E Muet - French Dropped E - Elision
There are specific rules governing the elision of E muets: the pronunciation may be required, forbidden, or optional, based on their phonetic environment: where the E muet is located in the word and rhythmic group, and what letter follows it. Like liaisons, optional E muets are pronounced more in higher registers* of French and less in faster, more familiar speech. Note that there are many exceptions - these are just the basic guidelines.
| When is the E muet pronounced? | R, F, O |
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| A. | At the end of a word, its pronunciation depends on what follows. | |||||||||||
| 1. | The nine single syllable words (ce, de, je, le, me, ne, que, se, te) in front of | |||||||||||
| a. | V or Hm - E muet must be replaced by a contraction. | F | le + ami = l'ami ce + est = c'est je + habite = j'habite |
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| b. | Ha - the E muet must be pronounced. | R | le homard ce hibou |
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| c. | C - pronunciation of the E muet is optional. | O | le fils je parle |
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| 2. | Other words that end in an E muet and precede | |||||||||||
| a. | V or Hm - the E muet is silent. C that precedes it is enchainé. | F | autre ami [o tra mi] | |||||||||
| b. | C or Ha - the E muet is usually silent. If a C follows, it might liaise. | O | Elle parle Parles-tu ? Parlent-ils ? |
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| B. | Inside a word or rhythmic group... | |||||||||||
| 1. | In the first syllable of a rhythmic group | R |
Regardez la télé. Levez-la main. |
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| 2. | When the E muet is not in the first or last syllable and is preceded by | |||||||||||
| a. | one consonant sound | O |
Je regarde la télé. Nous te parlons. emmener |
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| b. | two or more consonant sounds | R |
appartement mercredi |
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| 3. | Two or more E muets in a row - the elisions alternate R, O, R, O. | R, O |
Je ne sais pas. Ne me le dis pas. |
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| a. | Exceptions - These word pairs alternate O, R. | O, R |
Ce que Je te |
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Pronunciation > | Silent Letters > E Muet - Introduction > When to pronounce |
| > | Letters > Vowels > E > E Muet |
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