La lecture
Sommaire
- r
when to pronounce the letter r - e
e at the end of a word - -emme
the special sound for the group of letters -emme - -s et -x
s and x at the end of a word - -ent
when to pronounce the word ending -ent
Your dictionary of sounds will help you with pronunciation and you should consult it frequently. Today we’re going to look at some key points to get right when reading French. And in particular we are going to look at word endings.
1 R
r can clearly be heard in the middle of words. The r sound is more emphasised than in English :
je parle
I speak, I talk
tu parles
you speak, you talk
les parents
the parents, the relatives
C’est ton anniversaire.
It’s your birthday.
Il trouve une place sur le parking.
He finds a place in the car park.
C’est important, la solidarité entre femmes.
It’s important, solidarity between women.
aujourd’hui
today
As a general rule, the letter r is also clearly pronounced when it comes at the end of a word :
un chat noir
a black cat
la grande soeur
the big sister
La terre est ronde.
The earth is round.
avoir de l’espoir
to have hope
le matin et le soir
the morning and the evening
C’est un jour exceptionnel.
It’s an exceptional day.
bonjour
hello (lit: good day)
bonsoir
good evening
un ascenseur
a lift, an elevator
But words ending -er behave differently. If they have just one syllable, the r sound is pronounced :
la mer Méditerranée
the Mediterranean sea
Il est fier.
He is proud.
un ver
a worm
hier
yesterday
But if they have more than one syllable, the -er ending is pronounced é. This is the case with the infinitive of Group One verbs such as :
manger
to eat
danser
to dance
penser
to think
jouer
to play
as well as with nouns such as :
le courrier
the post, the mail
le premier
the first
le dernier
the last
2 The letter e
The letter e must be pronounced in the middle of words such as :
l’appartement
the apartment
le gouvernement
the government
le renversement
the reversal, the overthrow
It’s optional in adverbs such as :
seulement
tranquillement
which can also be pronounced :
seulement
tranquillement
e isn’t pronounced when it comes at the end of a word such as :
une
a
une voiture
a car
C’est sûr, c’est ma voiture.
It’s sure, it’s my car.
une famille
a family
C’est une famille tranquille.
It’s a quiet family.
une dame
a lady
Les dames d’abord !
Ladies first!
C’est simple, c’est drôle, c’est magnifique.
It’s simple, it’s amusing, it’s magnificent.
3 -emme
When words contain the group of letters -e-m-m-e the vowel sound becomes a. For example :
une femme
a woman
and also the adverbs ending -e-m-m-e-n-t pronounced -amant :
évidemment
obviously
différemment
differently
violemment
violently
4 -s and -x at the end of a word
As a general rule, neither s nor x are pronounced when they appear at the end of a word :
le temps – le temps passe
the time – time passes
les temps – les temps sont durs
the time – times are hard
le corps
the body
un combat corps à corps
a hand to hand fight (lit: body to body fight)
les corps des morts
the bodies of the dead
un mot, des mots
a word, words
une fille, des filles
a girl, girls
Tu manges trop.
You eat too much.
Tu danses très bien, bravo !
You dance very well, bravo!
Nous sommes fatigués.
We are tired.
Vous êtes compliqués.
You are complicated.
un bureau / des bureaux
an office / some offices
J’ai un bureau minuscule. Je préfère les grands bureaux spacieux.
I have a tiny office. I prefer large spacious offices.
le journal / les journaux
the newspaper / the newspapers
Tu lis le journal ? Non, je ne lis pas en français !
Are you reading the newspaper? No, I don’t read French!
Moi, je lis Le Monde.
Me, I read Le Monde.
Tu lis un seul journal ?
Do you read just one newspaper?
Non, je lis deux journaux : Le Monde et Libération, mes deux journaux préférés.
No, I read two newspapers: Le Monde and Libération, my two favourites.
un cheval / des chevaux
a horse / horses (the plural of nouns ending in -al is generally -aux)
Les voitures ont remplacé les chevaux.
Cars have replaced horses.
There are exceptions, though, such as :
mon fils
my son
la fleur de lys
the lily flower
5 -ent at the end of a word
When a verb in the third person plural has the ending -e-n-t it’s not pronounced :
ils mangent
ils parlent
ils jouent
elles travaillent
But the -e-n-t ending is pronounced in all other situations. In nouns such as :
un relent
a bad smell
un appartement
a flat, an apartment
un mouvement
a movement (remember from lesson one that nouns ending in -ment are always masculine)
In adverbs ending in -ment such as :
vraiment
truly
seulement
only
uniquement
uniquely
tranquillement
peacefully
And in adjectives such as :
intelligent
intelligent
Les Exercices
1 . Lecture
Putting together what you’ve learnt from lesson six, practise reading the following sentences. Keep working on them until you have them mastered.
J’ai une lettre de ma mère chaque semaine.
I have a letter from my mother every week.
L’hiver, il y a des tempêtes terribles en mer.
In the winter, there are terrible storms at sea.
Mon frère a très bon caractère. Il aime plaisanter.
My brother has a very pleasant personality. He likes to joke.
Est-ce que tu aimes la bière ?
Do you like beer?
Tu préfères le thé ou le café ?
Do you prefer tea or coffee?
2. Dictée
Now try this test in dictation. Listen to the text and write down the words that you hear. Give yourself 20 points and deduct one point for every mistake you make. You can use the pause of your audio player when necessary.
Ma mère habite en France, c’est loin. Elle arrive aujourd’hui pour une semaine. C’est un beau jour pour moi. J’aime la vie de famille.
L’organisation du travail au bureau n’est pas facile : il y a trop de conflits d’intérêts. La répartition du temps de travail est compliquée. La direction a des problèmes.
Montrez le texte Cachez le texte That’s all for this lesson. Click below if you’d like to move straight on to lesson seven..
