In this French lesson, you will learn to read the letters е, é.
Е, е, É, é = [e] (like in “leg”)
The sound [e] appears in the following letter combinations:
[e] = er at the end of verb infinitives (infinitive form answers the question what to do?), for example: aimer [ɛme] – to love. [e] = ez at the end of words, for example: parlez! [parle] – speak! [e] = es in words: mes [me] – my (plural), tes [te] – your (plural), ses [se] – his/her/its (plural), ces [se] – these, les [le] – the (plural definite article), des [de] – some/any (plural indefinite article).Additionally, the conjunction et (and) is pronounced as [e].
The acute accent ( ´__) indicates that the letter e is pronounced as [e], not as [ɛ]. The capital letter É is more commonly written as E.
French consonants are not softened before [e] or any other vowel.
Listen and note the difference between the sounds [e] and [ɛ].
sé, sè, sai, sa, sê, mé, né, mè
parler [parle] – to speak
aimer [ɛme] – to love
aider [ɛde] – to help
aller [ale] – to go
traverser [travɛrse] – to cross
frapper [frape] – to hit
fermer [fɛrme] – to close
cesser [sɛse] – to cease
laisser [lɛse] – to leave
baisser [bɛse] – to lower
passer [pase] – to pass
répéter [repete] – to repeat
rester [rɛste] – to stay
espérer [ɛspere] – to hope
adresser [adrɛse] – to address
In the letter combination ez at the end of words, the letter z is silent, for example: nez [ne] – nose. At the end of verbs, this letter combination indicates that the verb expresses a command, wish, request, or advice addressed either to several people or to one person who is addressed formally (with “vous”). For example: Fermez! – Close!
répétez [repete] !
laissez [lɛse]!
passez [pase] !
frappez [frape] !
aimez [ɛme] !
fermez [fɛrme] !
baissez [bɛse] !
allez [ale] !
parlez [parle] !
adressez [adrɛse] !
restez [rɛste] !
traversez [travɛrse] !
espérez [ɛspere] !
aidez [ɛde] !
cessez [sɛse] !
The letter combination es at the end of nouns is silent. It typically indicates that the noun is in plural form. Compare: affaire (matter) – affaires (matters).
The letter s becomes pronounced as [z] in the words mes, tes, ses, ces, les, des when they appear before words beginning with a vowel sound. Compare: mes frères [mefrɛ:r] – my brothers, but mes adresses [mezadrɛs] – my addresses.
tes vestes [tevɛst] (your jackets)
tes affaires [tezafɛ:r] (your matters)
mes traces [metras] (my traces)
mes élèves [mezelɛ:v] (my students)
les salaires [lesalɛ:r] (salaries)
les années [lezane] (years)