French · Rung 3 of 26

Liaison and elision

A silent final consonant sounds again when the next word starts with a vowel: that is liaison. Les amis is “lay-zah-MEE”, un homme “uh-NOM”, nous avons “noo-zah-VOHN”. S and x sound as /z/, d as /t/ (un grand homme), the f of neuf as /v/ in neuf ans. It is compulsory between article and noun, between pronoun and verb, and after a short preposition; it is forbidden after et (never “et-z-elle”) and before an aspirate h (les héros keeps no z, which is what keeps it apart from les zéros). Elision is its partner: je, ne, le, la, de and que drop their vowel before another vowel — j'ai, l'homme, d'accord.

Where this sits

Comes after
What isn't pronounced

Exercises from this rung

Generated by the app, from easiest to hardest

  1. ___est mon frère.

    • Ça
    • Ce
    • Se
    • C'

    Why ce elides before est and était: c'est, c'était. Before other words it stays whole: ce livre, ce garçon. And ça never elides.

    easier

  2. nous avons

    • “noo-zah-VOHN”
    • “noo-zah-VOHNS”
    • “noo-sah-VOHN”
    • “noo-ah-VOHN”

    Why Between subject pronoun and verb liaison is compulsory: nous avons, vous êtes, ils ont. Without it, nous avons and nous savons would blur, which is exactly what the rule prevents.

    in between

  3. les héros / les zéros

    • The h of héros is aspirate and blocks the liaison
    • héros has a z and zéros does not
    • They sound the same
    • Liaison happens in both

    Why The aspirate h of héros blocks liaison, so it is “lay-ay-ROH”, not “lay-zay-ROH”. Without that rule, heroes and zeros would be the same word. Aspirate h is not pronounced: it only raises a wall.

    harder