FIRST STEPS / Beginner
EXERCICES DE
PRONONCIATION
When listening to people speak in French, you may find it difficult to identify individual words because they are linked to each other when they are pronounced.
A “liaison” occurs when the final consonant sound of one word is linked to the initial vowel sound of the next word.
EXAMPLES
le petit 
enfant
vous avez
Est il venu?
mon ami
dix•éléphants, vous•êtes, les•amis, ils•arrivent, quel•âge, mon•amie, écrit-il, neuf•alligators, cet•idiot, vous•avez un•âne
There is one big exception: There is never any linking after “et” and a following vowel sound.
EXAMPLES: Paul et Anne; regarder et écouter
As we have already seen, the final “e” of a word is not pronounced; therefore, the preceding consonant is linked to the vowel sound that starts the next word.
une amie, quelle heure est-il?, Hélène est intelligente, une petite abeille, sportive et intelligente, même à l’école américaine, heureuse enfant, coupe un morceau
WHEN IS AN APOSTROPHE USED?
An apostrophe is frequently used in French to eliminate the vowel at the end of a word when the next word also begins with a vowel. This happens most frequently with the definite articles “la” and “le,” which become “l’” in front of a word starting with a vowel or an “h.” This is also the case with the word “que” (meaning “that”) which becomes “qu’” in the same situations.
EXAMPLES
l’enfant, l’hôtel, qu’il, l’ami, qu’elle, l’hôpital, l’éléphant, qu’un, l’image, qu’avec, l’animal, l’insecte, l’hésitation, l’herbe, l’émotion