Section 6: TYPICAL FRENCH PRONUNCIATION MISTAKES

There are 6 sections in this course. This sixth and last section you’re in right now is called typical pronunciation mistakes.

I’ve been teaching French for many years and throughout these many years, I’ve taught many students, and among these many students, I’ve heard many pronunciation mistakes, pretty much always the same ones. This section is a compilation of all these mistakes, so you, don’t have to make them.

I counted 7 very common mistakes…

and added a little bonus one at the end ;-)

Mistake 1 - The letter E

Oh that letter e… we don’t know what to do with it.

Is it pronounced

Is it not pronounced?

How is it pronounced?

How does it help pronouncing other letters?

So many questions. Don’t worry I have the answers for you!

In section 1, I taught you to pronounce it as in “retour”. And if we stuck to this, it would be easy. Sadly we don’t, as this letter has various flavors.

Vowel e at the end of words

First of all, let’s have a look at what happens when e is placed at the end of a word. Open your eyes, this is an important one, especially if, like many of my students, you have also studied Spanish. The vowel e at the end of a word that has more

than 2 letters is never pronounced! That e sound we just mentioned does not come out!

Examples:

Do you know how to say cheese in French?

Fromage.

Not fromageu, not fromagé, not fromagè.

It ends with that a soft g sound, not a e sound.

That’s true of every longer than 2 letter word that ends with the vowel e.

Do you know how to say a car in French?

Voiture.

Not voitureu, not voituré, not voiturè.

It ends with a r sound, not a e sound.

Again, that’s true of every longer than 2 letter word that ends with the vowel e.

Do you know how to say a trip in French?

Voyage.

Not voyageu, not voyagé, not voyagè.

It ends with a soft g sound, not a e sound.

Have you noticed I keep saying this rule works for words that have more than 2 letters?

Listen to these 2 letter words and hear that now I do pronounce the letter “e”

Le, which means “the” used with a masculine noun. For instance le fromage, the cheese.

“Le” 2 letters I pronounce the “e”“Fromage” more than 2 letters I do not pronounce the “e”. Le fromage.

De, which can most of the time mean “of” or “from”. For instance Je suis de France, I am from France.

"De” 2 letters I pronounce the “e”“France” more than 2 letters I do not pronounce the “e”. Je suis de France.

Other 2 letter words ending in e that you therefore do pronounce:

ce, de, je, le, me, ne, se, te.

That’s it.

As I said earlier, I work with a lot of people who have studied Spanish and therefore really want to pronounce the e at the end of more than 2 letter words because that’s what you would do in these languages. NOT in French!

Mistake 2 - More about the letter E

But what if the letter e is not at the end of words?

Do I just consistently pronounce it e like in the example we chose in section 1 “retour”?

You’ve already guessed, non. Otherwise, it would be too easy… no fun ;-)

Here’s a helpful general rule: if the letter e is placed before several consonants then it’s pronounced è, even though there is no accent on it.

Since we’re talking about accent here, I want to make sure you understand that in both mistakes no 1 & 2 we are talking about the letter e without any accent, just e.

For example: Je mange = I eat

You see 2 e without any accent.You pronounce the first e because JE is a 2 letter word.You don’t pronounce the second e because MANGE is a more than 2 letter word.

Je mange = I eat

Now the same sentence but past tense: j’ai mangé = I ate The past participle mangé ends with accent aigu, which is why you say mangé and not mange.

Ok hopefully this was a helpful little digression!

Now let’s get back to our mistake number 2. I was telling you that if the letter e is placed before several consonants then it’s pronounced è, even though there is no accent on it.

Here are 3 examples

1- Je m’appelle Virginie - my name is Virginie

Let’s just take the word “appelle”

You hear the first e is pronounced è because it is followed by the double L.You hear the second e is not pronounced because it’s at the end of the word.

Je m’appelle.

2- Same thing for the feminine adjective belle = beautiful.

La musique est belle = the music is beautiful

You hear the first e is pronounced è because it is followed by the double L.You hear the second e is not pronounced because it’s at the end of the word.

belle

3- How about the word électricité?

How do I pronounce this word?

