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When to do the liaison in French?
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- Do you want to learn more about French pronunciation?
The liaison in French?
- What does 'faire la liaison' mean?
- It's about pronunciation.
- It's when you change the pronunciation of the end of a word.
2 important points to remember
1 - It changes the pronunciation of the last letter of the first word, which is a silent consonant
2 - The first letter of the following word is:
- a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, y)
- a silent h
An example:
Written: bon appétit / Spoken: bo nappétit
3 cases
1 - The liaison is a mandatory
2 - The liaison is not allowed
3 - It is not a mandatory to do the liaison
--------------------1 - The liaison is a mandatory-------------------
A - Determinant + noun
Written: un ami.
Spoken: un nami.
A friend.
Written: des endives.
Spoken: des zendives.
Endives.
Written: deux enfants.
Spoken: deu zenfants.
Two children.
Written: tois enfants.
Spoken: troi zenfants.
Three children.
B - Pronoun + verb / Pronoun + Pronoun
- Pronoun + verb
Written: on est là.
Spoken: on nest là.
We are here.
Written: vous avez faim ?
Spoken: vou zavez faim ?
Are you hungry ?
Written: ils ont faim ?
Spoken: il zont faim ?
They are hungry?
- Pronoun + pronoun
Written: ils en veulent encore.
Spoken: il zen veulent encore.
They still want some.
Written: il vous a dit...
Spoken: il vou za dit...
He said to you...
C - Adjective + noun
Written: de vieilles affaires.
Spoken: de vieille zaffaires.
Old things.
Written: de grandes enjambées.
Spoken: de grande zenjambées.
Long strides.
D - One-syllable preposition
Written: dans une minute.
Spoken: dan zune minute.
In one minute.
Written: sans un sou.
Spoken: san zun sou.
Without a penny.
Written: chez eux.
Spoken: che zeux.
In their home.
E - QUAND
The pronunciation of the letter d becomes t
Written: quand elle est là.
Spoken: quan telle est là.
When she is there.
Written: quand est-ce que tu viens ?
Spoken: quan test-ce que tu viens ?
When are you coming?
F - Others cases
Written: les Etats-Unis.
Spoken: les zEtats-Unis.
The United States.
Written: en Août.
Spoken: en nAoût.
In August.
Written: en Amérique.
Spoken: en nAmérique.
In America.
Written: c’est-à-dire.
Spoken: c’es tà dire.
i.e..
Written: peut-être.
Spoken: peu têtre.
Maybe.
--------------------2 - The liaison is not allowed--------------------
A - Noun + Adjective
Written and spoken: un enfant intelligent.
An intelligent child.
Written and spoken: un collier orange.
An orange necklace.
B - ET
Written and spoken: j’ai une fille et un garçon.
I have a daughter and a boy.
Written and spoken: un ami et une amie.
A friend and a girlfriend.
C - Name
Written and spoken: Nicolas est français.
Nicolas is French.
D - Noun + verb
Written and spoken: cet enfant a 10 ans.
This child is 10 years old.
Written and spoken: les enfants aiment jouer.
Children like playing.
E - Aspirated h
Written and spoken: des harictots.
Beans.
--------------------3 - It is not a mandatory to do the liaison-------------------
A - ETRE and AVOIR
Ils sont entrés. = Ils son tentrés.
They went in.
Nous sommes allés. = Nous somme zallés.
We have been.
B - Adverb
Pas encore. = Pa zencore.
Not yet.
C - Others cases
Mais il faut y aller ? = Mai zil faut y aller ?
But do we have to go?
C’est trop important. = C’est tro pimportant.
It is too important.
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Did you manage to pronounce the liaisons properly?
Thomas, your French teacher 😀
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How to pronounce vowels in French?
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Thomas Ricomard specializes in teaching French as a foreign language. He has been providing private lessons since 2015, both in-person and online (via Skype). He taught at the Popular University of the Canton of Geneva (Switzerland) from 2015 to 2018, instructing several groups of 20 students from around the world (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mexico, etc.), ranging from beginner to intermediate levels (A1 to B2). With a Master’s degree in clinical and cognitive psychology from the University of Geneva, his knowledge of psychology allows him to tailor his teaching methods for optimal learning, taking into account factors such as visual memory versus auditory memory. He expresses his passion for the French language through writing texts, including poetry and songs, which he presents publicly at numerous music and slam events.