noun links to the noun | petit ami / grand arbre / bon anniversaire | boyfriend / a big tree / happy birthday | |
| Pronoun and verb | the subject pronoun links to the verb | vous avez / ils ont / on a / nous habitons | you have / they have / we have / we live | |
| Short word and word | a one-syllable preposition or adverb links to the next word | en avion / chez elle / très aimable | by plane / at her place / very kind | |
| Common phrases | c’est and comment in comment allez-vous ? link to the next vowel | C’est un ami. / Comment allez-vous ? | He's a friend. / How are you? | |
| Verb and pronoun | the verb links to a following y or en | Allez‑y ! / Prenez‑en ! | Go on in! / Take some! |
Forbidden liaison
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| Case | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After et | the t of et is never said | un garçon et un homme / Léa et Éric | a boy and a man / Léa and Éric | |
| After a singular noun | the noun does not link to the next word | un étudiant américain / un enfant intelligent | an American student / an intelligent child |
Optional liaison
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| Case | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After est | often made after a form of être | Il es(t) ici. / Nous somme(s) arrivés. | He is here. / We have arrived. | |
| After pas, plus | possible before a vowel | Pa(s) encore. / Plu(s) intéressant. | Not yet. / More interesting. | |
| After other verbs | rare in everyday speech, frequent in careful speech | Il fau(t) aller. / Ils prennen(t) un café. | We must go. / They are having a coffee. |
Enchaînement
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- A consonant that is always pronounced at the end of a word moves to the next syllable when the next word starts with a vowel. elle aime /ɛ.lɛm/ · une amie /y.na.mi/ · quelle heure /kɛ.lœʁ/she loves / a friend (woman) / what time
- The voice carries on into the vowel: the throat stays open between the two words. Il a un ami. /i.la.œ̃.na.mi/He has a friend.
Mute h and aspirated h
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Point | Mute h | Aspirated h | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elision | l’hommethe man | le hérosthe hero | |
| Liaison | les hommes /lezɔm/the men | les héros /leeʁo/the heroes | |
| Words | l’heure / l’hôtel / l’histoirethe hour / the hotel / the story | le haricot / le hockey / la hontethe bean / hockey / the shame |
- A dictionary marks the words with an aspirated h: learn them one by one.
- Like an aspirated h, onze and oui block elision and liaison. le onze mai / les onze élèves / le ouithe eleventh of May / the eleven pupils / the yes
- The h is never pronounced: see Pronunciation.
Typical errors
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je ai faim. | J’ai faim. | je becomes j’ before a vowel | |
| Le ami est là. | L’ami est là. | le and la become l’ before a vowel | |
| Si il vient, je reste. | S’il vient, je reste. | si becomes s’ before il and ils | |
| S’elle vient, je reste. | Si elle vient, je reste. | before elle, si keeps its i | |
| L’héros est courageux. | Le héros est courageux. | an aspirated h blocks elision: le héros | |
| les amis /le.a.mi/ | les amis /le.za.mi/ | the s of les is said /z/ before a vowel | |
| un garçon et un ami /e.tœ̃/ | un garçon et un ami /e.œ̃/ | the t of et is never said | |
| les héros /le.ze.ʁo/ | les héros /le.e.ʁo/ | before an aspirated h there is no liaison: les héros | |
| elle a /ɛl ʔa/ | elle a /ɛ.la/ | the voice does not stop before the vowel: elle a /ɛ.la/, with no glottal stop | |
| grand arbre /gʁɑ̃d aʁbʁ/ | grand arbre /gʁɑ̃.taʁbʁ/ | in liaison, d is said /t/ | |
| bon ami /bɔ̃.na.mi/ | bon ami /bɔ.na.mi/ | after bon, the vowel is oral: /bɔn/ |