électricité

Well, the first & third e is easy because it has and accent aigu on it so it’s é.

But what about the middle e, without any accent on it? Did you hear how I pronounced it? I pronounced it è because it is followed by a bunch of consonants.

électricité

What about words ending in “et"?

How do I pronounce them? Some people make this mistake thinking somehow it has to be different than in English. But it doesn’t! It’s the same: è.

et is pronounced è.

Let’s have a look at a few words: ballet, beignet, cabaret, objet, sorbet, violet…

What about words ending in “er”?

How do I pronounce them? People get this wrong a lot! Technically we’ve already covered this one… Remember we mentioned the r at the end of er 1st group verbs was not pronounced per se but instead it made the sound é?

er is pronounced é.

Here are the examples of 1st group verbs I previously gave you:

aimer = to lovedanser = to dancemanger = to eatparler = to talkpenser = to think, etc.

We also saw that was true not just for verbs but for nouns and adjectives too.

We used the noun un banquier = a banker, and the adjective entier = entire.

But let’s find you some other words now so it really sinks in.

NOUNS

un atelier = a workshopun cerisier = a cherry treeun métier = a professionun pompier = a firemanun sanglier = a boar

ADJECTIVES

carnassier = carnivorouscôtier = coastalétranger = foreignparticulier = particularséculier = secular

Mistake 3 - Words ending with “ent”

Here is a TYPICAL mistake that even people who speak French quite well make sometimes when they read. Because it’s just so tempting to pronounce letters you see, isn’t it?

Yet, sometimes it’s a good idea, sometimes it’s a bad idea.

Sometimes you do have to pronounce the “ent” at the end of words, sometimes you MUST NOT.

When NOT to pronounce the “ent” at the end of a word?

When it’s the third person plural ending of a verb, in other words, the ending for they. And that’s true of any group your verb may come from. Whether the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd group, it doesn't matter, you don’t pronounce the “ent”.

For instance:

They eat = ils mangent (silent)

They see = elles voient (silent)

They finish = elles finissent (silent)

These are all present tense, but it also works for the past tenses.

They cried = ils pleuraient (silent)

They were = elles furent (silent)

Ok that’s doable, isn't it? That’s not so hard. Simple rule, no exception. Easy to remember.

When to pronounce the “ent” at the end of a word?

When my word is a noun.

For instance:

a subscription = un abonnement (pronounce)

an apartment = un appartement (pronounce)

a convent = un couvent (pronounce)

a government = un gouvernement (pronounce)

a gathering = un rassemblement (pronounce)

a trident = un trident (pronounce)

We could keep going for a while but you get the idea, when you see “ent” at the end of a noun, you pronounce it.

When to pronounce the “ent” at the end of a word?

When my word is an adverb.

For instance:

absolutely = absolument (pronounce)

certainly = certainement (pronounce)

proudly = fièrement (pronounce)

lightly = légèrement (pronounce)

slowly = lentement (pronounce)

lengthily = longuement (pronounce)

precisely = précisément (pronounce)

seriously = sérieusement (pronounce)

totally = totalement (pronounce)

By the way, little digression. Here’s the general rule to form a French adverb:

1- Take the masculine adjective = certain

2- Make it feminine by adding the e at the end of it = certaine

3- Add the 4 letters ment at the end of it = certainement

certain, certaine, certainement = certainly

The 4 letters ment correspond in English to ly

Fier, fière, fièrement = proudly

Lent, lente, lentement = slowly

Sérieux, sérieuse, sérieusement.

Again that’s a general rule but it’s definitely helpful to notice little things like that!

When to pronounce the “ent” at the end of a word?

When my word is an adjective.

For instance:

skillful = compétent (pronounce)

happy = content (pronounce)

different = différent (pronounce)

excellent = excellent (pronounce)

forgiving = indulgent (pronounce)

careless = négligent (pronounce)

transparent = transparent (pronounce)

Of course, you can find more!

So again: when to pronounce the “ent” at the end of a word?

Verb in the third person plural? NON

Noun? Adverb? Adjective? OUI

Mistake no 4 - Désert vs Dessert

How do I pronounce that letter s?

