E Muet - French Dropped E - Elision
As discussed in the rhythm lesson, there are no stressed syllables in French. However, the unaccented E is sometimes "unstressed"; that is, it sometimes* disappears in spoken French. This disappearance is called elision (élision or amuïssement in French), and the verb is to elide (élider or amuïr). This potential dropped E may be called any of the following in French:
The phonetic symbol for the E muet is the schwa |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| I. | Where does the letter E represent an E muet? | |||||||||||||||||
| A. | In the nine single syllable words with one consonant | ce, de,
je, le, me, ne, que, se, te |
||||||||||||||||
| See exception below (IIC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| B. | At the end of a word, possibly followed by other silent letters | homme femmes parlent |
||||||||||||||||
| C. | In the non-final syllable of a word, after a consonant sound and before one of the following: | |||||||||||||||||
| 1. | single consonant sound | devoirs recherche logement |
||||||||||||||||
| 2. | consonant + liquid consonant° | chevronné secrétaire replacer |
||||||||||||||||
| D. | Miscellaneous | |||||||||||||||||
| 1. | The re- prefix in front of ss | ressortir ressource |
||||||||||||||||
| 2. | These three words | dessous dessus dehors |
||||||||||||||||
| II. | Where does the letter E not represent an E muet? | |||||||||||||||||
| A. | In front of a double consonant (Exceptions: see D, above) |
verrai tennis dessert |
||||||||||||||||
| B. | In front of two different non-liquid consonants | restaurant spectacle |
||||||||||||||||
| C. | At the end of a sentence after an affirmative command | dis-le mange-le But: donne-le-moi |
||||||||||||||||
| III. | When is the E muet dropped and when is it pronounced? | |||||||||||||||||
| There are specific rules governing the pronunciation of E muets: they may be required, forbidden, or
optional. Go on to page 2. |
||||||||||||||||||
.
When the E muet is pronounced, it sounds more or less like the u in full - 
(the É sound) or
(the È sound).| You are here: |
Pronunciation > | Silent Letters > E Muet - Introduction > When to pronounce |
| > | Letters > Vowels > E > E Muet |
|
The free, twice-weekly About French newsletter keeps you informed about changes to this site, including new lessons, articles, and forum discussions. Subscribe today!
|
