Today, I want to share with you a mistake that comes back over and over again. Those 3 irritating unreliable letters at the end of words… you know the ones I mean…
E N T
Do I pronounce them or not? Do I make the sound “ent” or is it silent?
Super facile! Super easy.
Here’s there answer for you!
Yes yes ok. French pronunciation doesn’t always make sense. You’re right. But sometimes you have nice little rules that you can trust!
1- ENT at the end of a verb is NOT pronounced
Par exemple:
They eat: ils mangent
They drink: ils boivent
They travel: ils voyagent
And you can keep going like that!
The plural ending for French verbs, almost always, is ENT. So if you see ENT at the end of a French verb you simply do not pronounce it and that is it!
Now it doesn’t mean you don’t ever get to pronounce the ENT at the end of French words! Non non non!
2- ENT at the end of a noun IS pronounced
Par exemple:
An apartment: un appartement
A monument: un monument
A government: un gouvernement
You see? So if it’s a noun, you say “ent”. Also, little tip for you here, nouns that finish in en all tend to be masculine!
3- ENT at the end of a adjective IS pronounced
Par exemple:
Happy: content
Transparent: transparent
Excellent: excellent
You see? So if it’s an adjective, you say “ent”
4- ENT at the end of a adverb IS pronounced
Par exemple:
Absolutely: absolument
Fortunately: heureusement
Quickly: rapidement
So you see it’s not that hard!
If it’s a verb you don’t pronounce the “ENT”
If it’s not a verb, you do pronounce the “ENT”
Et voilà! C’est facile, non?
Absolutely helpful!
Thanks for the lesson. How do you distinguish between the second person masculine regular -er conjugation pronunciation (e.g. “il marche”) vs. the third person masculine plural conjugation pronunciation (e.g. “ils marchent”)? Is it simply context which keys the listener in to which one is to be interpreted?
Yes, the ilz marsh vs il marsh sound gives it away.
Sorry – had a moment of madness there, of course that’s not true for verbs starting with a consonant. You won’t pick up the s sound. Good question.
Hey there – I’m no expert but I’ve heard that sometimes French speakers will say “lui” or “eux” (him, them) before the sentence if the context isn’t that clear as to if it’s singular or plural!
Ex: Lui, il parle. (“him, he speaks”)
Eux, ils parlent. (“them, they speak”)
What about singing!? Apparently some usually silent sounds are pronounced when singing. How do you know which ones? I’m trying to learn how to pronounce the Flower Duet by Leo Delibes. “Nous appellent ensemble”
Here’s a link to the song I’m trying to learn! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDc5-x4Hvd4
How about the ending “ents”, as in “defilents”?