Is it s as in snake or is it z as in zebra?

Actually a better question would be: when is it s as in snake and when is it z as in zebra?

The answer is, it depends.

What does it depend on, is the question we’re about to answer.

You’ll see it’s a very easy rule.

First let’s look at the hard s (snake)

1- The letter s is at the beginning of a word: silence

2- The letter s is between a vowel and a consonant: question

3- The letter s is at the end of a word: bus

Now be careful sometimes you don’t pronounce the s at the end of words, but when you do, it’s definitely a hard s sound.

4- The s is doubled: mousse

Now let’s look at the soft s (zebra)

5- The letter s is between 2 vowels: rose

Funny mistake…

The funny mistake visitors pretty much always make when they come to France and decide to eat out, is that they ask for un désert instead of un dessert, when it’s time for dessert.

Un dessert (ss = snake)

The delicious chocolate cake you want to end your dinner with is un dessert with 2 s meaning it must have a hard s (snake) sound. Otherwise you are ordering a desert. A cake is un dessert (snake).

Un désert (s between 2 vowels = zebra)

A vast area of sand is un désert, with 1 s between 2 vowels meaning it must have a soft s (zebra) sound.

Again, don’t worry too much, it’s not the end of the world if you make this mistake because context is there to rescue you. It’s very unlikely the waiter asking you if you’d like a cake will think you’re ordering a vast area of sand! Still, might as well learn how to say things properly ;-)

Mistake 5 - The letter H

We've already talked about this one in the first section of this course called Alphabet. As we went through the consonants and reached h, I explained that the letter h was never pronounced in French!

The sound h as in happy does not exist and therefore the easiest way to go about it, is to pretend there is nothing there, while remembering the difference between the h muet and the h aspiré.

H Muet = mute, you simply pretend your word begins with a vowel, which means you apply liaisons and apostrophes as in l’homme.

H Aspiré = aspired, you still don’t pronounce the h but you can’t ignore the fact your word begins with a consonant, which means you do not apply liaisons and apostrophes as in la harpe.

The problem is, if you’re used to making a specific sound every time you see a consonant, it’s hard to suddenly turn this reflex off.

Not only that, but if the h in front of you is a h muet, you need to remember the apostrophe!

For instance,

How do you say I live in France in French?

Let’s see…

to live = habiter. There’s a h and it’s a h muet.

I = je

That’s 2 vowel sounds following one another so what do I say?

J’habite. J’habite en France.

How do a lot of people get it wrong? What do they say?

Je habite. They pronounce the h and therefore don’t realize we have 2 vowel sounds next to each other and consequently they forget the apostrophe all together. They end up with je habite instead of j’habite.

How do you say cathedral in French?

What if there’s a th in the middle of my word? What do I do? What is a mistake that people often make? They pronounce is th as they would in English.

Remember I told you to pretend the h wasn’t there.

So… remove it!

And what’s left is you remove it? Just a t.

See th? Think t!

In other words, say:

cathédrale (pronounce t)

catholique (pronounce t)

théâtre (pronounce t)

Catherine (pronounce t)

Kathy (pronounce t)

Etc. You get the gist. It’s just a t.

How do you say Les Halles in French?

Do you remember how we pronounced that area in Paris?

Did we apply the liaison or not? We didn’t. But why?

Because the h of Halles is not a h muet but a h aspiré. And even though you don’t pronounce it, it cannot be completely ignored. You don’t pronounce the h but you do acknowledge that it’s there meaning you can’t completely pretend the word begins with a vowel, hence you make zero liaison and add zero apostrophe.

Most people make the mistakes and apply the liaison. Don’t do it! It’s les Halles, without bringing the final s of “Les” to life.

Mistake 6 - Final s?

That is a mistake that keeps coming back, that makes it hard for French people to understand you. Don’t worry because this mistake is soooooo easily avoidable!

Final s as mark of plural

You know that the general rule to change a singular word into a plural one is to simply add an s at the end of the word.

Like in English: 1 car, 2 cars.

Well, not exactly like in English.

Look at this:

The two white cars are beautiful.

You see the plural, we’re talking about two cars, there’s an s at the end of cars.

Now the same sentence in French:

Les deux voitures blanches sont belles.

We do have an s at the end of voitures but not only! The s, the mark expressing the plural, is also at the end of the article les (the), at the end of the adjective blanches (white), and at the end of the adjective belles (beautiful).

In French, everything in your sentence needs to match the gender and the number of your noun. Here the gender is feminine and the number is plural. Let’s focus on the number. Notice that we had to add the plural s almost everywhere. Yet did you hear me pronounce them?

Les deux voitures blanches sont belles.

I am not pronouncing them. A lot of people do and the sentence ends up sounding… quite different! And if on top of this, you’re talking slowly, you’re stopping half way through your sentence, repeating and correcting the same word several times, thinking about your words a little too long, I can assure you people will have no idea what you’re saying.

So remember, do not pronounce the plural s.

Final s in plus, pronounced or not?

People also often pronounce the s at the end of words like

dans = insans = withoutplus = more

Mmmh wait! Sometimes the s at the end of plus is pronounced, isn’t it?!?!

Yes that is true.

Sometimes I pronounce the s in plus and sometimes I don’t… but how do I know when?

Let’s do this in 2 steps.

Step 1: Is it more or no more?

If it’s more you pronounce the s, if it’s no more you don’t pronounce the s.

Example

I have more time: j’ai plus de temps – you pronounce the s.

I have no more time: je n’ai plus de temps – you don’t pronounce the s.

Step 2: It’s more but you do pronounce the s

Step 1 was easy and straight forward. Now let’s have a look at step 2, slightly more complicated.

The sentence we just learned was I have more time: j’ai plus de temps.

Now here’s when plus means more, but the s is not pronounced: if plus is followed by an adjective, like slow, or an adverb, like slowly.

Usually when you are comparing 2 elements.

Je suis plus lente que toi = I am more (plus) slow (lente) than you

Slow is an adjective, you don’t pronounce the s. 

Je marche plus lentement que toi. I walk more slowly than you.

Slowly is an adverb, you don’t pronounce the s.

Mistake 7 - nasals & vowels

Do you remember that in section 2 part 3 nasal digraphs and trigraphs, I explained that if a nasal sound was followed by a vowel, it was immediately canceled out?

I gave you the easy and straight forward example you should always keep in mind, the indefinite articles un vs une.

Un is nasal because it’s placed at the end of the word.

Une is not nasal because we add the voyelle e after un.

A lot of people forget that and it become most obvious in words beginning with a privative prefix such as:

inhabituel = unusualinespéré = unhoped or unexpected inacceptable = unacceptable

You see all these words begin with in, which technically is a nasal sound, yet it’s also followed by a vowel sound and therefore it simply disappears. Most people make this mistake and pronounce the words above as if starting with a nasal sound. Instead you have to pronounce the letters separately.

If we take inhabituel = unusual as an example, instead of joining the 2 letters in making 1 sound as in vin, you separate them and pronounce i followed by n.

Just to make sure this concept becomes obvious to you, let’s have a look at other words beginning with a privative prefix, yet followed by a consonant and not a vowel sound.

If we take impossible as an example, what comes after the 2 letters im? The letter p, which is a consonant, so you do pronounce the nasal.

impensable = unthinkable, what comes after the 2 letters im? The letter p, which is a consonant, so you do pronounce the nasal.

incertain = uncertain, what comes after the 2 letters in? The letter c, which is a consonant, so you do pronounce the nasal.

Recap time!

Your nasal sound is followed by a vowel, you don’t pronounce it. Your nasal sound is followed by a consonant, you do pronounce it.

-

Et voilà!

That’s 7 big mistakes you can now easily avoid!

Ok I’ll give you one more little bonus mistake, just for fun… In English you say psychology. You don’t pronounce the p!

We do. Psychologie.

And the person who does this for a living is un psychologue.

And if they work in a hospital, they’re a psychiatre.

Félicitations = Congratulations!!! You have completed your PERFECT PRONUNCIATION course!!!That was a lot of information, you learned a lot!Know that you can come back to it whenever you have a doubt.

Merci beaucoup et à bientôt!Virginie, your French teacher & friend xoxo